Zeolyst International

Zeolyst International is a global leader in specialty zeolite powders, catalysts, and adsorbents, serving industries such as refining, petrochemicals, emission controls, and renewable fuels.

Founded in 1988, Zeolyst is a joint venture between Ecovyst Catalyst Technologies LLC and Shell Catalysts and Technologies, and operates high-capacity facilities in Kansas, USA, and Delfzijl, the Netherlands.

Its mission? To design value driving zeolite-based materials that improve economics, lower emissions, and speed the transition to cleaner energy systems.

From the outset, Zeolyst’s work is grounded in materials science, adapting and tuning zeolites to meet client-specific technical and regulatory needs. Its offerings range from standard powders and formed zeolite catalysts to highly engineered, proprietary materials. These are the unseen backbone for customers worldwide, producing renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, green chemicals, and paraxylene—the building block of plastics and synthetic fibers—and improving air quality through emission controls and advanced recycling technologies.

“We co-create solutions with our customers that accelerate the transition to cleaner fuels and sustainable growth. Their success defines our success”, says Lucy Innes, Vice President and General Manager. This underlines the customer focus at the heart of every Zeolyst project.

Engineering Custom Solutions

Every engagement at Zeolyst begins with a deep technical conversation. Clients bring complex challenges, including boosting renewable diesel or aviation fuel yields, extending catalyst lifespans, and meeting new government mandates for cleaner operations. Zeolyst’s technical team responds with an innovation cycle built on collaboration, confidentiality, and continuous improvement. Each requirement is treated as a distinct puzzle, rather than a one-size-fits- all case. Company scientists fine-tune the properties of zeolites, such as crystal size, silica-to alumina ratio, or metal addition, and then submit lead candidates for real-world plant trials, refining them until the target metrics are fully realized.

The Opal Renew^™ zeolites line is Zeolyst’s flagship catalyst family for producing renewable fuels. Purpose-built for catalytic dewaxing and alcohol-to-jet pathways, Opal Renew^™ zeolites enable refiners to convert feedstocks such as vegetable oils and waste fats into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. These catalysts directly support compliance with global carbon-reduction targets, particularly in hard-to-electrify sectors like aviation, which today accounts for approximately 2.5 percent of global emissions.

Beyond renewables, Zeolyst’s specialty Zeolites drive the advanced recycling of plastics with the Opal Infinity^™ zeolites range, clean air through the Opal Pure^™ zeolites for emission control, and enable water purification with Opal Blue^™ zeolites. Zeolyst often partners with customers across multiple product generations, supporting them through shifting market conditions and regulatory changes. Some relationships extend beyond two decades and several innovation cycles, with Zeolyst providing hands-on technical support to ensure new deployments deliver measurable value.

Leading the Global Race for Clean Energy

Zeolyst’s reputation as a global leader rests on sustained technical rigor and nimble innovation. Its R&D efforts, strengthened through collaboration with industry leaders, enable rapid scale-up from laboratory concept to commercial production. Zeolyst is not just offering products; it is providing solutions for cleaner energy, greener chemicals, improved profitability, and regulatory compliance, serving customers ranging from multinational refiners to emerging clean-tech innovators.

With decades of expertise and a relentless drive to solve the evolving challenges of energy and chemicals, Zeolyst’s purpose is clear: to empower clients and industries worldwide to build a cleaner, more sustainable future through the precision, performance, and ingenuity of innovative catalysis.