How catalysis could power a cleaner future

Before discussing climate change, renewable fuels or breakthrough technologies, Professor Nico Fischer spent the opening 12 minutes of his inaugural lecture doing something unusual: saying thank you. 

Addressing an audience in a packed seminar room at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and online on 9 June, Professor Fischer used the first part of his lecture, “Catalysis as key enabler of a just and sustainable transition”, to acknowledge the family members, supervisors, collaborators, students, technicians, administrators and research partners who helped shape his academic journey. 

“These inaugural lectures are supposed to celebrate an achievement of an individual,” he said. “But this is not an achievement of an individual. This cannot be an achievement of an individual – at least not in the world that I live in.” 

The sentiment would become the defining theme of the evening. 

While Fischer went on to showcase pioneering research that could help transform waste plastics into hydrogen, convert carbon dioxide into useful chemicals and produce sustainable fuels, he repeatedly returned to the idea that meaningful scientific progress is built on collaboration. 

Opening the event, UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela echoed this view, describing inaugural lectures as milestones that celebrate not only individual accomplishment but also the communities that make academic success possible. 

After Fischer acknowledged the contribution of his family, supervisors, mentors, colleagues, technical and administrative staff, industry partners and generations of postgraduate students, he turned to science with potentially far-reaching implications. 

Catalysis and the climate challenge 

Fischer’s lecture focused on catalysis – the science of accelerating chemical reactions through specialised materials known as catalysts. Catalytic processes underpin much of modern industry – from fuel production and chemical manufacturing to pharmaceuticals and consumer products. 

According to Fischer, roughly 80% of industrial chemical processes rely on catalysis. 

That success, however, comes with a paradox. 

“Catalysts were pretty much at the forefront of creating all these greenhouse gas emissions that we are facing now,” he said. “But because of their diversity, catalysts also have an opportunity to help us solve these challenges.” 

At the heart of his research is the vision of what he calls a “de-fossilised society” – a future that dramatically reduces dependence on fossil resources, while continuing to provide the carbon-based products modern societies need. 

Fischer challenged the popular concept of “decarbonisation”, arguing that carbon itself is not the problem. 

“We cannot get rid of all carbon. We are made out of carbon. The whole society, the whole world, all nature is made out of carbon,” he explained. 

Instead, he argued, societies need to eliminate their dependence on fossil carbon and find new ways to produce fuels and chemicals using renewable resources. 

Achieving that vision requires sophisticated scientific tools capable of revealing what happens at the nanoscale, where catalysts operate. 

Fischer highlighted several innovations developed through the UCT Catalysis Institute, of which he is the director, including a patented reactor system that allows researchers to observe catalysts while they are operating under real reaction conditions. 

He also celebrated the commissioning of the first African laboratory-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy facility, the First African Beamline (FAB-1), a major milestone for scientific research on the continent. 

“We will open this resource to African researchers across the continent to come to us, run their samples with us, learn with us, and gain the experience they need.”

“For many years, the only way to do these measurements was to travel overseas to large infrastructures that we don’t have on the African continent,” he said. 

The facility will provide researchers across Africa with access to world-class analytical capabilities and opportunities to build expertise closer to home. 

“We will open this resource to African researchers across the continent to come to us, run their samples with us, learn with us, and gain the experience they need.” 

Turning plastic waste into hydrogen 

Among the projects showcased during the lecture was research aimed at tackling two global challenges simultaneously: plastic pollution and clean energy production. 

Globally, around 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year, yet only a small fraction is effectively recycled. In South Africa, Fischer noted, approximately 40 kg of plastic waste are generated per person annually, with a significant portion ending up in the environment. 

His research group is investigating whether waste plastics can be converted into hydrogen through a microwave-assisted catalytic process. 

Using specially designed microwave reactors, researchers generate intense localised energy that breaks down plastic waste. Catalysts then guide the reaction to produce hydrogen while capturing carbon as solid carbon nanotubes rather than releasing it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. 

“We could already show that we produce this hydrogen, and the carbon is not emitted as CO₂,” Fischer said. 

The carbon nanotubes themselves may become valuable products. Fischer explained that researchers are exploring, together with the Department of Civil Engineering, whether they can be incorporated into concrete to improve its strength while reducing the amount of clinker required, potentially lowering emissions from cement production. 

“We believe this is a technology that can be deployed on the ground, in small units, at recycling centres,” he said. 

Giving carbon dioxide a second life 

Another major focus of Fischer’s research is carbon dioxide utilisation. 

Working with collaborators in South Africa, Germany and elsewhere, his team is developing catalysts capable of converting captured carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide – a key industrial building block that can be used to manufacture fuels and chemicals. 

“The problem with CO₂ is that it likes to be CO₂,” Fischer joked, referring to the molecule’s remarkable stability. 

Recent breakthroughs have enabled his team to achieve carbon dioxide conversions of up to 80% under industrially relevant conditions while producing very few unwanted by-products. 

“This is really a breakthrough in my eyes,” he said. 

The resulting carbon monoxide, combined with hydrogen, creates synthesis gas – the foundation for a range of downstream chemical processes. 

“We want to understand not only the nanoscale. We also want to understand how this process could be implemented out there in the world.” 

Among those downstream applications is GreenQuest, a multidisciplinary initiative led by Emeritus Professor Jack Fletcher that seeks to produce sustainable alternatives to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). 

The project combines expertise from engineering, economics, social sciences and business to understand not only how the technology works, but also how it could be implemented in communities. 

LPG is increasingly viewed as a cleaner cooking fuel for many developing countries, where biomass remains a major energy source. The continued use of wood and other biomass fuels contributes to indoor air pollution, deforestation and significant health risks. 

“LPG is already internationally discussed as a solution for that,” Fischer said. 

The project aims to create a sustainable version of the fuel using captured carbon dioxide and renewable hydrogen. 

“We want to understand not only the nanoscale,” he said. “We also want to understand how this process could be implemented out there in the world.” 

From laboratory to marketplace 

Throughout the lecture, Fischer emphasised the importance of translating research into real-world impact. 

That commitment has led to the creation of UCT spin-off companies, including Moya Scientific and C STAR Holdings. 

Moya Scientific is developing affordable scientific instruments for laboratories that are currently priced out of expensive commercial analytical equipment. 

C STAR Holdings is focused on producing sustainable fuels from carbon dioxide and hydrogen using compact, containerised systems that can operate close to where fuels are needed. 

The company recently became the first African venture selected for the prestigious Breakthrough Energy Fellows programme, supported by the Breakthrough Energy Foundation. 

“The kind of future we want to build has to place people at the centre of what we do.” 

The team is now building a pilot-scale system capable of producing sustainable diesel directly from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. 

“We believe that we have found the right combinations to overcome the classic economies of scale,” Fischer said. 

For Professor Moshabela, the significance of Fischer’s work extends beyond scientific achievement. 

The lecture’s focus on sustainability, innovation and practical solutions reflects the role universities can play in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

“Scientific discovery and technological innovation will bring a lot of value if we know that it contributes to the betterment of people’s lives and our communities,” he said. 

As universities grapple with issues of climate change, energy security and technological transformation, Moshabela said research such as Fischer’s demonstrates how academic excellence can serve the public good. 

“The kind of future we want to build has to place people at the centre of what we do,” he said.