Refinery Catalyst Market Trends

Growth Drivers:

• Growing demand for clean fuels: The global push for more clean forms of fuel is expected to boost the growth of the market. Environmental policies, especially around the reduction of sulfur and nitrogen in fuels, have boosted the implementation of catalytic processes developed by refiners. For example, India adopted and upgraded its Bharat Stage IV to Bharat Stage VI, or BS-VI norms, in 2020, leading to reduced levels of sulfur in diesel and gasoline. These regulations identify the demand growth for more effective catalysts that can remove impurities, thus creating demand for FCC and hydrotreating catalysts.
• Refinery capacities growth: The rapid industrialization in the Asia Pacific and Europe, particularly India, China, and Germany, respectively, coupled with internally rising demand for energy, makes one of the decisive influencers in the refinery catalyst market. The companies in these regions are upgrading their refineries and partnering with local players to meet the growing demand for refined products. For instance, in January 2024, BASF Process Catalysts and Envision Energy partnered to develop new process designs, capable of converting green hydrogen and CO2 to e-methanol with greater efficiency. The BASF SYNSPIRET catalyst technology is expected to become an integral part of the Envision Energy Management System, to help innovations in refining and open up new prospects in the eco-friendly refining solution market.
• Catalyst technology developments: Advancements in catalyst technologies such as multi-catalysts, promote efficiency and selectivity within refineries. These also facilitate the processing of heavier crudes at significantly lower energy consumption levels. For example, in March 2024, Clariant announced the launch of its CLARITY Prime offering, an advanced catalytic performance monitoring service for syngas plants that utilizes machine learning to give plants the capability to ensure they are operating at peak efficiency.

Challenges:  

• Oil price fluctuations: The volatility in the price of crude oil puts a lot of pressure on the profitability of refineries, which reduces the demand for catalysts. During low oil prices, the refineries do not invest in new technologies, which means upgrading, which would impact the refining catalyst market. According to a 2022 report by the IEA, oil price fluctuation results in a 5 percent decrease in European refinery upgrades in 2022. This happens when volatile prices stall growth in the market.
• Environmental regulations and compliance: Stricter environmental regulations often complicate the use of new catalysts. Refineries have to constantly fulfill changing emissions legislations at huge costs. The European Commission proposed new standards for emissions of carbon in 2023, which binds the hands of refineries and presses them into investing in such catalysts that enable them to emit low levels of carbon dioxide. The regulatory pressure could be both a boon and a bane for catalyst manufacturing companies.