What will define the next decade of catalysis? Our panel event brought together leaders from industry, academia, and standards organizations to share their perspectives.
Catalysts are at the heart of some of the world's most important industrial transitions, from hydrogen production and carbon utilization to sustainable chemicals and circular manufacturing. But what technologies, markets, and innovations are setting the course for the next decade of catalyst development?
In our Future Days 2026 discussion, leaders from across catalyst manufacturing, academic research, standards organizations, and analytical science came together to answer this question.
Our panelists shed light on emerging market opportunities, the latest advances in catalyst development, evolving standards and regulations, and the analytical insights needed to accelerate innovation. From achieving circularity to optimizing production, attendees gained a unique view of how the catalyst landscape is evolving and what organizations can do today to prepare for the breakthroughs of tomorrow.
The Future of Catalysis Starts Here
It’s not too late to be a part of it. Explore the speaker sessions on demand below.
Dr. Maurits van Tol, former CEO, Johnson Matthey Catalysts
We have the clean technology needed to replace fossil-based incumbents, but cost and risk prevent large projects from scaling. Cross-sector partnerships are necessary to overcome this challenge – Dr. Maurits van Tol shows the way.
Christian Seidel, Prof. Dr.-Ing., Chief Advisor, Wohlers Associates, Powered by ASTM
Additive manufacturing is a case study in standards enabling innovation at scale, through shared terminology, harmonized testing, and coordinated standardization. Christian Seidel shares three transferable lessons for the catalysis industry.
Dr. Matthew Rayner, Senior Specialist in Analytical Excellence, Ketjen
Dr. Matthew Rayner walks listeners through Ketjen’s evolution into a global center for catalyst refining, including sharing the analytical methods that turn a good recipe into a consistent product.
Ignacio Garcia, General Manager PID, Malvern Panalytical
Ignacio Garcia outlines how chemical reactor technology is turning waste into opportunity, as traditional refining shifts toward transforming CO2, biomass, and plastic waste into methanol, renewable hydrocarbons, and recovered feedstocks.
Dr. Jan Gertenbach, Market Development Manager, Malvern Panalytical
Dr. Jan Gertenbach explores how laboratory X-ray absorption spectroscopy can bring active-site insight into routine catalyst development. By combining XAS with established XRD workflows on Empyrean, researchers can investigate oxidation state, coordination environment, bond distances, and local disorder — helping connect catalyst performance to the chemistry occurring around the active atom.
Dr. Luca Lucarelli, Senior Application Scientist, Malvern Panalytical
Dr. Luca Lucarelli shows how gas–solid characterization can turn catalyst data into design insight. From surface area and porosity to chemisorption, TPD, TPR, and TPO, he explores how understanding accessible sites, adsorption strength, and deactivation can help researchers design better catalysts for future processes.