A catalyst acceleration platform towards realizing the energy transition

The climate emergency has made it necessary to rethink our economy which relies heavily on fossil fuels. Currently, sustainable processes are too costly, but catalysis as a key enabling technology has the potential to reduce process costs to a level that makes them economically viable. In spite of that, the existing catalyst discovery paradigm depends heavily on serendipity and trial and error methods. What is urgently needed to transform the energy transition is a catalyst acceleration platform (CAP) that expedites the development of next-generation sustainable processes. To advance the field, we need to use state-of-the-art robotic and algorithmic tools to look beyond the well-established systems that dominate the current research landscape. Herein, we discuss the requirements for a successful catalyst acceleration concept and the societal impact of breakthrough catalytic materials.