SHANGHAI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- German chemical company BASF on Tuesday launched new innovation facilities in Shanghai, with plans to strengthen its involvement in the auto industry and boost innovations in chemistry.

The 5,000-square-meter facilities were opened in BASF's Innovation Campus Shanghai, including the Automotive Application Center and the Process Catalysis Research & Development Center, with an investment of approximately 34 million euros (about 38 million U.S. dollars).

"China's most important growth industries can benefit enormously from innovations in chemistry," said Stephan Kothrade, president and chairman of Greater China of BASF.

The BASF Automotive Application Center is designed to enable customer-oriented R&D activities. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art spray booth for electrostatic applications, a physical testing lab and a 3D robot, which can simulate nearly any situation on a paint line, enabling the new center to optimize application processes and products.

The innovation facilities boast a range of locally-developed innovations, including new polymer dispersions and sustainable paints, which address important market trends to reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency.

BASF has invested nearly 180 million euros, or 203 million U.S. dollars, in the innovation center in Shanghai since 2012, striving to expedite the innovative products' time to market, said Harald Lauke, president of Advanced Materials & Systems Research and Research Representative Asia Pacific of BASF.

The German company just announced its partnership with China's home appliances maker Midea Group to develop clean and efficient household appliances. It is also partnering with Sichuan University to explore improved solutions for high chemical resistance of polyamide blends. Enditem

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