Refining and Petrochemical in Development Technologies

What Refining and Petrochemical in Development Technologies does

Refining and Petrochemical in Development Technologies (RPD Technologies) is a privately held, B2B professional services firm founded in 2019 in Crosby, Texas and relocated to a 26-acre site at the Cedar Port Industrial Park in Baytown, Texas in 2025. RPD designs, builds, and operates pilot-scale plants for technology scale-up in the refining, petrochemical, energy, and low-carbon/sustainability sectors, handling feedstocks that range from traditional naphtha, VGO, and residue to emerging pyrolysis oils, UMO, lipids, and biomass/plastic-derived inputs. Its technology stack includes dual-series fixed bed reactor skids rated to 3000 psig and 450°C with flow rates up to 4.5 kg/hr, a 70-ft tall cold-flow circulating fluid bed unit, 2-inch batch and 4-inch/40-ft continuous distillation columns with 20+ stages, and a demonstration unit with six fixed beds in series (2500 psi, 450°C, 200+ kg/hr). The firm reports 95%+ mass balance closure on pilot runs and offers integrated engineering consulting (process modeling, kinetics, reactor engineering, FEA stress analysis) plus ASME-certified fabrication of skid-mounted modular units, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, and SCADA-enabled control systems, following a three-phase design methodology from Design Basis Memorandum through FEED to detailed mechanical engineering.

RPD monetizes primarily through professional services revenue streams: pilot plant operations (24/7 on-site catalyst, feedstock, and process testing), design and fabrication (turn-key skids, pressure vessels, heat exchangers), and consulting. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagements are project-based and quote-driven. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales to engineering and technical decision-makers in refining, petrochemical, and energy companies that require third-party pilot validation before committing commercial capital. Select named customers include Universal Fuel Technologies, for whom RPD ran a five-month Flexiforming SAF pilot in Crosby from August to December 2024. Operating geographies are concentrated in Southeast Texas / Texas, USA. Effective April 1, 2026, RPD was acquired by Abundia Global Impact Group and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary within Abundia's vertically integrated waste-to-value platform, with revenue to be recognized in Abundia's Q2 2026 statements.

Name

Refining and Petrochemical in Development Technologies

Legal name

RPD Technologies

Website

https://rpdtechnologies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RPD Technologies is a B2B pilot plant services firm founded in 2019 that designs, fabricates, and operates pilot-scale units for catalyst, feedstock, and process testing for refining, petrochemical, energy, and low-carbon/sustainability clients from a 26-acre facility in Baytown, Texas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Crosby

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Pilot Plant Operations Services: 24/7 on-site operations of custom and flexible pilot units for catalyst evaluation, feedstock testing, and process optimization
2. Design and Fabrication Services: Turn-key solutions including design, construction, and delivery of specialized pilot equipment including skid mounted modular units, pressure vessels, and heat exchangers with ASME certifications
3. Consulting Services: Advanced scale-up support including process modeling, kinetics evaluation, reactor engineering, and stress analysis (FEA)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

RPD Technologies provides pilot plant testing and scale-up services for the refining, petrochemical, and energy sectors. The company designs, constructs, and operates pilot plants on a 26-acre facility in Baytown, Texas, supporting catalyst evaluation, feedstock qualification, and process optimization. It also delivers engineering consulting (process modeling, reaction kinetics, reactor engineering, FEA) and turnkey fabrication of specialized pilot equipment including skid-mounted units, pressure vessels, and SCADA-enabled control systems.

