ACD/Labs and Covestro Announce Collaboration Delivering AI-Supported Solvent Selection at PhysChem Forum 2025

The organizations have combined their expertise in chemical synthesis, physicochemical property prediction, and software development to deliver a tool that will transform solvent selection in chemical research through artificial intelligence (AI)

13 October 2025 -- Basel, Switzerland -- ACD/Labs, an informatics company that develops and commercializes software in support of R&D, and Covestro, a global leader in high-performance polymers, have joined forces to bring AI-powered solvent recommendation capabilities to the Percepta® platform. The announcement was made at the annual PhysChem Forum meeting (PCF 2025), hosted by F. Hoffmann-La Roche. This collaboration will make it easier for chemists worldwide to accelerate discovery and improve efficiency in chemical research. By integrating the validated AI tool from Covestro into ACD/Labs’ suite of digital solutions, scientists will gain rapid, data-driven guidance to make better-informed decisions in the laboratory.

Selecting the right solvent can be a crucial decision in chemical research, shaping the success, efficiency, and sustainability of experiments. Traditionally, this process has been limited by narrow solvent familiarity and time-consuming quantum chemical calculations, or trial-and-error. To streamline this process, Covestro developed an AI-driven approach to solvent recommendations, enabling them to broaden solvent choice and improve decision-making. Now, through this partnership, the innovative new solvent recommendation tool will be made available to the wider scientific community as part of ACD/Labs’ Percepta.

“This collaboration empowers scientists with recommendations which enhance chemical experiment design, while also helping organizations achieve corporate sustainability aspirations. The collaborative innovation efforts of ACD/Labs and Covestro represent how industry-leading organizations can come together to deliver practical value to the global scientific community,” says Andrew Anderson, Vice President of Innovation and Informatics Strategy at ACD/Labs.

The integration of AI-powered solvent recommendations into Percepta reflects ACD/Labs’ ongoing commitment to advancing digital science and supporting more efficient, sustainable research. By combining ACD/Labs’ expertise in predictive modelling software with the pioneering work Covestro has done in AI for solvent selection, this collaboration represents a step forward for informatics solutions that directly support bench chemists.

“Digitalization and AI are important aspects of innovation at Covestro. Partnering with ACD/Labs allows us to share our advances in solvent selection with a global community, helping to push the boundaries of sustainable and efficient research in different industries but with the same passion for molecular transformations,” says Jens Langanke, Head of R&D Simulations & Data Science, Covestro Deutschland AG.

This partnership highlights the growing convergence of artificial intelligence and chemical R&D. By embedding innovation from Covestro into the Percepta ecosystem, ACD/Labs is reinforcing its commitment to providing scientists with practical, cutting-edge tools that improve workflows, conserve resources, and accelerate discovery.
Ask ACD/Labs staff about the new AI-powered Solvent Recommender tool in Percepta at the PhysChem Forum, or find out more at www.acdlabs.com/PhysChemSuite

About ACD/Labs
ACD/Labs is a leading provider of scientific software, aiding decision-making and digital transformation in chemical and pharmaceutical R&D. Our science-centric solutions offer harmonized, AI-ready analytical, structural, and molecular information, with FAIR-compliance. Our cloud-enabled technologies enable the proliferation of chemically intelligent knowledge and workflow automation. For >30 years, we have partnered with global organizations to enhance productivity and accelerate scientific innovation. For more information, please visit www.acdlabs.com.

About Covestro
Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer
materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and
methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many
areas. Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as
mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In
addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure,
telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.
The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In addition, Covestro
aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035,
and the Group’s Scope 3 emissions are also set to be climate neutral by 2050.
Covestro generated sales of EUR 14.2 billion in fiscal year 2024. At the end of 2024,
the company had 46 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,500
people (calculated as full-time equivalents). Visit: www.covestro.com/en.