Grand challenges for catalysis in the Science and Technology Roadmap on Catalysis for Europe: moving ahead for a sustainable future

Abstract

This perspective discusses the general concepts that will guide future catalysis and related grand challenges based on the Science and Technology Roadmap on Catalysis for Europe prepared by the European Cluster on Catalysis. To address the changing scenarios in refinery and chemical production and move to a low-carbon sustainable future, the distinguishing elements of three grand challenges for catalysis are discussed here: 1) catalysis to address the evolving energy and chemical scenario, 2) catalysis for a cleaner and sustainable future, and 3) addressing catalysis complexity, the latter being organized into three sub-topics: advanced design of novel catalysts, understanding catalysts from the molecular to the material scale, and expanding catalysis concepts.