The impact of catalysis and catalysts is substantial. Today over 90% of all industrial chemicals are produced with the aid of catalysts. Industrial chemicals and petroleum refining are interconnected with industrial catalysis. Catalysts impact a sizable fraction of any nation's gross domestic product. These materials achieve very high turnovers, such as those in olefin polymerization with some catalysts producing many of polymer per pound of metal (in the catalyst) .

Catalysis was practiced by many early societies without realizing its impact as demonstrated by the production of wine and beer (fermentation), soap, cheese, sulfuric acid (oil of vitriol), and ether. Catalysis emerged from scientists seeking to understand the chemistry and the origin of the promotion by catalytic materials.

During the building of fundamentals of catalysis, a chemicals industry emerged largely based upon the use of catalysts. First with the efficient production of basic, inorganic chemicals such as sulfuric acid, ammonia, and nitric acid. These were driven by the need for NH3 as a component of agricultural fertilizer, and later by the need for bulk chemicals, especially for explosives in World War I. Other food processing needs emerged such as the hardening of fats over Ni based catalysts in 1907.

As the transportation industry emerged in the 20th century, catalysts were there to refine petroleum products into fuel feedstocks via:

Alkylation of olefins and isomerization of paraffins with AlCl3 in 1932.

Catalytic cracking in 1936.

Naphtha reforming in 1950.

Oxychlorination in 1964.

Zeolitic cracking and hydrocracking in 1964.

Multi-metallic reforming in 1967.

Hydrodesulfurization in 1960s.

Refining petroleum produced other products that could be used to generate petrochemicals used to enhance our quality of life. Again catalysts were discovered to improve the production of chemicals. At first bulk chemicals were produced and led to other commodity chemicals such as polyethylene, acetic acid, and propylene oxide, many enabled by catalysts.

While a commodity chemicals industry was maturing in the 1950s and 1960s, a specialty chemicals industry was building and growing, resulting in new families of chemicals: production of agricultural pesticides, production of pharmaceuticals, water treatment chemicals, selective hydrogenations, sydroformylations, asymmetric hydrogenation, production of new fibers.

The growth of the transportation industry, industrial activity, and a severe increase in air-born pollutants drove the implementation of new laws and the creation a new industry using catalysts to control vehicle and stationary engine emissions. From the 1960s and driven by vehicle and stationary emissions regulation, environmental catalysis grew to become a huge segment of the current global catalyst business. Today, sales of environmental catalysts comprise almost one third of the sales of catalysts.

Looking back on the history of industrial catalysis one is led to speculate on what lies ahead. It is clear that environmental catalysis will have a big impact, and catalysis will be needed to address increased sulfur and NOx emissions, lower CO2 levels, and alternative fuels. Alternative fuels will rely on catalysts to support new sources of energy as well as a transition to a more energy efficient society in the decades to come. Catalysts will play a crucial role in improved process.