Best Chemicals and Materials Companies in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
The 47 best Chemicals and Materials companies in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals.
Our analysis of 50 Chemicals and Materials companies
$3.3b in tracked funding; 45% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2020.
Ranked: Best Chemicals and Materials companies in Nordrhein-Westfalen
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Employees | Founded | Stage | Tech stack | Web popularity | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | evonik industries Evonik is specialty chemical companies. | — | 33,357 | 2007 | Public | — | — | 1,983 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 2 | hüttenwerke krupp mannesmann HKM manufactures steel and primary products for the processing industry. | — | 3,000 | 1988 | Private | WordPress Block EditorWordPressApple iCloud Mail+10 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 3 | waelzholz Waelzholz is a company that manufactures and supplies cold rolled steel materials. | — | 2,300 | 1828 | Private | TYPO3 CMSPHPNginx+13 | Top 5M | 30 patents High‑strength cold‑rolled steel narrow strips and welding for flexible offshore pipe systems | — |
| 4 | ask chemicals ASK Chemicals is a suppliers of complete solutions and tailor-made consultation services. | — | 2,000 | 1929 | Private | TYPO3 CMSApple iCloud MailPHP+10 | Top 5M | 549 patents Patents concentrated in transport & manufacturing processes | — |
| 5 | durkopp adler Durkopp Adler is a machinery manufacturing company that offers sewing machines and office equipment for… | — | 1,476 | 1859 | Public | NginxMicrosoft 365Matomo Analytics+5 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 6 | oq chemicals OQ Chemicals is a manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives. | — | 1,400 | 2007 | Private | — | — | 81 patents Advanced chemical additives for lubricants, battery electrode films, and biofuel production | — |
| 7 | oqema OQEMA today occupies a leading position in the European chemical distribution market. | — | 1,300 | 1922 | Private | Ibexa DXP Apple iCloud MailPHP+13 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 8 | deutsche steinzeug cremer & breuer Deutsche Steinzeug Cremer & Breuer concentrates all its strengths on its core business: the production of… | — | 1,237 | 1890 | Private | — | — | — | — |
Funding & investor landscape
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Chemicals and Materials coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Advanced Materials is moving in Germany
A read on the academic research around Advanced Materials — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 461 Germany-affiliated papers.
- Technische Universität Dresden35
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology30
- Saarland University24
- Chemnitz University of Technology20
- TU Dresden20
- Nanotechnology4→18
- Smart material21→33
- Elastomer4→13
- Actuator19→27
- Polymer6→14
- Shape-memory alloy13→18
- 3D printing1→4
- Elastomer5→8
- Self-healing hydrogels4→6
- SMA*6→8
- Smart material1→5
Where advanced materials is researched across Germany
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing advanced materials patents in Germany
Germany advanced materials patent filing is cooling — 27,694 filings from 8,000 assignees (2016–2025), led by BASF SE, Siemens, Fraunhofer GES Forschung; annual filings 3096→1972.
- BASF SE2645
- Siemens2092
- Fraunhofer GES Forschung1469
- Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe1264
- Constr RES & TECH1183
- Thyssenkrupp1112
- Robert Bosch1101
- Merck Patent1053