Clariant and TUM Celebrate a Decade of Catalysis Excellence 

• Two world-renowned scientists honored with the Dr. Karl Wamsler Innovation Award
• Partnership renewed for three additional years, building on 16 years of collaboration

MUTTENZ, July 23, 2026 - Clariant, a sustainability-focused specialty chemical company, today celebrated a significant milestone at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with the dual 10th anniversary of the TUM Catalysis Research Center (CRC) and the Dr. Karl Wamsler Innovation Award for Catalysis Research. The ceremony honored two outstanding scientists whose contributions are shaping the future of catalysis and sustainable chemistry.

Clariant CEO Conrad Keijzer commented: “Reaching the 10th anniversary of both the TUM Catalysis Research Center and the Dr. Karl Wamsler Innovation Award is a truly proud moment for everyone at Clariant. This partnership is far more than a sponsorship — for us, the collaboration with TUM and the Catalysis Research Center forms the basis for numerous innovations and for attracting exceptional young talents.”

The Dr. Karl Wamsler Innovation Award was established in memory of Dr. Karl Wamsler, a prominent figure in post-war German chemistry and former board member, CEO, and Chairman of Süd-Chemie. Recognized with an Honorary Senator title from TUM in 2015, Dr. Wamsler held a lifelong conviction that knowledge has the power to change the world. Since 2017, Clariant has sponsored the award with an annual investment of €50,000, reaffirming its commitment to advancing fundamental and applied catalysis research.

The 2025 Dr. Karl Wamsler Innovation Award was presented to Professor Tao Zhang, Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics. Professor Zhang is honored “for his pioneering research on single-atom catalysis” — a concept he introduced in 2011 that has since transformed the field. His work was further recognized globally with the Clarivate Citation Laureate distinction in 2025.

The 2026 Award was conferred upon Professor Frances H. Arnold of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2018. Professor Arnold is recognized “for her groundbreaking contributions to the field of biocatalysis”, having pioneered the directed evolution of enzymes — an approach enabling the engineering of proteins with entirely new and highly efficient functions.

The Clariant Foundation recently signed a contract extension with TUM for an additional three years, continuing a collaboration that stretches back to 2010 through the MuniCat initiative.