Within the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, catalysts provide the opportunity for drop-in solutions for addressing ever more stringent product quality and environmental specifications. Improved catalysts have also been instrumental in debottlenecking many refining and chemical processes. In order to stay competitive, many companies are focused on taking advantage of higher activity and more selective catalysts to facilitate "capacity creep". Increasingly, these catalyst advances stem froth the commitment to develop and nurture active materials platforms. ExxonMobil has focused its platform efforts in several areas including micro- and mesoporous molecular sieves, supported metals, and mixed metal oxides and sulfides. The recently announced alliance between ExxonMobil and Symyx Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) is a further step in the company's commitment to strengthen its materials platforms. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.