In the 8th RD20 Conference, hosted by the CSIR in Pretoria on October 19th to 23rd, global leaders from industry, academia, research institutions, and government came together to discuss the technologies needed to enable a sustainable and resilient energy future.

A particular highlight was the strong representation from the German-South African CARE-O-SENE collaboration, with Dr. Lucero Cobos-Becerra (HZB) and Dr. Denzil Moodley (Sasol) presenting complementary perspectives on how international partnerships can accelerate the development and deployment of sustainable fuel technologies.

Dr. Cobos-Becerra's presentation showcased how the CARE-O-SENE programme brings together advanced synchrotron science, catalyst innovation, scale-up engineering, digitalisation, and talent development to accelerate catalyst development for sustainable fuel production. The programme combines the strengths of HZB, Sasol, KIT, UCT, IKTS, INERATEC, and other partners to move more effectively from laboratory discoveries to industrial implementation.

One of CARE-O-SENE's notable achievements has been the successful progression of a next-generation Fischer-Tropsch catalyst from fundamental research through pilot and semi-commercial scale demonstration, reinforcing the importance of integrating science and scale-up from the outset.

In his presentation, Dr. Moodley emphasized that the energy transition will not be limited by a lack of ideas, but by our ability to scale promising innovations rapidly, affordably, and sustainably. Achieving a low-carbon future will require integrated solutions that combine renewable energy, sustainable feedstocks, process efficiency, carbon management, and circularity. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) represents a critical opportunity for decarbonising aviation, with Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch technology offering the flexibility to convert diverse renewable feedstocks into high-quality fuels. Real progress, however, depends on strong partnerships across academia, industry, government, and funding agencies to accelerate innovation and deployment.

Both presentations emphasized that long-term innovation depends not only on technology, but also on people. Through industrial fellowships, scientist exchanges, synchrotron training, mentorship and international collaboration, CARE-O-SENE is helping build the next generation of researchers and innovators needed for the energy transition.

The RD20 Conference once again demonstrated that solving global energy challenges requires global collaboration. The path from scientific discovery to commercial impact is rarely travelled alone. By combining complementary capabilities across borders, disciplines, and sectors, partnerships can accelerate the deployment of sustainable technologies and help turn scientific breakthroughs into real-world solutions.