Catalyst Market

The global catalyst market was valued at $35.5 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $57.5 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2021 to 2030.

The catalysts market has been negatively impacted due to the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic owing to its dependence on oil & gas, chemical manufacturing, polymer catalysis, automotive, and other sectors.

Catalyst are chemical compounds that are used to improve the rate of chemical reaction by lowering or raising the activation energy of the process. However, they are not consumed during the reaction; moreover, spent catalysts can be reused after treatment. Zeolites, metals, chemical compounds, enzymes, and organometallic materials are different types of catalyst that are widely available in the market. Zeolites are a class of porous, hydrated aluminosilicates that are both, found naturally and chemically synthesized. They are most useful commercially due to their unique crystal structure, which allows them to act as molecular sieves. Industrial catalysts are mostly metals, as most metals have a large number of valence electrons; this permits the catalysts to use these free electrons to aid in the reactions before recalling them once the reaction is over. 

Over the last few decades, catalyst research has been focused on heterogeneous metal catalysts to overcome the limitations of their homogeneous counterparts to enhance products yields and minimizing side reactions. These are the major catalyst market growth factors. Graphene doped with nitrogen and augmented with cobalt atoms has demonstrated to be an effective and durable catalyst to produce hydrogen from water, thus replacing platinum, a significant step toward lower cost catalysts for energy production. All these factors collectively surge the demand for catalyst, thereby augmenting the global market growth.
However, different chemical reactions require different catalyst and catalyst are expensive. This factor hampers the market growth. 

On the contrary, the industrial chemical usage is advanced toward reducing the cost and scarcity of catalytic species based on rare metals, through the development of metal reclaiming processes. An alternative strategy to metal reclaiming processes is to avoid the use of scarce metals, while adopting more earth-abundant and cheaper base metal catalysts. The major advantages to the use of base metal catalysts, apart from the greater abundance and low cost, include the fact that base metals exhibit low toxicity and are also environmentally benign. It is a key factor that is anticipated to offer new opportunity in the global catalyst market. 

The global catalyst market analysis is done on the basis of type, application, and region. Depending on type, the market is divided into zeolites, metals, chemical compounds, enzymes, and organometallic materials. The applications covered in the study include petroleum refining, chemical synthesis, polymer catalysis, and environmental. Region-wise, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. 

The major companies profiled in this report include Albemarle Corporation, BASF SE, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, Clariant AG, Dorf Ketal Chemicals (I) Pvt. Ltd., Dow Chemical Company, Evonik Industries AG, Exxonmobil Corporation, Johnson Matthey, and W.R. Grace and Co.

Catalyst market, by region

The Asia-Pacific catalyst market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period and accounted for 39.6% of catalyst market share in 2020, and. This is attributed to the Asia’s consumption of compounded catalysts is expected to increase, assisted by the region’s growing population, improving infrastructure, and stable economic growth. Emerging markets such as China and India are expected to show the highest increase in demand for environmental catalysts and polymer products. Abundant coal-to-chemical processes and shale gas investment are expected to boost China’s growth rate in the forecasted period.

Catalyst market, by type

In 2020, the metals segment was the largest revenue generator, and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. Industrial catalysts are mostly metals, as most metals have a large number of valence electrons; this permits the catalysts to use these free electrons to aid in the reactions before recalling them once the reaction is over. For example, iron-based catalysts are used for making ammonia, and nickel catalysts assist in the production of saturated fats. Transition metals such as iron, nickel, cobalt, platinum, manganese, chromium, and their compounds are the common catalysts used in various industries these days. 

Catalyst market, by application

In 2020, the environmental application was the largest revenue generator, and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period. Environmental catalysis is widely used in important commercial sectors, with enormous benefits for the protection of the environment and for the improvement of life. Heterogeneous catalysts are efficiently applied to reduce vehicle-generated air pollution, along with nitrogen oxide (NO) emissions from stationary sources such as power plants and boilers, to process oil in obtaining cleaner fuels having low sulfur and nitrogen content, and to destroy waste, pesticides, dioxine, and furane emissions.

