Scientific African (Jul 2023)
Catalysis as a driver for sustainable technologies in Africa – A perspective by the Catalysis Institute at the University of Cape Town
Abstract
One of the biggest global challenges we are facing today is the provision of affordable, green, and sustainable energy to a growing population. Enshrined in multiple United Nation Sustainable Development Goals – Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy; Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and Goal 13: Climate Action – as well as at the core of the Paris Agreement, it is our task as scientists and engineers to develop innovative technologies that satisfy society's needs while pivoting away from the use of fossil resources. This is a mammoth task with an ambitious timeline. The global development of the industrial sector as we know it is solely based on the exploitation of energy-rich fossil fuels that remain cost-competitive today. However, a gradual change from a market driven to a policy-driven transition allows alternative technologies to make inroads and find applications. One of the most prominently discussed approaches is the Power-to-X (PtX) process envelope. It describes a series of catalytic conversions using only renewable energy, water and captured CO2 to produce green hydrogen, liquid hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals. Especially for sectors that are difficult or impossible to decarbonise, such processes that effectively defossilising the production of energy and goods, represent an important solution.The Catalysis Institute at the University of Cape Town (herein/after referred to as the Catalysis Institute) builds on decades of experience in the individual catalytic processes combined in the PtX concept. In collaboration with our global partners, we are therefore able to develop technologies for the full value chain, considering interdependencies and develop solutions for the African and indeed global society.
