The issue
The chemical industry is one of the most energy-intensive sectors globally. It relies heavily on fossil fuels for the production of feedstock, and to generate the energy needed for extreme temperatures, high pressures and demanding separation steps that are critical to most chemical reactions. As a result, the sector is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy consumption is not just an environmental cost, but a key financial consideration, too. Energy inefficiency can erode a company’s profitability, affecting its competitiveness. These challenges drive demand for a new path forward, rethinking conventional practices and accelerating the search for new solutions.
As essential drivers of most chemical reactions, catalysts lie at the heart of this transformation, offering a route to better efficiency and sustainability.
Evonik’s solutions
Evonik Catalysts’ innovations are paving the way for more energy-efficient chemical production, whether through improving existing processes or developing new ones from scratch. By pioneering cutting-edge technologies and collaborating with leading industry partners, we’re delivering solutions that lower energy consumption and improve reaction efficiency, while also reducing waste and emissions. These advances help to minimize the environmental impact of chemical production, without compromising performance or cost efficiency.
A prime example is our HPPO (Hydrogen Peroxide to Propylene Oxide) technology, which avoids harmful byproducts, improves yield efficiency, and delivers cost savings to customers. Since its development over 20 years ago, four industrial-scale HPPO plants have already been licensed worldwide.
By rethinking materials and traditional approaches, we can enable more sustainable, efficient, and high-performing alternatives. Our innovative nickel foam catalysts* require considerably less quantities of catalyst to achieve the same product output, offering longer catalyst lifetime and reduced maintenance costs in downstream equipment.
Collaboration is central to innovation, whatever the sector, and through our partnerships with major industry players we’re delivering tailored catalyst solutions designed to reduce emissions, enhance process efficiency, optimize product yield and eliminate harmful byproducts. In partnership with Westlake-Vinnolit, we’ve developed hydrogenation catalysts that clean up VCM production by reducing toxic byproducts, for a greener process.
How this drives sustainability
Our focus on sustainable catalytic processes is delivering solutions that offer tangible benefits for refiners and chemical manufacturers worldwide. Our Next Generation Solutions simplify and speed up chemical reactions, generate better yield and selectivity and create fewer unwanted byproducts – decreasing overall energy and resource consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.
As well as facilitating a more energy-efficient circular economy, these innovations act as a key driver for profitable growth, supporting greater operational efficiency and giving customers a competitive edge.