Valencian mayor, Joan Ribó urges a more rapid transition to a new sustainable economic model and discusses the importance of catalysis’ role in a greener society. Daniel Hazelhoff reports…
Last Monday, the Mayor of Valencia, Joan Ribó, participated in the Biennial Meeting of the Sociedad Española de Catálisis “SECAT’21”, held in Valencia until 20 October. Ribó has expressed the immediate objective shown by research on catalysts, which is to define “a new way to create a sustainable future through catalysis,” says Ribó, and further states, “We are in a time when industry and society are in a period of transition towards a new economic model, which will necessarily have to be sustainable”. The climate emergency crisis is at the forefront of pushing forces towards a more sustainable system.
The Ayuntamiento de Valencia prides itself on being aware that technological development, research, and innovation are key factors needed to push and accelerate transitions to a more sustainable model, according to Ribó. This 13th congress aims to disseminate the latest advances developed in Spain in the field of research of “catalysis”, with special emphasis on the new challenges that society faces in the fields of chemistry, environment and energy. These challenges deal with the challenges of sustainability, zero waste, decarbonisation and cyclical economy.
During Ribó’s speech at the opening of Congress, he outlined areas in which catalysis is called upon to play a leading role, namely, great social changes in terms of health, food, energy, transport, and climate. With regards to health, there has been a focus on a synthesis of pharmaceutical health and biosafety products.
In the realm of food safety and sustainable agriculture, new ways of utilising inedible biomass, as opposed to water treatments or nitrogen fixation may be possible developments in the near future. In terms of green policies and safe energy, catalysis might be essential for the transportation of renewable energy on a global scale, with production of green hydrogen, and local storage of renewable energy among other developments to be considered.
With regards to intelligent, ecological, and integrated transport, catalysis could significantly contribute to emission reductions in vehicles, through the development of hydrogen vehicles, fuel cells and other sustainable combustion fuels.
The climate crisis, the environment, and primary resource efficiency, through catalysis, may contribute to new methods of reducing CO2 emissions, substituting fossil fuels and could lead to the development of low-carbon industrial plants, says Ribó. Catalytic materials are crucial to reducing current and future environmental loads and can contribute to cutting down on CO2 emissions, making greener, and more sustainable products.
The mayor has highlighted, among other aspects, initiatives related to the development of artificial photosynthesis, a process that uses the same ingredients as natural photosynthesis (light, water, carbon dioxide), but can obtain fuels such as methane or other alcohols. “This could be a formula to store energy and use it as fuel in cars, boilers, machines or industries… From a long-term perspective, this could lead to the possibility of distributed energy production in artificial leaf-like devices, that would use catalysts that mimic the function of chlorophyll,” says Ribó.
This is a path that we, Valencians, must travel together.
Joan Ribó
He adds, “I certainly know this is a great scientific and technological challenge, which could generate competitive advantages and contribute to job creation, and preservation of the environment”. Ribó emphasizes the need to use the best available knowledge and applied science to make healthy and sustainable cities. “This is a path that we, Valencians, must travel together,” says Ribó.
After the opening ceremony, the researcher – one of the eight most cited chemists in the world – Avelino Corma, underlined the importance of research in response to problems posed by society. Corma develops his work at the Valencia Institute of Chemical Technology, of which he is founder and director.
Corma is the recipient of the Rey Jaime I prize of New Technologies, the Príncipe de Asturias prize for investigation, and the Scientific Merit prize from the Generalitat Valenciana. He has authored more than 1,000 articles in national and international magazines and holds over 100 patents.
