NORA - North America Open Research Alliance

NORA – North America Open Research Alliance

Who We Are

The North America Open Research Alliance (NORA) is a strategic initiative by BASF dedicated to harnessing the power of Open Innovation. Our mission is to co-develop iterative and transformative technologies that enhance the competitiveness of our R&D activities and strengthen our talent pipeline—ultimately creating chemistry for a sustainable future.

Our Strategic Pillars

Effective Partnership Identification & Engagement: We strategically align our collaborations with our innovation and business objectives, leveraging tools such as Halo to foster impactful partnerships. This includes identifying ideas and innovations outside the traditional BASF space.
Operational Excellence & Transparency: We streamline processes and optimize collaboration efforts to ensure efficient use of time and resources for all stakeholders involved. Our goal is to prototype tools that facilitate and support open innovation initiatives.
Regional Impact: We serve as catalysts for externalization, enhancing connections between North American institutions, entrepreneurs, and innovation partners, while integrating them with BASF’s global R&D pipeline. This ensures that we fully leverage the strengths of the North American R&D ecosystem and contribute to the transformation of the BASF Verbund.
Team Health & Culture: We cultivate an inclusive and supportive environment that encourages continuous growth and well-being among our team members. We also focus on acquiring top talent to strengthen our capabilities.

NORA’s Approach to Open Innovation
At NORA, we embrace an Open Innovation framework that enables us to collaborate with experts outside our organization. This approach allows us to swiftly explore a diverse array of technologies and identify market solutions alongside key stakeholders in academia and industry. Our Open Innovation strategy ensures that BASF remains agile and competitive in response to emerging technological trends. We focus on critical areas such as sustainability, carbon management, and digitalization, reaffirming our commitment to lead the chemical industry towards a more innovative and sustainable future. Additionally, we aim to improve BASF's visibility and image among external partners, reinforcing our role as a key player in the industry.

Looking to join BASF's Open Innovation ecosystem?

Collaboration Opportunities

Join BASF’s Open Innovation Ecosystem

Connent with us on Bloomflow

Find live BASF challenges on Halo

Collaborate with us on Halo

Connect with our Global Academic Research Alliances and see other connection opportunities on our innovate with Us page

Research & Development – Top University Collaborations

Contact our scouts through the Bloomflow application form

People

Executive & Global Leadership

Benjamin Knudsen

Vice President of Research North America

Dr. Dominique Moulin

Global Head of Academic Scouting & Collaborations

Scouting & Collaboration

Collaboration & Scouting Team Alumni

Date

Trade News |

September 11, 2023

Partnership between BASF and Nanotech Energy will enable production of lithium-ion batteries in North America with locally recycled content and low CO₂ footprint

Ludwigshafen, Germany and Chico, California – BASF, a globally leading battery materials producer, and Nanotech Energy, a worldwide leader in the field of graphene-based energy storage products, have agreed to partner to significantly reduce the CO₂ footprint of Nanotech’s lithium-ion batteries for the North American market. The agreement aims to close the loop for lithium-ion batteries in North America, with BASF producing cathode active materials from recycled metals in Battle Creek, Michigan, for the usage in lithium-ion battery cells produced by Nanotech Energy. Feeding recycled metals into the production of new lithium-ion batteries can reduce the CO₂ impact of batteries by about 25 percent compared to the use of primary metals from mines.

NORA: Bridging the gap between disruptive innovation and industrial scalability

NORA connects BASF to different areas of knowledge and innovation in the academic and entrepreneurial ecosystem across the U.S.

Unleashing the power of open innovation through intrapreneurship

BASF experts developed and tested a new formulation in just under two years by implementing an agile methodology. Learn more about this in our new article.