Product overview

RPD Technologies offers a unified suite of pilot plant testing and scale-up services for the refining, petrochemical, and energy sectors. The core offering centers on pilot plant testing services supplemented by four types of proprietary pilot equipment: Dual Series Fixed Bed Reactor Skids (4 units rated to 3000 psig/450°C), Batch Distillation Units (2-inch/15-stage), Continuous Distillation Units (4-inch/40ft/20+ stages), and a Demonstration Unit with 6 Fixed Bed in Series (2500 psi/450°C, 200+ kg/hr). These pilot units form the operational backbone for catalyst evaluation, feedstock testing, and process optimization delivered through 24/7 on-site operations. The company further provides integrated consulting services (Process Modeling, Reaction Kinetics, Reactor Engineering, and Stress Analysis/FEA) for advanced scale-up support, and fabrication capabilities (Skid-Mounted Modular Units, ASME-Certified Pressure Vessels, SCADA-Enabled Control Systems, and Turnkey Solutions) for complete design-through-construction delivery. The pilot plant design methodology follows a structured three-phase approach from Design Basis Memorandum through Front-End Engineering Design to detailed mechanical engineering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pilot Plant Testing Services 24/7 on-site operations of custom pilot plants for catalyst evaluation, feedstock testing, and process optimization in refining, petrochemical, and energy applications. Delivered through direct engagement with enterprise clients requiring scale-up validation before commercial deployment.
• Pilot Plant Design Services Comprehensive pilot plant design following a three-phase methodology: Design Basis Memorandum, Front-End Engineering Design with 3D models and P&IDs, and detailed mechanical engineering with iso diagrams and equipment specifications.
• Skid Mounted Modular Units Custom skid-mounted modular unit fabrication, assembled and shipped for customer-specific pilot plant applications in refining and petrochemical industries.
• Mechanical Fabrication and Pressure Vessels Fabrication of ASME-certified pressure vessels and heat exchangers with required certifications for industrial pilot plant applications.
• Electrical and Process Control Systems Full instrumentation and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems for pilot plant automation and monitoring.
• Turnkey Fabrication Solutions Complete turnkey fabrication solutions including pressure testing, wire continuity, loop checks, and Process Safety Start-up Reviews for pilot plant delivery.
• Dual Series Fixed Bed Reactor Skids 4 independent fixed bed pilot reactors rated to 3000 psig and 450°C maximum, supporting single-phase vapor/liquid and multi-phase trickle and bubbling flow configurations with maximum liquid flow rate of 4.5 kg/hr.
• Batch Distillation Unit 2-inch column batch distillation system with 15 stages for pilot-scale separation processes.
• Continuous Distillation Unit 4-inch ID, 40-foot continuous distillation column with 20+ stages for pilot-scale continuous separation operations.
• Demonstration Unit with 6 Fixed Bed in Series Large-scale demonstration unit with 6 fixed bed reactors in series, rated to 2500 psi and 450°C, with maximum flow rate exceeding 200 kg/hr for mid-to-large scale catalyst and process evaluation.
• Process Modeling Consulting Advanced consulting providing access to state-of-the-art software for multi-scale, detailed process modeling to support technology scale-up.
• Reaction Kinetics Consulting Consulting service that guides experimental approach to secure and validate scalable kinetics for reactor design and process optimization.
• Reactor Engineering Consulting Consulting service to build phenomenological models to test effects of scale-up on reactor performance and design.
• Stress Analysis (FEA) Consulting Advanced stress analysis consulting including Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for specialty equipment design and compliance with applicable codes and standards.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Abundia Global Impact GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Abundia Global Impact Group completed acquisition of RPD Technologies Americas, effective April 1, 2026. RPD operates as a wholly owned subsidiary strengthening Abundia's vertically integrated waste-to-value business model. RPD adds project development capabilities in refining, petrochemical and renewables, with approximately 20 employees and over 100 years of combined chemical engineering scale-up experience.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Linde Engineering: Linde Engineering delivers plant design and process technology for gas processing, petrochemicals, and clean energy, and operates pilot and test capabilities that overlap with the refining and low-carbon feedstock scale-up services offered by RPD.
• Wood Group: Wood provides engineering, consulting, and project delivery for refining, petrochemical, and energy transition projects, competing for pilot, demonstration, and scale-up engineering scope alongside RPD's services portfolio.
• Honeywell UOP: Honeywell UOP licenses refining and petrochemical process technologies and maintains large pilot and demonstration capabilities, making it an incumbent that competes with independent pilot services firms for scale-up programs targeting commercial licensing.
• Chart Industries: Chart Industries designs and fabricates process and cryogenic equipment for hydrogen, LNG, refining, and petrochemical applications, serving as a larger-scale fabrication and equipment peer to RPD's pressure vessel and skid-based offering.
• KBR: KBR provides engineering, procurement, and construction services and proprietary process technologies for refining, petrochemicals, and sustainable fuels, and competes for early-stage pilot and demonstration scope alongside integrated EPC execution.
• TechnipFMC: TechnipFMC delivers large-scale EPC and process technology services for refineries, petrochemicals, and energy, and operates pilot and demonstration infrastructure relevant to refining and renewable fuel customers that RPD also serves.

Direct peers

• GTI Energy: GTI Energy operates gas and energy research and testing facilities and runs pilot and demonstration programs for natural gas, refining, and renewable fuel pathways, mirroring RPD's pilot-scale experimentation and feedstock qualification services.
• Zeton Inc. Zeton designs and fabricates pilot plants, demonstration plants, and modular process systems for refineries, petrochemical producers, and process developers — the closest direct comparable to RPD's design-fabrication-operations model serving similar scale-up customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rpdtechnologies

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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