Albemarle to sell catalyst units

In the third major deal in the catalyst space in recent months, the chemical firm Albemarle plans to sell much of its catalyst business for $660 million. The divestiture includes two separate transactions. The private equity group KPS is buying 51% of Ketjen’s petroleum refining catalyst business, and the chemical engineering and manufacturing firm Axens is buying Albemarle’s half of the two firms’ catalyst recycling joint venture, Eurecat. Ketjen is the catalyst business that Albemarle spun off as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2024.The moves follow related rearrangements among catalyst suppliers earlier this year. In June, Honeywell signed a $2.3 billion deal to acquire Johnson Matthey’s business in catalysts for syngas-fed chemical production. And in September, Technip Energies agreed to purchase units from Ecovyst that make catalysts and catalyst supports from silica and zeolite for $556 million. Albemarle in recent years has increased its focus on lithium production and processing, anticipating strong growth in mobile and stationary batteries. The firm projects that the market for lithium chemicals will double between now and 2030. In 2024, Albemarle’s energy storage division brought in 56% of its net sales.Despite that optimism, lithium demand is currently down because electric vehicle sales have slowed, and supportive policies around clean energy and grid resilience are under political assault, especially in the US. As a result, several battery makers have paused or canceled capacity expansions this year. For Albemarle, the exit from catalysts is likely motivated by a need for cash due to those rough conditions, according