A Q&A with Honeywell UOP’s Rajesh Gattupalli
Tell us about your career history, and its evolution to your current role?
I joined Honeywell in 2008 after earning my PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island. I started out in R&D, where I spent significant time developing refining and petrochemical technologies. Over the past decade, I moved into the licensing and aftermarket services aspect of the business, and today, as President of Honeywell UOP, I manage commercial operations across our three core verticals: refining, petrochemicals and Low-Carbon Energy technologies.
Tell me more about Honeywell UOP and the services you provide to the oil & gas sector?
Honeywell UOP has been a trusted technology partner to the refining, petrochemical, and gas-processing industries for more than a century. It provides advanced process technologies, catalysts, equipment and services that enable customers to convert crude oil and natural gas into essential fuels and chemical
products.
Honeywell UOP focuses on enhancing operational efficiency and reliability, improving yields, reducing emissions, modernizing assets, and supporting the transition to lower-carbon solutions, including renewable fuels and energy-efficient operations. Additionally, it offers connected digital tools and technical services to optimize plant performance and workforce productivity. Honeywell UOP’s technologies are integral to producing 90 percent of the world’s biodegradable detergents, 70 percent of polyester, 60 percent of gasoline, 50 percent of renewable fuels and 40 percent of globally processed LNG.
Tell us more about the collaboration between Honeywell UOP, Aramco, and KAUST and the new crude-to-chemicals (CTC) process you are working on?
This collaboration brings together Aramco’s downstream expertise, Honeywell UOP’s skills in catalytic process design and scale-up, and KAUST’s scientific research to deliver practical industrial solutions. Working together allows us to develop and expand the CTC process more effectively than any organization could alone.
By merging industrial know-how, research, and commercial drive, the collaboration speeds up the development and deployment of the CTC pathway. Each partner’s strengths help turn scientific progress into reliable, scalable solutions that meet market needs, make better use of resources, and support a shift to lower-carbon operations. This integrated approach ensures new innovations are not only created but also put into action, leading to more sustainable and cost-effective production at scale.
How is the new CTC pathway expected to improve fuel efficiency, carbon utilization and process economics, enabling more cost-effective production at scale?
The CTC pathway achieves these improvements by converting crude oil directly into light olefins and other high-demand chemicals, rather than moving through the multiple intermediate steps associated with traditional refining. This more direct conversion approach improves fuel efficiency, enables better utilization of carbon within the system and strengthens overall process economics.
A key benefit of this approach is its ability to extract greater value from each barrel of crude by reducing the number of processing stages required. These improvements translate into a streamlined process with fewer energy-intensive operations and more effective use of carbon, ultimately supporting higher yields and more favorable cost structures.
How will Honeywell’s expertise in catalytic process design and commercial deployment accelerate development and drive real-world application?
We specialize in catalytic process design and commercial scale-up, efficiently turning advanced chemical engineering concepts into practical technologies to accelerate industrial adoption. This enables us to create catalyst systems and processes tailored for efficient integration into large-scale petrochemical operations, ensuring research innovations can be reliably engineered, validated, and scaled.
By combining this technical strength with the capabilities of our partners, we can drive the technology toward real-world application more quickly and effectively, helping unlock meaningful efficiency, emissions and value-creation benefits for the sector.
How does the effort also aim to reduce both capital and operating costs associated with CTC conversion?
A key objective of this joint development effort is to create a more economically efficient crude-to-chemicals pathway. By designing a process that converts crude directly into high-value chemical products, the approach reduces the need for multiple intermediate refining steps and the associated infrastructure. This more streamlined configuration helps lower overall capital investment requirements.
At the same time, the simplified process flow and improved utilization of carbon and energy within the system also contribute to lower operating costs. By reducing energy intensity and enhancing overall process efficiency, the pathway supports more cost-effective production.
Overall, how does the collaboration hope to modernize petrochemical production and deliver efficiency, cost and carbon performance gains at scale?
