Every day of our lives chemistry and chemical engineering touches each one of us. These sciences help to feed us, clothe us, house us, heal us and even entertain us (CDs, tapes and videos are all made from chemicals). These human benefits need not be achieved at the expense of the environment: visit a modern chemical plant and you will be amazed at the care which is taken to preserve the environment, how little pollution is caused and how safe working conditions are. The people employed there are proud of what they have achieved. The benefits that chemistry brings have been won through a process that begins with a discovery at the laboratory bench and ends with a purchase of a product in a store. Between these two poles, brilliant chemists with innovative ideas, bright young men and women to perform the necessary research, people with vision to see what these ideas might lead to, industrial leaders who can make things happen, chemical engineers to design complex chemical plants and trained people to run them are all needed. Nor should we forget the millions of other workers and their families who depend on the jobs based on turning these chemicals into everyday products. Chemistry is a science which first blossomed in Europe 200 years ago and attracted people of great intellect, such as Avogadro, Faraday, Lavoisier and Liebig. Since those early days it has blossomed to become a vast science, ranging from the microscopic world of atoms and molecules to the macroscopic world of usable materials. Of course, chemistry and chemical engineering are not alone: they form a very prominent part of the landscape of science in partnership with biology, physics, information technology, agriculture, medicine and engineering. In this document we highlight many important research activities taking place now in university laboratories, research institutes and industry. It is from these activities that our chemical industry draws its inspiration and from these institutions that it recruits its workforce for tomorrow's technology.

To gain a degree in chemical sciences, its intellectual frontiers need to be explored. The young men and women who set out on that journey today need more than just training and the skills of the laboratory bench. They need to master sophisticated techniques of information handling, problem solving and instrumental analysis and often they need to learn a lot about other sciences. Almost all chemistry now has implications in related fields, and much research is carried out jointly with those in other areas such as physics and medicine. In the next century we expect to see a major interaction between chemistry and biology, a marriage of sciences which promises great benefits to human health and welfare. A chemistry doctorate may still be obtained by working in a small group, but even so it is likely to involve items of equipment so expensive that they can only be afforded on a national scale, and some even require supra-national investment. Young chemists and chemical engineers studying for their doctorates in Europe now expect to exchange information almost daily with their counterparts in other universities and travel regularly to other research locations, academic and industrial, within and beyond the continent. Much of the academic research is industry-oriented and stimulates industrial ventures, something which is encouraged by universities because of the opportunities for collaboration it brings. Such involvement works at different levels. For some the industrial demands are lightly applied with few constraints, but for others their research is focused on a topic that has been contracted to the university. Each of these kinds of research turns up major innovations, and bring impressive gains for both industry and academia. There is an ongoing and permanent need for some academics to carry out curiosity-driven research. There is a danger that, if all chemistry research is directed, it will lack the intellectual freedom of exploration. Without a significant measure of this, the attractiveness of research will diminish in the eyes of keen young scientists and deter them from pursuing a career in industry or academia. University departments will also appear less attractive to industrial chemists as places they might like to visit or collaborate with in order to acquire the experience and knowledge of new and exciting areas of chemistry which are essential to the development of new sources of innovation and of technology transfer. Universities have a unique environment where freedom of thought and experiment are devoted to the pursuit of excellence. Industries also have a unique environment, where the rigours of competition, the pressures of time and money and the risks of commercial endeavour provide a tough training. Both cultures have contributed to producing the world's leading chemical companies. In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, the close partnership between universities and the chemical industry is uniquely positioned to solve many of the problems posed by a vigorous and successful industry through the use and application of chemical technology. In the next four sections, we have chosen to represent the ways in which modern chemistry is evolving through research within four broad themes of great contemporary importance. The research we describe reveals the extent of interaction between groups in different fields and the growing efficiency with which data are now collected and disseminated. These sections show the advances in understanding the chemistry of biological processes and health, of ways of manipulating matter at the molecular level, of energy conservation and manufacturing plant design and of the oceans, the atmosphere and the continents, so critical to the survival of life on Earth. We convey in the following pages just a flavour of the exciting chemical discoveries which will enhance and improve the quality of life in the 21st century.

