Leading Sasol researcher comes to HZB as Industrial Research Fellow

The HZB is working with the South African company Sasol in the CARE-O-SENE project on sustainable kerosene for aviation (SAF) and is developing innovative catalysts for this purpose. The collaboration is now being strengthened: Dr. Denzil Moodley, a senior scientist from the Fischer-Tropsch department at Sasol Research and Technology, is coming to the HZB. Moodley will contribute his expertise to the HZB with the aim of accelerating the innovation cycle for sustainable fuel technologies.

With the appointment of Dr. Denzil Moodley as Industrial Research Fellow, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Sasol are strengthening their partnership, which was established with the flagship project CARE-O-SENE in 2022. The fellowship aims to deepen the existing collaboration within the project, but will also be extended to other research areas.

The appointment represents a strategic development in the ongoing partnership between HZB and Sasol. It promotes closer collaboration to accelerate the innovation cycle for sustainable fuel technologies. Dr. Denzil Moodley brings a wealth of industrial knowledge to the collaboration and is expected to promote synergies between research and industrial applications.

Dr Theo Mudzunga, Vice President Research and Technology at Sasol, said: “Partnerships between industry and research are essential to drive innovation at the pace and scale needed to address global challenges. By working with HZB, we can combine cutting-edge scientific research and tools with practical insights from industry to accelerate the development of sustainable technologies that will have a tangible impact.”

Prof. Bernd Rech, Scientific Director of HZB, added: “With the appointment of Dr. Denzil Moodley as Industrial Research Fellow, HZB reaffirms its commitment to fostering impactful partnerships that bridge the gap between research and industry. This initiative demonstrates our commitment to driving transformative progress and paving the way for a more sustainable future.”

The CARE-O-SENE project is jointly led by Sasol and HZB and is dedicated to the development of highly efficient Fischer-Tropsch catalysts for large-scale SAF production. In addition to HZB and Sasol, other partners from Germany and South Africa are involved. The project has become a model for academic-industrial R&D cooperation and promotes innovation and sustainability in the aviation sector.

Dr. Moodley stressed: "It is crucial that we work more closely with industry and research institutes to address sustainability challenges and this Fellowship enables this. By combining our strengths, we can not only advance the state of the art, but also the scaling of sustainable technologies. The Fellowship also includes the development and mentoring of young scientific talent, which I am very excited about. In addition, this is a platform to promote a broader German-South African scientific network."

Through initiatives such as this fellowship, HZB and Sasol are helping to advance sustainable energy technologies and shape the path to climate neutrality.