Honeywell UOP working to meet tomorrow’s energy demands

Global energy demands continue to rise. “The world needs more energy today than yesterday,” explained Dr. Rajesh Gattupalli, president and CEO, Honeywell UOP. Meeting those needs requires collaboration between process technology providers, automation providers and end users to bring operational efficiency.

“Honeywell UOP has been at the forefront of innovation for over a century,” said Gattupalli, who spoke during Honeywell Users Group 2025 in San Antonio. “UOP’s technology is used to make 90% of the world’s biodegradable detergents, 70% of the world’s polyester, 60% of the world’s gasoline.” It was UOP, in fact, that pioneered the use of unleaded gasoline when it sponsored the Shadow Racing Team in the early 1970s and demonstrated the viability of using gas without lead. “After that, the industry never looked back,” said Gattupalli.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) research anticipates a 32% surge in worldwide energy demand by 2050, noted Gattupalli, largely fueled by the increase in the number of data centers and artificial-intelligence (AI) applications. India and China, two of the world’s largest energy users, are trying to develop their own power.

“The world needs more sustainable fuels,” said Gattupalli. “We’re not there yet. We need transitional fuels, like liquefied natural gas (LNG) or hydrogen.”

The company already is a provider of LNG pretreatment, liquefaction and operations technology that enables customers to optimize facilities’ overall performance. Integrated pretreatment is processing around 40% of natural gas used in LNG applications worldwide, said Gattupalli. UOP adsorbents dehydrate about 70% of natural gas that becomes LNG globally.

From main cryogenic heat exchangers, end-flash exchangers and precoolers to helium recovery units and nitrogen rejection equipment, Honeywell UOP liquefaction equipment is used by customers such as Cheniere Energy, Freeport LNG, Qatar Energy, Sempra and ADNOC to produce approximately two-thirds of the world’s LNG, said Gattupalli.

From LNG to H2 and SAF

Hydrogen fuel is a bit different. The cost to produce hydrogen fuel makes it unprofitable without subsidies at this point, but technical advancements and economies of scale could change that. “The Honeywell UOP liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) is a technology being used today for long-distance transportation of clean hydrogen,” explained Gattupalli.

The demand for future fuels, specifically sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), is rising. But hydroprocessed ester and fatty acid (HEFA) feedstocks used in SAFs are insufficient to meet demand. Honeywell UOP offers multiple pathways to SAF production, including Ecofining and renewable jet fuel processes; UOP Unionfining and Unicracking; vacuum gas oil (VGO) conversion; rapid thermal processing (RTP) or fast pyrolysis; methanol synthesis and UOP eFining; Fischer-Tropsch and UOP FT-Unicracking; and UOP ethanol- to-jet-fuel processes.

“We have licensed 73 Ecofining units, and 11 are operating right now. The UOP Ecofining process has been used to produce SAF commercially since 2016,” said Gattupalli. Diamond Green Diesel #1 in Norco, Louisiana, became the first Ecofining unit. JGC Holdings and Cosmo Oil are set to produce 30 million liters of SAF by converting locally sourced used cooking oil into renewable jet fuel this year. The project, located in Osaka, will be first commercial scale SAF project in Japan.

Honeywell UOP is using AI-powered tools and services to make maximum use of existing assets and create operational efficiency. One example is using digital twins and advanced process control to fine-tune operational parameters, improving efficiency and product quality.

“You have models in the control system to make a digital twin,” explained Gattupalli. “When the plant is ready to start, our customers use those digital twins to train. You already have the sequencing done. You need to continue with those models to determine when you need to change or maintain. That’s the true power of collaboration between process technology providers, automation providers and end users.”

Honeywell UOP also is working to make the hydrogen production process more efficient and provide solutions across the entire supply chain, from process equipment, measurement and safety to automation and control. “Honeywell is uniquely positioned to collaborate with green-hydrogen companies and lower costs,” said Gattupalli.

Honeywell recently acquired Sundyne and announced an interest to acquire Johnson Matthey’s Catalyst Technologies business. “We have the technology to go from methanol to jet fuel, but we don’t have the technology to make methanol,” explained Gattupalli. “Methanol process technology is just one of the complementary technologies that Johnson Matthey can provide to us.”