The European chemical industry is one of the few branches of manufacturing where Europe still plays the prime role in the world. If society and governments give it the support it needs, it will continue to meet the expectations of our citizens for better housing, transport, communications, health and leisure. This will require a commitment to education and better public communications, especially directed at young people, to ensure that the best brains of the next century are attracted to careers in chemistry and chemical engineering. In the following paragraphs we say something about the current state of our industry, what it offers and what governments can do to help. European assets The European chemical industry contributes more than 30 billion ecu to the trade balance; its turnover amounts to almost 1000 ecu per person in Europe. This commercial success enables it to be a major source of income to people and taxes to governments, as well as meeting the cost of its own capital investment in new technologies, funding research and planning development. All of this occurs within the constraints of environmental protection and safety and, although the early years of this century saw chemical plant disasters and unacceptable levels of pollution, the chemical industry of today has a safety record of which it can be proud. The chemical industry has always needed a high level of research and development, and 5% of its turnover is invested this way. Pharmaceutical companies invest up to 22%. The total research and technological development (R&TD) bill comes to around 20 billion ecu, a sum equal to the profits of the entire industry, showing its commitment to innovation. This investment is needed because the development of a new pharmaceutical drug requires about 300,000,000 ecu and a new plant-protection agent about 200,000,000 ecu. The industry shoulders these expenses as part of the commercial risks it has to take. Such investments will continue. Employment The European chemical industry comprises over 30,000 companies, 98% of which are small and medium-sized enterprises employing fewer than 500 people. The other 2% comprise some of the largest companies in the world. Indeed, six of the world's top 10 chemical companies are based in Europe. In all, the industry directly employs 1.65 million people, while many times this number work in other economic sectors which depend directly on its products. An even greater number depend indirectly on the wealth and taxes which it generates. Were these jobs to be lost it would be equivalent to putting out of work the entire population of a medium-sized member state, joining the nearly 20 million other EU citizens who are already unemployed. The future The European chemical industry can continue to flourish and improve, but only if it has the right conditions. These can be summed up as follows: excellent scientific and educational facilities strong and continuous support from public funds for exploratory research in the strategic domain and for technology developments in areas of strong social need public acceptance of scientific goals and a willingness to accept new technologies and products science-based and realistic legal requirements and guidelines Governments levying taxes on the industry will doubtless recognise its need to remain profitable and to finance future developments. In the global marketplace, however, the time from invention to delivery of a new product is getting shorter and shorter. The need for regulatory controls based on good science and appropriate consultation is accepted. Should the development, testing and pilot plant production of a new chemical product be unnecessarily slowed down by misguided regulation, the process becomes uncompetitive and beneficial new products are lost. This could lead to international chemical companies making their investments outside Europe. Europe has been a major driving force for progress for over 150 years. If this is to continue, the public must welcome the benefits of chemical innovation; for example, viewing the construction of new plants as a source of jobs and enlightened employment. There is a clear need for wider public education in the risks and benefits of innovation. The chemical industry is not asking for subsidies or special legislative exemptions, but for better appreciation of what our science offers and a better understanding of what constitutes reasonable risk. We want to see more effective interaction between scientists and industrialists on the one hand, and politicians and those in the media on the other, to set a new agenda for communicating with the general public, so that they are better briefed about the issues facing us all and the benefits that a vigorous chemical industry can bring. There are exciting times ahead with new challenges in chemistry, especially where it overlaps with other sciences, with remarkable innovation in chemical engineering helping to deliver new products and improving health. Europe has a major asset in its science and education base. This now needs to be strengthened. The benefits of doing this are demonstrated in the research initiatives that are reported in later pages of this report.

It is impractical to describe all the areas where chemistry and chemical engineering make a powerful impact on mankind's welfare. However, to highlight the particular concerns of European chemists and chemical engineers, we present some research in our university laboratories, research institutes and industries which is likely to lead to dramatic inventions of high significance in the near and more distant future in the areas of health and agriculture (Life Processes), the creation of new materials (Mastering Molecular Matter), the issues posed by energy consumption and chemical processing (Energy and Processing) and the protection of our environment (Caring for our Planet). The research activities we identify embrace much of contemporary chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology and chemical engineering, but our selections should not be interpreted as prescriptive or exclusive Ç merely illustrative of what is and what can be expected from this rich and varied area of science. In the final section (Chemistry and Society), we describe the impact which national government and European Commission policies can have on promoting the effectiveness of European chemists in research and development to sustain a world class chemical industry.