Key benefits for stakeholders

• Porter’s five forces analysis helps analyze the potential of buyers & suppliers and the competitive scenario of the industry for strategy building.
• It outlines the current catalyst market trends and future estimations from 2020 to 2030 to understand the prevailing opportunities and potential investment pockets.
• The major countries in the region have been mapped according to their individual revenue contribution to the regional market.
• The key drivers, restraints, and opportunities and their detailed impact analysis are explained in the study.
• The profiles of key players and their key strategic developments are enlisted in the report.

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Global Catalyst Market

• The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and the economy across the globe. 
• The catalysts market has been negatively impacted due to the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic owing to its dependence on oil & gas, chemical manufacturing, polymer catalysis, automotive, and other sectors. According to a report published by Energy and Economic Growth Survey, the oil & gas sector is among the hardest hit sector with an average contraction of -2.8% in 2020. Also, more than 100 countries have locked their international borders for transportation and non-essential trade activities which in turn have reduced the consumption of catalysts among the automotive sectors. 
• Furthermore, the temporary shutdown of oil refineries amid the COVID-19 period has led to demand-supply disruptions. For instance, according to a report published by the Indian Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, the central public sector enterprise (CPSE) refineries has produced 7,103.76 thousand metric tons (TMT) of crude oil in April 2020 that is 28.91% lower than the target for the month and 36.93% lower than the production achieved in the corresponding month of 2019. This has severely affected the demand for catalysts market among the oil refineries during the COVID-19 situation where catalysts are widely used for desulfurization, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), and other applications. 
• Also, several chemical manufacturing companies have either shut down or shrank their operations due to the risk of infections among the workforce where catalysts are widely used for chemical synthesis, hydroprocessing, and other applications. This has temporarily hampered the demand for the catalysts market amid the COVID-19 period. 
• In addition, the falling income of customers has led to a contraction in the sales of both light and heavy-duty vehicles which in turn has decreased the demand for catalysts in the automotive sectors. For instance, according to a report published by Wipro, the sales of passenger cars saw a 30% decline in March 2020 as compared to March 2019, owing to lockdowns and shutdowns of auto plants. In addition, the travel restrictions imposed by the governments of various countries have led the aerospace & aviation sectors to witness temporary downfall. Also, COVID-19 has put a temporary brake on various aircraft manufacturing projects which in turn has shrunk the demand for catalysts among the aerospace & aviation sectors. 
• However, several key players such as BASF SE, and others are constantly engaged in widening their footprints and looking for new investment opportunities amid the COVID-19 situation. For instance, BASF SE invested in expanding the capacity of its mobile emission catalyst plant in Chennai, India. Also, BASF SE expanded its chemical catalyst recycling capacity and capability in Caldwell, Texas. These events are expected to enhance the performance of the catalysts market post-COVID-19 scenario.

Key market segments

By Type

• Zeolites
  • Linde Type A (LTA)
  • Faujasite (FAU)
  • Mobil Five (MFI)
  • Others
• Metals
  • Base Metals
  • Precious Metals
• Chemical Compounds
  • Acids
  • Amines
  • Peroxides
  • Other Chemicals
• Enzymes
• Organometallic Materials

By Application

• Petroleum Refining
  • Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC)
  • Alkylation Catalysts
  • Hydro Processing Catalysts
  • Catalytic Reforming
  • Others
• Chemical Synthesis
  • Polyolefins
  • Catalytic Oxidation
  • Hydrogenation Catalysts
  • Others
• Polymer Catalysis
  • Ziegler Natta
  • Reaction Initiator
  • Single Site
  • Others
• Environmental
  • Light Duty Vehicles
  • Heavy Duty Vehicles
  • Others

By Region

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
• LAMEA
  • Brazil
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Rest of LAMEA

Key players in the global catalyst market are:

• Albemarle Corporation Johnson Matthey
• BASF SE 
• Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC
• Clariant AG
• Dorf Ketal Chemicals (I) Pvt. Ltd.
• Dow Chemical Company
• Evonik Industries AG
• Exxonmobil Corporation
• Johnson Matthey
• W.R. Grace and Co

 Catalyst Market Report Highlights