By Victor Aniefiok
The Africa Centre of Excellence in Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems (ACE-FUELS) has commenced its dialogue series titled – Greenovation with a public lecture on climate-smart innovations towards green economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The lecture which was held in a hybrid format (in-person and online) at the ACE-FUELS Complex, of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), was delivered by Prof. Solomon Agbo, a Germany-based Nigerian scientist.
Prof. Agbo has been working in the field of renewable energy for over 20 years across institutions in Europe and Africa and is not just an academic but also an energy consultant and project manager. He is currently a senior scientist and project manager at the Corporate Development unit of Forschungszentrum Jülich, from where he coordinates the YESPVNIGBEN and H2Atlas-Africa projects.
In his lecture, Prof. Agbo emphasised the importance of climate-smart innovations while sharing insights into the strategic role of Sub-Saharan Africa in the energy transition. He emphasised the abundance of renewable energy resources in Africa. He insisted that it is these abundant renewable energy resources that make the continent attractive for energy partnerships, maintaining that such partnerships will benefit its countries through job creation and the provision of intensive training courses for students and researchers.
The lecture provoked attendees to begin to think more seriously about innovative solutions to climate change with Africa in focus.
The scientist who was impressed with the quality of teaching and research at ACE-FUELS commended the Centre Leader, Prof. Emeka Oguzie, for his leadership, commitment to the success of the Centre, and preparedness for the energy transition.
Responding, the Centre Leader expressed his immense gratitude to Prof. Agbo for his inspiring and thought-provoking lecture. He also thanked attendees for their active participation and encouraged them to join in subsequent discussions.
In line with the mandate of ACE-FUELS to strengthen research and innovation through strategic collaborations, the Centre recently hosted a Burkinabe academic, Dr Souleymane Kologo, as a visiting researcher.
Dr Kologo is a lecturer and researcher at Joseph KI-ZERBO University (UJKZ), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. His works are in the field of Electrochemistry and Analytical Chemistry. He is also a hydrogen and fuel cells technologies analyst and doubles as a consultant at ALPHEA Hydrogène, Forbach. During his time at ACE-FUELS, he participated actively in academic discussions, shared useful ideas, and made a special presentation highlighting aspects of his ongoing research in Burkina Faso.
Upon completion of his visit, the scholar thanked the Centre Leader, Prof. Oguzie, for offering him the opportunity, and commended the students for carrying out research that focused on solving domestic problems. In addition, he expressed his satisfaction with the state-of-the-art facilities at the Centre, while promising to recommend the Centre’s programmes to students at Joseph KI-ZERBO University.
According to the Centre Leader, Dr Kologo was indeed a welcome and valuable addition to the Centre, and “we wish him the very best in his research and career.”
