The future of catalysis is coming into focus at Future Days 2026

Many of the technologies shaping the future have one thing in common: they depend on catalysis. From the production of fuels and petrochemical feedstocks, plastics and polymers, fertilizers that support global food systems, and the manufacture of essential industrial chemicals, catalysts underpin some of the world’s largest industries. At the same time, catalysts play a critical role in reducing emissions through environmental control technologies. Emerging low-carbon applications such as hydrogen production, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), sustainable chemicals, and circular manufacturing are now building on this foundation, creating new opportunities for catalysis to accelerate the energy transition and scale impact.

It’s already a booming industry: an estimated 90% of all commercially produced chemical products involve a catalyst at some stage of manufacture. That market is set to grow rapidly over the next decade as demand for chemicals, polymers, and synthetic fuels rises, even as the pressure to cut energy use and emissions increases.

Professionals in the sector face a constant challenge to see what’s coming next. Which technologies will scale? Which markets will open up? What standards and analytical capabilities will companies need to implement to realize commercial viability at scale?

Questions like these are exactly what we’ll be discussing at Future Days 2026.

Join us on September 22 at 15:00 CEST to hear experts from across the sector dig into the future of the catalysis industry. Here’s what you can expect.

What is Future Days: Catalysts?

Future Days: Catalysts is a live studio panel discussion bringing together leaders from industry, academia, and standards organizations to discuss the trends transforming the catalysis landscape and what they mean for material developers and innovators.

We’ll move beyond academic theory to the heart of real-world catalysis challenges. By the end of the session, you’ll understand:

• How catalysts are accelerating hydrogen, CCUS, and sustainable chemical production
• Why advanced analytical characterization is becoming critical to catalyst innovation
• How industry, academia, and standards organizations are shaping the future of catalysis
• How evolving standards can speed up commercialization of catalyst technologies
• The trends, opportunities, and challenges likely to define catalysis over the next decade

Who should attend Future Days: Catalysts?

This session is for anyone working in or around catalyst development, characterization, or commercialization.

That includes catalyst scientists and researchers, but also:

• R&D managers in chemical, refining and petrochemical industries
• Hydrogen and CCUS technology developers
• Process development and scale-up engineers
• Academic researchers in catalysis and reaction engineering
• Standards and regulatory professionals

Meet our catalysis experts

At the heart of any Future Days session is our expert panel, and this lineup brings together decades of experience across catalyst manufacturing, standards development, academia and analytical science.

Dr. Maurits van Tol, former CEO, Johnson Matthey Catalysts

Maurits led Johnson Matthey Catalysts as CEO, giving him a clear vantage point on where catalyst technology has been and where the industry needs to go next as it navigates the shift to a lower-carbon world.

Prof. Dr. Christian Seidel, Chief Advisor, Wohlers Associates, Powered by ASTM

Christian’s career goal is to help the additive manufacturing industry scale by a factor of 10. He advises Wohlers Associates, powered by ASTM International: a technical, market, and strategic consulting firm supports additive manufacturing, 3D printing, and rapid product development.

Christian will discuss how standards help emerging technologies move from laboratory innovation to commercial markets, and the lessons catalysis can apply.

Dr. Matthew Rayner, Senior Specialist in Analytical Excellence, Ketjen

Matthew manages the lab at Ketjen, putting him on the front line of day-to-day catalyst development and characterization work. He’ll bring the practitioner’s view of what’s actually happening on the bench.

Dr. Luca Lucarelli, Senior Application Scientist, Malvern Panalytical

Luca works directly with catalyst researchers and manufacturers on the analytical challenges they face every day, translating characterization techniques into insights that speed up development.

He’ll bring this experience of a wide range of catalysis applications to the discussion, offering a bridging perspective between day-to-day challenges and sector change.

Dr. Hadeel Hussain, Product Manager XRD, Malvern Panalytical

Hadeel leads product strategy for X-ray diffraction, bringing insight into how structural characterization requirements are evolving as catalyst materials become increasingly sophisticated. As such Hadeel is driving the commercialization of Malvern Panalytical’s X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) solution, helping researchers combine crystallographic and local atomic-scale insights to better understand catalyst structure, composition and performance.

Dr. Ignacio Garcia, General Manager, PID, Malvern Panalytical

Ignacio brings a business and market-facing perspective, with visibility into how customer needs across the catalysis space are shifting as the industry scales up new technologies.

Get ready for Future Days

Catalysis is about to go through a decade of rapid change. This is your chance to hear directly from the people shaping it.

If you’re working anywhere along the catalyst value chain, whether that’s bench-scale research or commercial-scale process engineering, this session is for you.

Don’t miss out. Register for FREE now