The scientific developments needed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the chemical industries are possible with innovative catalysis research, leading scientists claim.
Speaking at the launch of the Max Planck Centre on the Fundamentals of Heterogeneous Catalysis (MPC FUNCAT), researchers from across the UK and Europe said their work was a key contributor in the quest for a cleaner, greener planet.
MPC FUNCAT brings together world-leading expertise from the Cardiff Catalysis Institute with the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung.
Together they aim to improve the understanding of catalysis, develop new catalytic processes with industry, and promote the use of catalysis as a sustainable 21st century technology.
Professor Graham Hutchings, Regius Professor of Chemistry at Cardiff University and one of the centre's co-directors, said: "The future of catalysis research will rely heavily on the link between theory and experiment with our theoretical methods becoming increasingly predictive through innovations in artificial intelligence and big data.
