17-06-2019

Grace acquires the business of Rive Technology Inc

W. R. Grace & Co. today completed the acquisition of the business  and assets of Rive Technology, Inc., including its Molecular Highway™ zeolite technology. As part of the transaction, certain research and development, technical services, and commercial employees will join Grace. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed and the transaction is not expected to change Grace’s 2019 financial outlook provided on April 25, 2019.

“Over the past decade, we have seen terrific progress and benefits for our customers by incorporating Rive zeolite technology in certain FCC catalyst applications,” said Tom Petti, Grace’s President, Refining Technologies. “As demand for petrochemicals grows, the addition of Rive’s patented technology allows us to offer our customers greater flexibility in converting crude oil to petrochemical feedstocks. That delivers real value to our global refinery customers.” Rive’s technology has broad applicability on different types of zeolites that will allow Grace to continue Rive’s development activities in applications for a wide range of chemical catalysts and processes.

Rive Technology, Inc. was founded in 2006 to commercialize Molecular Highway™ zeolite technology for catalytic processes, such as those used in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units in oil refineries. Invented at MIT by Dr. Javier Garcia-Martinez, Rive’s technology improves traditional zeolite catalysts through the introduction of novel channels of medium pore size (“molecular highways”), which enhance the diffusivity of these materials leading to higher value product yields, improved process efficiency, and increased refinery profitability.

In 2010, Rive and Grace entered a joint development and commercialization program to combine Rive’s innovative technology with Grace’s market-leading capabilities in FCC catalyst formulation and manufacturing. Rive and Grace are currently marketing and selling breakthrough FCC catalysts to many of the world’s leading refiners.

“Rive’s Molecular Highway™ technology is already employed in commercially successful products today,” said Nathan Ergonul, Grace’s Vice President, Marketing, Refining Technologies. “Thanks to our long-standing relationship with Rive, our customers already benefit from the technology, yet by bringing this innovation in-house, we can immediately deploy it to further expand our capabilities.”