#green innovation

Achieving climate-neutral production across the chemical and process industries requires the integration of multiple pathways at industrial scale. Key levers include defossilising carbon supply through the use of bio-based, recycled and CO₂-derived feedstocks, electrifying processes with renewable power, improving efficiency and heat integration, and deploying carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) where appropriate. Contributions are invited on carbon management strategies, life-cycle greenhouse gas assessment (including system boundaries and accounting methods), industrial symbiosis, and the techno-economic and infrastructure challenges of scaling these solutions across existing and new production assets.

• Greenhouse gas emissions reduction
• Bio-based and recycled feedstocks
• Carbon management strategies
• Lifecycle assessment
• Industrial decarbonisation

Keeping carbon in productive use rather than releasing it as waste is essential for sustainable value chains in the chemical and process industries. Mechanical and chemical recycling, bio-based feedstocks and cross-sector material flows are increasingly converging into integrated circular carbon strategies. Contributions are invited on recycled feedstock quality, mass balance approaches, and industrial carbon cycles.

• Circular carbon economy
• Chemical and mechanical recycling
• Bio-based feedstocks
• Mass balance approaches
• Recycled feedstock quality
• Industrial carbon cycles

Alternative feedstocks are gaining relevance as climate-neutral production depends increasingly on non-fossil carbon sources and their industrial conversion. Thus, replacing fossil-derived carbon with biomass, waste-derived streams and CO₂ is becoming a strategic requirement for the defossilisation of process industries. Contributions are invited on thermochemical, catalytic and biochemical conversion routes, feedstock pre-treatment, catalyst and reactor design, process integration, and techno-economic assessment of scalable pathways.

• Alternative feedstocks
• Thermochemical conversion
• Biomass valorisation
• Catalyst development
• CO₂ and waste-derived streams
• Process integration

A secure and sustainable supply of inorganic raw materials is becoming a strategic requirement for industrial resilience and the transformation of process industries. Demand for key minerals used in energy technologies is expected to rise strongly, while tighter raw material markets and trade restrictions increase the relevance of recovery and reuse from residues, slags and waste streams. Contributions are invited on recycling routes, secondary raw materials processing and circular integration into industrial value chains.

• Inorganic raw materials
• Recovery and reuse
• Critical raw materials
• Circular value chains
• Slag and residue valorisation

Material innovation is a key enabler for improving sustainability across the chemical and process industries. Bio-based polymers, advanced separation membranes, heterogeneous catalysts, and functional materials from renewable or recycled sources are progressing from research to industrial application. Contributions are invited on material design, performance under process conditions, recyclability, and the scale-up of advanced materials that reduce resource consumption or enable fossil-free production pathways.

• Advanced materials
• Bio-based polymers
• Separation membranes
• Heterogeneous catalysts
• Renewable and recycled feedstocks
• Fossil-free production

Industrial biotechnology is opening viable, bio-based routes to chemicals, materials, and intermediates that have long relied on fossil feedstocks. Fermentation, enzymatic conversion, and whole-cell biocatalysis are advancing from pilot to commercial scale, supported by progress in strain engineering and bioprocess design. Contributions are invited on feedstock flexibility, and the integration of biotechnological routes into existing chemical production infrastructure.

• Fermentation and biocatalysis
• Bio-based chemicals and materials
• Strain engineering
• Metabolic feedstock flexibility
• Bioprocess integration
• Techno-economic performance

Water streams are also value streams. In industrial processes, water serves to carry, heat, load, and dissolve substances, and is then discharged or recycled. Prices and politics demand that water be handled more consciously. Reducing water demand increases resilience; new technologies allow recycling, and stricter regulations require greater compliance. From the supply chain to the final product, new solutions are required. The ACHEMA Congress 2027 aims to address both technological innovations and strategic frameworks for optimizing water's versatile applications while ensuring resource sustainability and operational resilience.

• Minimum liquid discharge
• Energy and resource efficiency
• Circularity and resource recovery
• Engagement and compliance
• Water security and resilience

Water serves as a critical multi-functional resource across many industrial processes. It performs as a cooling medium, enables chemical reactions, and acts as a bioprocessing carrier. As an indispensable element in nearly all sectors, water is utilized in various states – as a liquid solvent or coolant, as vapor in thermally driven applications, or as a raw material input. Transforming industry requires a deep exchange of knowledge and experience. Contributors are invited to present new industrial technologies, approaches, or methodologies for the smart, modular industry of tomorrow.

• Water in bioprocessing
• Water for cooling
• Non-conventional water resources
• Smart water solutions
• New industrial routes (hydrogen and PtX)