Clariant and China’s National Congress on Catalysis solidify partnership to further support catalytic research towards a green, low-carbon future

• Clariant announces sponsorship of National Catalysis Achievement Award until 2025 at 20th National Congress on Catalysis of China
• Prize recognizes most significant R&D achievement in the catalysis field in China
• Award sponsorship builds on Clariant’s existing Chinese research partnerships and state-of-the-art R&D center in Shanghai

Munich, October 19, 2021 – As this year’s 20th National Congress on Catalysis of China (NCC) gets underway in Wuhan, Clariant has presented the 8th National Catalysis Achievement Award for outstanding R&D achievement in the field to Youchang Xie, Professor of Physical Chemistry at Beijing’s Peking University.

A key theme of the Congress this year is catalytic science and technology for a green, low-carbon future. Professor Xie, who is also vice chairman of the Academic Committee of the State Key National Laboratory of Catalysis, is internationally recognized as playing an important role in the research and development of catalysts and adsorbents.

“Highly effective carbon monoxide adsorbents and separation technologies, based on his theory, have made China’s coal-based and broader chemical industries more environmentally friendly and resource-efficient,” said Marvin Estenfelder, Head of R&D at Clariant Catalysts. “As a key industry innovator and driver of sustainable chemical production, we are proud to recognize Professor Xie’s distinguished contributions to the field.”

“I’m proud to receive this award as I have dedicated my professional life to chemical research and teaching, with a focus on catalysis. As sustainability becomes more important I am pleased to see innovations that drive greener production processes being implemented in the industry and I would like to thank the Catalysis Society of China and Clariant for presenting and supporting this prize,” said Xie.

Research will play an increasingly important role in the transition to carbon neutrality and Clariant’s sponsorship of this important award for three instalments of the Congress – 2021, 2023, 2025 – builds on its existing research co-operations with top universities in China. Clariant Catalysts also recently opened a new, state-of-the-art R&D center, “One Clariant Campus”, in Shanghai, where a local team of researchers is dedicated to sustainable innovation.

All these initiatives support Clariant’s commitment to helping customers reach their sustainability targets by continually working to improve the efficiency of existing production processes in the chemical industry with novel approaches such as Power-to-X.

The biennial 20th National Congress on Catalysis of China is being held October 15-20, in Wuhan. The NCC is the largest conference on catalysis in China attracting thousands of industry participants.