Dow Chemical 2009 Annual Report Download - page 18

HEALTH AND NUTRITION
By focusing on innovative solutions in agriculture, functional
foods and health care, Dow is dedicated to improving the quality
of life today and for future generations, through projects such as:
•฀฀New฀advanced฀herbicides฀and฀insecticides฀that฀lead฀to฀
increased agricultural productivity.
•฀฀Cross-licensing฀agreement฀and฀R&D฀collaboration฀with฀
Monsanto to commercialize the world’s most comprehensive
insect and weed control product in corn –
SmartStax ™ –
providing yield protection from weed and insect threats.
•฀New฀cellulosics฀that฀improve฀overall฀drug฀efficacy.
•฀฀Zero฀trans-fat฀and฀low฀saturated฀fat฀Omega-9฀canola฀and฀
sunflower oils that meet consumer demands for healthier foods.
ENERGY
We understand that conservation and diversity of supply are
instrumental to the world’s efficient use of energy. Since the
invention of STYROFOAM™ Brand Insulation, Dow has been
developing solutions to address the energy challenge, including:
•฀฀Industry-leading฀use฀of฀alternative฀feedstocks,฀such฀as฀our฀
sugarcane-to-polyethylene project in Brazil, which will be
the world’s largest bio-derived plastics facility.
•฀New฀epoxies฀for฀lighter฀and฀stronger฀wind฀blades.
•฀฀Breakthrough฀home฀insulation฀products฀that฀help฀improve฀
energy efficiency.
•฀฀Building฀integrated฀photovoltaic฀(BIPV)฀roofing฀that฀will฀make฀
solar energy practical and economical for households.
•฀฀New฀generation฀of฀high-power฀battery฀technology฀for฀hybrid฀
and electric vehicles. In 2009, a joint venture between Dow
and TK Advanced Battery was awarded a $161 million federal
grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and tax incentives
from the State of Michigan that will be used to establish
manufacturing operations to produce enough batteries to
supply 60,000 hybrid or electric vehicles per year.
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Dow is committed to improving the quality of life for our
growing global population by focusing on housing, water
and transportation innovations such as:
•฀฀New฀filtration฀technology฀that฀helps฀deliver฀clean฀water฀
to places where it is most urgently needed.
•฀฀Plastics฀and฀bonding฀solutions฀that฀make฀cars฀tougher฀
and lighter, improving safety and fuel efficiency.
•฀฀Diesel฀particulate฀filters฀that฀reduce฀emissions,฀allowing฀
higher performance at lower costs.
CONSUMERISM
Dow innovations lead to soaps that are more effective at
removing dirt, coatings that are more durable and better
for the environment, and plastics that are stronger and more
flexible. Our goal is to meet manufacturer and consumer
preferences for lighter, cleaner, better performing and more
appealing products, including:
•฀฀ECOSURF™฀Biodegradable฀Surfactants฀that฀meet฀consumer฀
demand for cleaners, paints and coatings with reduced
environmental impact.
•฀฀Advanced฀electronic฀materials฀used฀to฀produce฀the฀next฀
generation of flat panel displays.
•฀฀RENUVA™฀Renewable฀Resource฀Technology,฀which฀uses฀
renewable feedstocks such as soybeans to create natural
oil-based polyols. The polyols can be used to develop
consumer products that have more natural content, greater
performance and a smaller environmental footprint.
FOCUSED ON MEGATRENDS
Our innovations are aligned with four global megatrends: Health and Nutrition, Energy, Transportation and
Infrastructure, and Consumerism. Dow science enables customers to stand out in strategic marketplaces
with innovative solutions and enhanced product performance.
16 The Dow Chemical Company