INNOVATION AT AIR LIQUIDE Innovation is one of the pillars of the Group’s strategy. Innovating enables Air Liquide to open up new markets, creates new growth opportunities and address the major challenges facing society. For Air Liquide, innovation is where scientific expertise meets the entrepreneurial spirit. Air Liquide’s scientific and technological expertise is represented by its Research & Development department, its Engineering & Construction business unit and its centers of expertise, as well as by structures designed to promote entrepreneurship, like the aB&T network, i-Lab, Air Liquide’s laboratory for new ideas, and ALIAD, its venture capital arm. The Group’s innovation ecosystem is backed by an “open innovation” approach. Today, the Group cultivates outside collaboration around the world with customers, universities, research institutes, SMEs and start-ups. KEY FIGURES 6,200 employees contributing to innovation 9 R&D centers worldwide More than 200 industrial and academic partners 15 engineering centers and 3 manufacturing 300 patents filed every year centers worldwide Nearly 60% of innovation spending is dedicated €278 M innovation expenses in 2014 to protecting life and the environment Cryocap™ Press Kit 11
