Feique forum at Expoquimia to host 35 sessions on the competitiveness of the chemical industry
Energy, international trade and strategic autonomy at the core of the Smart Chemistry institutional programme
Smart Chemistry: Green Industry Deal, the forum organised by Feique as part of Expoquimia 2026, will feature a programme including five institutional sessions with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, public bodies, industry associations and chemical companies in Spain. Key topics will include energy, international trade, strategic autonomy and the protection of critical value chains, as well as investment support for decarbonisation.
This block of institutional sessions is conceived as a dedicated platform for dialogue between Spanish public authorities and the business community to assess the priorities and factors currently shaping the competitiveness of the chemical industry. These include the impact of high energy costs, trade defence and access to new markets, the safeguarding of essential molecules and production capacities for strategic autonomy, financing for investment in decarbonisation technologies, and the development of the talent required to support industrial transformation.
The sessions will also examine the conditions needed to sustain industrial capacity, attract investment and reinforce the sector’s contribution to the transformation of the economic model. This is critical to prevent disinvestment, preserve industrial employment and advance towards climate neutrality without undermining competitiveness.
Speakers will include representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), CESCE (Spanish Export Credit Agency), ICEX‑Invest in Spain and other business organisations, alongside senior executives and experts from leading chemical sector entities.
Conditions for a viable transition
“Europe needs a strong chemical industry, with the capacity to invest, produce and innovate in order to deliver the technological solutions required by the transition,” said Juan Antonio Labat, Director General of Feique. “Maintaining competitiveness while advancing the sector’s transformation requires urgent structural measures: a competitive and affordable final energy price, genuine regulatory simplification that reconciles climate ambition with industrial capacity, effective trade defence instruments, and financing mechanisms that support investment in decarbonisation technologies.”
According to Labat, without these conditions “there will be no green transition, no strategic autonomy and no resilient value chains”. For this reason, Smart Chemistry will place at the heart of this edition the key enablers the sector needs to remain a driver of progress, skilled employment and value creation.
Business and technological outlook
Beyond the institutional programme, Smart Chemistry’s agenda will be completed by 30 Smarttalks and conferences in which leading companies and organisations will present trends, innovative solutions and industrial case studies. Topics will include decarbonisation, energy efficiency, electrification, hydrogen and other renewable gases, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), the circular economy, advanced materials, digitalisation, artificial intelligence applied to industry, and talent development.
The Smart Chemistry forum will bring together 17 leading companies and organisations from the Spanish chemical industry and its innovation ecosystem: the Tarragona Chemical Business Association (AEQT), Air Liquide, BASF, Bondalti, Carburos Metálicos, the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), the Tarragona Chemical Cluster (ChemMed), Covestro, Ercros, FEQPA, Foresa, Grupo Industrias Químicas del Ebro (IQE), Messer, Moeve, Química del Cinca, Quimidroga and Repsol. The initiative is also supported by ChemSpain, Foro Química y Sociedad, SusChem España, the Spanish Association of Chemists and Chemical Engineers (ANQUE), and the Spanish Federation of Chemical Engineering Professionals (FEPIQ) as institutional partners.
The full programme can be followed in person at the Smart Chemistry Agora, Pavilion 2, Stand E‑54 at Expoquimia, as well as via livestream on the websites of Feique, Expoquimia and Foro Química y Sociedad.
About FEIQUE
Feique is the Spanish Chemical Industry Business Federation, representing and defending the sector’s interests across more than 150 committees and executive bodies within public administrations and private organisations. Its mission is to foster the expansion and competitive development of an innovative and sustainable chemical industry that contributes to value creation, employment and products that enhance society’s wellbeing and quality of life. The chemical industry is Spain’s second-largest industrial sector, with turnover exceeding €85.4 billion (12% of industrial GDP and 4% of national GDP). It generates more than one million direct, indirect and induced jobs (6.7% of the salaried workforce), is the country’s leading exporter and its largest investor in R&D&I.
Madrid, 21 May 2026
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