Catalysis, a driver for sustainability and societal challenges

Catalysis is an enabling technology to promote sustainability, environment, energy, health and quality of life. This contribution discusses the role of catalysis in achieving these objectives and some of the factors which will drive the changes in catalysis research in the next years, in particular the need to go to more sustainable and modular-design of the chemical processes (F3-factory), the use of biomass and of renewables, including solar energy, and the challenges offered from electrocatalysis. It is also emphasized the need to strength research on catalysis, and some examples of how to overcome fragmentation barriers, particularly in catalysis areas (homo-, hetero- and bio-) and in academy–industry interactions. The need to create a longer term vision and strong collaborations in order to develop a knowledge platform, in order to accelerate the innovation path. Finally, the need to develop new catalytic materials, particularly of tailoring catalyst nano-architectures and develop new catalysts based on the concepts of nanoreactors and catalytic nanofactories are discussed.