Russia's Sibur prepares to break ground on catalyst production plant

Russia’s Sibur will kick off construction of a catalyst manufacturing plant to support petrochemicals production in Tatarstan in the second quarter of this year, the company said on February 24.

The facility will be located in Kazan, near Sibur’s flagship research centre, which is scheduled to launch in 2026, and close to the Kazanorgsintez chemical plant. The factory will have an annual production capacity of more than 1,000 tonnes of catalysts.

The facility’s first train, dedicated to the production of chromium catalysts, is set to start operations in 2027. These catalysts are currently used at Kazanorgsintez and ZapSibNeftekhim, another Sibur petrochemicals complex in operation in Tobolsk. Chromium catalysts are also set to be deployed at the Amur gas chemicals complex in the Amur region, due also to start up in 2027. 

Chromium catalysts are applied in the production of film and blow-moulded polyethylene grades, which are used in manufacturing canisters, bottles and fuel tanks.

The facility will later expand with five more trains to produce two types of metallocene catalysts and two types of titanium catalysts. A sixth train  will manufacture silica gel, used as a carrier for catalytic systems.

Sibur has already completed design documents for the first train, and the project was presented at the Future Technologies forum in Moscow last week.

The plant will be the first in Russia and the CIS region to produce all types of polymerisation catalysts required for the production of polyethylene and polypropylene, the most in-demand synthetic materials. Sibur data indicate that polyethylene and polypropylene production in Russia and the CIS amounted to 7.9mn tonnes in 2024. With ongoing investment projects by Sibur and other companies, this figure could more than double by 2030.

Catalysts are a key component of the petrochemical industry, with over 50% of known polymers produced using catalytic systems. This enables a broad range of polymer grades for various industries, including transport, construction, agriculture, healthcare, food packaging and consumer goods. A significant portion of catalysts for basic polymer production is currently imported from allied countries.

By 2030, Sibur aims to localise polymer production using technologies developed by leading Russian research institutions, including Moscow State University and the Russian Academy of Sciences, under state grant programmes supporting industry-oriented research.

Last December, Sibur launched Russia’s first petrochemicals technology piloting centre at its Tobolsk production cluster. The centre is expected to accelerate the development of proprietary catalysts and new polymer grades by up to ten times. It features infrastructure supporting 12 polypropylene and polyethylene production technologies, covering 90% of those used in Russia. Last November, Sibur also unveiled its new catalyst Nobel, designed for the synthesis of propylene, a monomer essential for polypropylene production.