The collaboration aims to modernize petrochemical production by developing a more direct and efficient route from crude oil to high-value chemical products. By integrating advanced research, industrial expertise and scalable engineering, we (along with our collaborators in Aramco and KAUST) are working to create a next-generation process that improves fuel efficiency, enhances carbon utilization and strengthens overall process economics.
By combining the capabilities of industry and academia, we plan to accelerate the deployment of innovative technologies and help the sector achieve stronger efficiency, cost and carbon performance at commercial scale.
Aside from the CTC project are there any other Honeywell UOP developments you’d like to discuss?
One development I’d highlight is our Biocrude Upgrading technology, which converts agricultural and forestry waste into ready-to-use renewable fuels for sectors like maritime shipping. It produces lower-carbon marine fuel, gasoline and SAF from abundant, low-cost biomass, offering a practical alternative to traditional heavy fuel oil without requiring major engine modifications.
A key advantage is its modular design. Biocrude can be produced at collection sites, keeping transport costs low, and then upgraded at larger facilities into fuels that match the performance of conventional products. The prefabricated, modular system helps reduce project risk and speed deployment, allowing customers to bring lower-carbon fuels to market more quickly and cost-effectively.
This technology complements our broader renewable fuels portfolio and underscores our focus on delivering practical, scalable solutions to help the industry reduce emissions.
Focusing back onto your own career – what is the best leadership or business advice you have had and what advice would you offer leaders in the energy, oil and gas sector?
Leaders should explore various roles – from integrated supply chain, strategy, commercial, marketing and more – to gain a comprehensive understanding of the business. Exposure to these different functions builds versatility and adaptability, helping to address challenges confidently. This broad skill set fosters innovation and better decision making, empowering growth and effective leadership in a rapidly changing sector.
How do you maintain a strong working culture at Honeywell UOP and encourage new talent into the industry?
A key factor in maintaining a positive workplace culture is encouraging innovation to keep people motivated. At Honeywell, employees are empowered to make meaningful contributions. Our work focuses on addressing the world’s most pressing climate issues, including energy security, localization and reducing carbon emissions, which brings a strong sense of fulfillment.
We also prioritize the breaking down of organizational silos through open, transparent communication. By fostering collaboration and ensuring that every team member feels their contributions truly matter, especially within the framework of Honeywell’s mission, we create a workplace where employees not only feel valued but are also inspired to drive innovation and pursue growth. This approach helps attract and nurture new talent, as individuals are drawn to a culture where their ideas can shape the future of energy and sustainability.
What are the top issues on your agenda in 2026?
As we move into 2026, energy security is at the forefront. Geopolitical uncertainty, shifting supply chains and rising project costs mean customers are looking for technologies that strengthen resilience and optionality. At the same time, global energy demand is accelerating, driven by data centers, industrial electrification and population growth, which is placing new pressure on existing infrastructure, so technology that improves efficiency and reliability will be important.
Are there any other areas that you consider important for the sector and that you’d like to include?
One area I’d highlight is the growing role of automation and digital intelligence. As many companies face workforce shortages and rising operational complexity, these tools are becoming essential for running safer, more efficient plants. They help teams make faster decisions and get more value out of the assets they already have.
I’d also point to LNG, which continues to play a stabilizing role in global energy markets. With new capacity coming online, operators will need to balance scale with flexibility to meet shifting regional demand.
More broadly, the sector is moving toward a more balanced approach: one that weighs reliability, cost and emissions together. Technology innovation and advanced digital solutions will be crucial for helping companies optimize the production of traditional fuel sources and enabling more cost-effective production of renewables and the fuels of the future.
Rajesh Gattupalli
Rajesh Gattupalli is President of Honeywell UOP. Honeywell UOP is recognized as one of the largest process licensing organizations globally. Its innovations include advanced carbon capture solutions, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production technologies, including Ecofining®, Ethanol to Jet technology, Fischer-Tropsch (FT) Unicracking™ technology and eFining™, a process that converts green hydrogen and carbon dioxide into e-fuels. Honeywell UOP has pioneered 31 out of 36 refining technologies currently in use, supported by a team of 2000 engineers and scientists and a portfolio of 5900 active patents and applications.