Catalyst Market Outlook - 2030
The global catalyst market Size 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 surge in demand for specialty chemicals, such as high-performance polymers, agrochemicals, and advanced materials, coupled with the rapid expansion of the pharmaceutical industry, significantly drives the demand for catalysts in the global market.
Introduction
A catalyst is a substance that alters the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed or undergoing any permanent change itself. By providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower activation energy, catalysts enable reactions to occur more efficiently and often at lower temperatures or pressures. This ability to accelerate reactions without participating as a reactant makes catalysts invaluable in a wide range of industrial and biological processes. Catalysts are crucial in numerous fields, including energy production, manufacturing, environmental protection, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Market Dynamics
Specialty chemicals, which include high-performance polymers, agrochemicals, paints, adhesives, and electronic chemicals, require precise and efficient manufacturing processes to meet the specialized needs of various industries. Catalysts play a crucial role in these processes by accelerating chemical reactions, increasing yields, and improving the overall efficiency of production. As industries such as electronics, automotive, agriculture, and construction increasingly rely on specialty chemicals for advanced materials and formulations, the demand for catalysts that enable production of these complex compounds rises. All these factors are expected to boost the demand for catalysts during the forecast period.
However, catalysts often rely on precious metals such as platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold, which are expensive and are subject to price volatility due to limited global supply and high demand across various industries. These metals are particularly crucial in applications such as automotive catalytic converters, petrochemical refining, and fuel cell technologies. As a result, the cost of acquiring and using these precious metals has significantly increased the overall production expenses for industries that depend on catalysts, making it difficult for manufacturers to maintain cost efficiency, therefore hampering the growth of the catalyst market.
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.
Market Segmentation
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.
By Process
Regeneration process is projected as the fastest growing segment
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.
By Region
Asia-Pacific would exhibit highest CAGR of 5.4% during 2021-2030.
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.
By Type
Enzymes type is the most lucrative segment
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.
By Application
Environmental application is projected as the fastest growing segment
Competitive Landscape
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.
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.
Catalyst Market Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 By TYPE |
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 By APPLICATION |
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 By Region |
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 Key Market Players | EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BASF SE, DORF KETAL CHEMICALS (I) PVT. LTD., W.R. GRACE & CO., CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL COMPANY LLC, JOHNSON MATTHEY, ALBEMARLE CORPORATION, CLARIANT AG, DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY, EVONIK INDUSTRIES AG |
Analyst Review
The global catalyst market is expected to exhibit high growth potential owing to its use in applications such as petroleum refining, chemical synthesis, and polymer catalysis. Crude oil is the largest energy source for automotive fuels worldwide and the major source for the production of a variety of chemical products. Reforming process is widely used in petroleum refineries and use of platinum catalyst for this process is experiencing steady growth. Platinum catalysts are proven to increase the octane rating of the naphtha products and their usage is an economical process as compared to other refining process that yields gasoline products with high octane rating or number.
In addition, FCC is among the most important and readily used conversion process in refineries, producing high-octane gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil. It is predominantly used to refine heavy fuel oils into gasoline and lighter products; previously using precious metal catalysts, though recently zeolite catalysts such as FAU and ZSM-5 are preferred for catalytic cracking reactions due to their increased activity, which is predicted to offer lucrative growth opportunities in future.
Asia-Pacific is expected to witness significant growth in the global catalysts market for chemical synthesis, with China as the leading country. This is due to availability of raw materials, subsequently promoting expansion of production capacities and attracting investors to set up production facilities in the region is the key market trend. Rise in global demand for catalysts for chemical synthesis is expected to be influenced by chemical and oil & gas industries in emerging economies such as Asia-Pacific and LAMEA. Current research aim at the development of enhanced catalysts for industrial reactions due to the growth in need to promote “green chemistry” throughout the commercial sector. This is not only gaining immense attention in the market but also emerging as a key strategy in terms of gaining additional product demand. Furthermore, chemical synthesis is extensively involved in industrial processes and reactions due to the wide range of activities dependent or supported by them, as the chemical industry provides feedstocks and raw materials to almost every industry. Development of new catalysts for biochemical generation will further allow their catalysis potential to expand. This factor is anticipated to offer new opportunities in the global market.
Macrotrend steer economic growth toward higher utilization of catalytic process and stringent environmental legislation regarding automotive emission are the key factors boosting the catalyst market growth
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.
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. are the most established players of the global catalyst market
Automotive industry is projected to increase the demand for catalyst market
The global catalyst market analysis is done on the basis of type, process, application, and region. Depending on type, the market is divided into zeolites, metals, chemical compounds, enzymes, and organometallic materials. On the basis of process, it is fragmented into recycling, regeneration, and rejuvenation. 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 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 the main driver of catalyst Market
Petroleum refining, chemical synthesis, and polymer catalysis applications are expected to drive the adoption of catalyst.
COVID-19 has impacted negatively on the catalyst market. This is attributed due to • 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.
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