Catalysis and Hydrogenation

Catalysis: Hydrogenation, Optimized

From Catalyst Discovery to Safer Scale-Up

Advance your hydrogenation workflows with precise control over pressure, gas flow, and reaction conditions across single or parallel reactors.

Nearly 40 years in business2,500+ systems installed worldwide

BTC-500 Battery Adiabatic Calorimeter

BTC-500
Battery Adiabatic Calorimeter 50 mAh – 320 Ah

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What is Hydrogenation and Why it Matters ?

Hydrogenation is a chemical process where hydrogen molecules (H₂) are added to a compound, usually in the presence of a catalyst, to produce a saturated compound.

Hydrogenation is widely used in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and specialty chemical industries to reduce double bonds and functionalize molecules. Whether you’re developing new catalysts or scaling up reactions, controlling gas-liquid interactions under pressure is essential for reproducibility, safety, and speed.

Hydrogenation requires high pressures to be maintained in the reaction vessel and also tends to be a highly exothermic reaction, resulting in demanding temperature control requirements, whilst ensuring the use of hydrogen is managed carefully due to its high risk of fire and explosion.

Agrochemical

Pesticide and herbicide production

Pharmaceutical

Drug synthesis and API development

Food Industry

Saturated Fats and Prevent Oxidation

Speciality Chemicals

Fine chemicals and intermediates

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Discover how H.E.L’s advanced reactor systems can accelerate your research, improve safety, and optimize your hydrogenation processes.

Challenges in Hydrogenation

Modern hydrogenation workflows face critical obstacles that impact efficency,safety and scalability

Handling Flammable Gases

Managing hydrogen and other reactive gases requires specialized safety protocols and equipment.

Limited Parallel Throughput

Traditional setups restrict catalyst screening to single reactions, slowing development.

Poor Control of Gas Uptake

Inadequate monitoring of gas-liquid interactions leads to inconsistent results.

Inefficient Manual Workflows

Manual dosing and sampling creates bottlenecks and introduces human error.

Process Optimization Tools

Need to control temp, pressure, agitation, and dosing across multiple zones.

Real-time Monitoring

Gas uptake, pressure, pH,and temperature – all integrated via WinISO software.

Testimonials

What our Customers Say

ChemSCAN

"We are happy to confirm that H.E.L has supplied us with two high pressure reactor systems with automation. These systems are used for the screening of catalysts and/or different reaction conditions in hydrogenation and hydroformylation reactions. We have been using one device with eight autoclaves during the last 8 years or so, and we are very satisfied with it. The handling and programming is quite easy. The graphical evaluation of data allows us to get an overview about the process in each autoclave. The cooperation and service provided by the employees by phone or e-mail is plain sailing. It is for this reason that we bought a second HP ChemScan with four autoclaves in 2010 which was upgraded recently to an eight-autoclaves-device. It allows a larger variation of parameters and also the graphical evaluation of the results has been further improved. "


University of Rostock – Rostock, Germany

Applications & Case Studies

Our catalysis and hydrogenation instruments are used across multiple industries where safety and performance are critical

Flow Hydrogenation

Pharmaceuticals & Fine Chemicals

A pharmaceutical team needed a safer, scalable way to convert imines to amines—reactions that typically involve flammable hydrogen gas and are difficult to control in batch setups.

Hydrogenation Imine to Amine

Parallel hydrogenation

Synthesis of bifunctional Catalysts

Addressing the challenge of chemoselective hydrogenation of (iso)quinolines under mild conditions for improved pharmaceutical synthesis.

Choose the Right Solution

Compare our flagship models to find the perfect match for your research and testing requirements

 

 

Features
ChemSCAN
Rapid Screening of high pressure reactions and catalysts
FlowCAT
High Pressure Flow Catalysis Platform
 Catalyst Screening

Manual Systems
Type Parallel batch reactors (high pressure) Continuous flow reactor Batch microreactors (up to 96 vials)
Ideal For Parallel high-throughput screening Continuous hydrogenation development Ultra-high throughput screening
Pressure Range Up to 100 bar (optional 200 bar) Up to 100 bar (standard) Up to 100 bar
Temperature Range -40 to 200°C (application-dependent) Up to 300°C Ambient to 200°C
No. of Reactors up to 8 independently controlled reactors zones 1 tubular reactor 24, 48, or 96 vials (in single reactor)
Scalability 3 mL to 400 mL (reactor dependent) From mg to continuous gram-scale Sub-mL scale for initial screening
Software
  • Intelligent automation with real-time gas uptake monitoring and custom protocol design
  • Intelligent control of pressure, temperature, and flow. Features include data logging, multi-step recipes, real-time condition edits, and automated back-pressure regulation — all with minimal user input.
  • Manual or semi-automated via connected controller
Best Use Case Studying catalyst / gas / solvent interactions in batch Optimising continuous hydrogenation protocols Rapid screening of catalyst libraries
ChemSCAN Featured Image

ChemSCAN

Designed for the rapid screening of high-pressure reactions and catalysts.

  • Up to 8 high-pressure reaction zones
  • Each zone has independent control
  • multiple experiments under different conditions in a single, streamlined run
FlowCAT Featured image

FlowCAT

Automated high-pressure flow catalysis bench-top platform, designed for the development of continuous flow chemical processes.

  • Supports both gas and liquid feeds
  • Temperature, pressure, and feed rates of the liquid and gas are all automatically controlled
  • Sampling at the start and end of each run
CAT Screening Platform

Catalyst Screening

Our complete range of multi-sample high throughput catalyst screening vessels for high pressure screening.

  • CAT 7, 18, and 24 are manual catalyst screening reactors
  • DigiCAT 96 is an automated catalyst screening platform that supports a standard 96-well Zinsser block
  • PolyCAT 4  and 8 are bench-top, automated parallel catalyst screening platform

Reach out to a Specialist

Contact us today to request a quote or learn more about our catalysis and hydrogenation solutions. We’re here to help you find the right solution.

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About H.E.L Group

For over 30 years, H.E.L Group has been at the forefront of innovative scientific instrumentation for battery testing and safety analysis, serving researchers and manufacturers worldwide.

Our team of engineers and scientists combines deep expertise in electrochemistry, thermal analysis, and precision measurement to develop instruments that set the standard for battery testing excellence.

  • ISO 9001 Certified
  • Global Support Network
  • 30+ Years Experience
  • Continuous Innovation
Quality Excellence

Our instruments are meticulously calibrated and tested to ensure the highest standards of precision & reliability.

Expert Support

Our team of application scientists provides comprehensive training and excellent ongoing technical support.

Research Partnerships

Collaborating with leading universities and research institutions to advance battery science.

Global Presence

With installations in over 50 countries, we provide local service and support worldwide.

Ready to improve your hydrogenation workflow?

Discover how H.E.L’s advanced reactor systems can accelerate your research, improve safety, and optimize your hydrogenation processes.