Clariant partners with SECCO to deploy AI-driven CLARITY Prime for enhanced ethylene plant efficiency, expanding digital catalyst services across China’s petrochemical sector.
Clariant, a global specialty chemicals company known for its strong focus on sustainability and innovation, has announced a significant expansion of its digital catalyst services in China through a new long-term partnership with SECCO Petrochemicals. Under a newly signed 10-year agreement, SECCO will adopt Clariant’s advanced CLARITY™ Prime digital service platform to support and enhance operations at its large-scale 900-KTA ethylene production facility located in Shanghai’s Jinshan District. This marks an important milestone for Clariant, as CLARITY Prime—which was initially available exclusively to customers in the ammonia, methanol, and hydrogen catalyst segments—has now been extended to support the needs of ethylene producers as well. The platform, along with the broader CLARITY service portfolio, has been developed in collaboration with Navigance, Clariant’s dedicated digital solutions subsidiary.
Gene Mueller, Vice President and Head of Ethylene at Clariant, emphasized the strategic importance of this collaboration, noting that the agreement with SECCO strengthens Clariant’s digital service presence in one of the world’s most prominent petrochemical markets. He highlighted that the adoption of CLARITY Prime by SECCO underscores the growing demand for advanced, AI-driven performance enhancement tools in the sector. According to Mueller, the partnership reinforces Clariant’s commitment to delivering innovative, data-centric solutions capable of supporting long-term operational excellence for leading producers in China and beyond.
From the customer’s perspective, SECCO Petrochemicals views this collaboration as a key element of its ongoing digital transformation agenda. Yang Ying, Ethylene Production Manager at SECCO, stated that the company continually explores advanced technologies that can drive greater efficiency and sustain its competitive advantage in a dynamic market environment. The integration of CLARITY Prime at the Jinshan ethylene plant is expected to deliver substantial improvements across several operational areas over the next decade. Yang noted that SECCO anticipates both immediate and long-term benefits as the platform’s comprehensive monitoring, optimization, and support capabilities are progressively embedded into its production workflows.
SECCO Petrochemicals, founded in 2001, is one of China’s major petrochemical producers, with a total annual output of around 4.2 million tons. Its ethylene cracking unit is among the largest single-line operations in the country, with production output surpassing 1 million tons per year. The company is jointly owned by Sinopec, INEOS, and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, and remains an important player in China’s fast-growing petrochemical landscape.
CLARITY Prime integrates advanced artificial intelligence with expert technical support to help ethylene manufacturers optimize catalyst performance and improve plant reliability, safety, and overall profitability. The platform offers a range of specialized digital tools—including the C2TE Cockpit, Virtual Hydrogen Analyzer, Upset Prediction module, Operations Conditions Simulator, Advanced Alerting functions, and Performance Tracker. These features rely on real-time data and sophisticated analytical models to provide continuous 24/7 monitoring and rapid technical support. The CLARITY Prime service suite is available worldwide to facilities operating with Clariant’s syngas, PDH, or ethylene catalysts, regardless of the underlying process technology.
