Expoquimia Underlines Chemistry's Leading Role in Europe's Reindustrialization

As a prelude to the show, Expoquimia held the conference "Reindustrializing Europe: chemistry, energy and competitiveness in a multipolar world" at the headquarters of Foment del Treball, gathering nearly 200 attendees and positioning the chemical industry as key infrastructure for the green transition and Europe's strategic autonomy, while warning about high energy costs, hyper-regulation and the difficulty of scaling European industrial innovation against pressure from the US and China. Speakers included Catalan business minister Miquel Sàmper, Fira de Barcelona director general Constantí Serrallonga and Foment president Josep Sánchez Llibre. The event highlighted Spain's chemical sector, with a turnover of 85.417 billion euros, 12% of industrial GDP and more than one million direct, indirect and induced jobs, as well as being Spain's top exporter with nearly 74% of revenue from foreign markets. A round table featuring FedeQuim, Quimidroga, BASF Española, IQOXE and Expoquimia president Carles Navarro warned that European energy prices are two to three times those of the US or Asia, defended chemistry as the basis of the green transition — essential to over 95% of industrial value chains — and called for regulatory simplification. Expoquimia 2026 runs June 2-5 at the Gran Via venue with Equiplast, expecting some 800 exhibitors and more than 21,000 visitors.