Automated Lab Fuels Data-Driven Path to Circular Coatings and Adhesives

The new automated lab of Covestro can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The goal is to run tens of thousands of tests annually. Image: Courtesy of Covestro

Polymer materials and components manufacturer Covestro is set to open a fully automated laboratory in Leverkusen, Germany, dedicated to the development and testing of coating and adhesive formulations, with a focus on optimizing binders and crosslinkers. Designed to operate continuously—24 hours a day, seven days a week—the facility aims to run tens of thousands of tests annually, leveraging networked robotics, automation, and machine learning to accelerate and refine the formulation process. The lab’s capabilities include testing complex combinations of materials, evaluating application performance under varying climate conditions, and generating large volumes of structured data to support data-driven R&D. By relieving conventional labs of routine tasks, the facility allows more targeted research into sustainable and circular solutions, such as bio-based and recycled raw materials. The opening represents a strategic investment in digitalization and efficiency amid increasing performance and regulatory demands in the coatings and adhesives industry. The lab is expected to open in the second half of 2025.

Lab Design News spoke to Dr. Thomas Buesgen, head of the automated laboratory at Covestro, about this new laboratory facility and its innovative design, which integrates advanced robotics, AI-driven systems, and modular infrastructure to enable continuous testing and accelerate the development of sustainable coating and adhesive formulations.

Q: How did Covestro gather feedback from end users and stakeholders during the planning and design phases of the automated laboratory to ensure it meets their specific needs for testing coating and adhesive formulations?

A: Covestro's approach to designing the automated laboratory was comprehensive and collaborative. The development process started with detailed interviews with industry experts from our own Coatings & Adhesives business entity, both from the business as well as from the research realms. They provided their decades of experience in the field. Through this, we made sure that requirements of current customers, our existing labs and the future of the industry were considered. The team augmented this input then through focused discussions with the internal IT and physics departments. Therefore the laboratory's final design, developed in further collaboration with our machine automation experts, reflects direct industry requirements. It specifically addresses market needs for high performance, efficiency, and circularity in both water- and solvent-based systems.

Q: What mechanisms are in place for continuous feedback collection from researchers and lab technicians to optimize workflows and improve lab operations over time?

A: Lab operations will improve via several routes: For one, the lab is tapping into existing knowledge and data lakes and generates large chunks of data with each test itself. This integration is further enhanced by the lab's self-learning capabilities, where machine learning algorithms continuously improve processes based on operational data. This itself makes the process of optimizing and developing formulations many times more efficient and precise, allowing our innovators to analyze and compare the generated structured datasets with historical data and drawing from our own long legacy of excellence in innovation in the coatings and adhesives sector. Our highly skilled lab team operating it all also grows its expertise with each test. The data generated is shared within Covestro and with other labs as well. And since the lab team of the automated lab is an integral part of product development projects, the lab not only improves its own operations, but that of other labs and tests across the company via data and knowledge sharing and personal interactions.  

Q: What strategies were incorporated into the design and construction of the laboratory to ensure scalability and adaptability for future advancements in robotics, AI, and automation?

A: The laboratory's architecture emphasizes scalability through universal IT interfaces that connect with legacy software infrastructure, enabling modular enhancement of machine learning and AI capabilities. The architectural design includes 40 interconnected robotic units in a modular configuration, with strategically reserved space for future expansion. This flexible infrastructure allows us to respond to evolving market-specific test protocols and seamless integration of new modules, even with potential new technologies.

Q: How does the lab’s infrastructure support the integration of new technologies and methods for testing alternative raw materials, such as bio-based or recycled materials, to advance circular economy initiatives?

A: The laboratory's infrastructure fully supports testing alternative and bio-based raw materials, with dosing robotic systems specifically designed to handle such materials. Rapid testing and high throughput as USP of the lab in general then allow for an ever faster discovery of the appropriate composition for desired properties and identification of undesired issues. The facility will therefore play a crucial role in strengthening Covestro's CQ portfolio of circular products, significantly reducing barriers to sustainable innovation adoption.

Q: What unique architectural and engineering considerations were necessary to accommodate the 24/7 operation of networked robotics and other automated systems within the laboratory?

A: The facility's round-the-clock operation capability required several entirely new approaches. We needed sophisticated safety controls, including automated fire protection systems and organic solvent detection, all aligned with on-site fire department protocols. Furthermore, the overall infrastructure supports fully digital planning and execution of customizable workflows over several days, with automated inventory management for consumables, raw materials, and even cleaning solvents.

Q: How did the design team address challenges related to climate-controlled environments needed for testing formulations under different conditions to simulate real-world applications?

A: Based on the input we gathered from our application experts, the laboratory features purpose-built, electronically controlled climate chambers. These sophisticated environments can simulate various global climate conditions, allowing for precise testing of product performance under different temperature and moisture settings. This capability ensures thorough validation of formulations under real-world application conditions.

Q: What safety protocols and design elements were incorporated to ensure reliable and secure operations of autonomous systems and AI-driven testing processes?

A: The laboratory operates under comprehensive safety protocols compliant with European regulations. The design integrates machine safety, process safety, and IT security considerations, with AI systems specifically customized to operate within defined machine design boundaries.

Q: How does the lab’s design facilitate efficient data generation, collection, and analysis to support machine learning algorithms and predictive modeling for developing new formulations?

A: The integrated multi-robotic system generates structured data directly connected to an electronic lab notebook (ELN) through customized APIs. This architecture enables sophisticated data analysis and machine learning applications, creating vast volumes of insight-rich test data. The system efficiently analyzes this data alongside historical information, supporting data-driven decision-making and accelerating formulation development.

Q: What role does the lab’s digitalization play in streamlining communication and collaboration between automated testing systems and more specialized testing laboratories within Covestro’s network?

A: The laboratory serves as a cornerstone for creating large experimental datasets that empower other testing facilities. A comprehensive barcoding system for example enables fully digital sample handover, allowing seamless integration with specialized testing laboratories and data enhancement by manually created data points in such labs. This connectivity facilitates quick identification of relevant dependencies and efficient supplementation of datasets with market-specific test results.

Q: How will the automated laboratory facility contribute to Covestro’s broader goals for sustainability, regulatory compliance, and accelerated product development?

A: Our vision at Covestro is to become fully circular—but rapid approval and adoption of more circular coatings and adhesives can be difficult. Our lab’s robotic screening capabilities provide an ‘innovation boost’ by embodying Covestro's commitment to data-driven decision-making and serving as a key enabler for rapid innovation plus creating comprehensive datasets. Rapid screening allows us to both adapt existing solutions swiftly to regulatory changes, and test new solutions like partly bio-based crosslinkers and binders more quickly. Testing in multiple formulations means we can often provide guidance for our products with less adoption requirements. In turn, this means that we can help our customers to position themselves at the forefront of more circular and sustainable innovation.