Chem4Energy 2025

Keynote speakers (confirmed to date) 

Prof. James Darkwa

James Darkwa holds a BSc (Hons) degree in chemistry from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana) and a PhD in chemistry from University of New Brunswick (Canada). He has spent the better part of his academic career in South Africa and is currently on a post-retirement contract as Professor of Chemistry at University of Johannesburg.

His research over the years has focused on late transition metal complexes as catalysts and as metallodrugs. From 2017 to 2022 he was employed as Lead Researcher at the Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation, where he led a team to develop hydrometallurgical processes to beneficiate copper-nickel concentrate to high purity battery grade salts.

University of Johannesburg, South Africa
(https://www.uj.ac.za/members/james-darkwa/)

Prof. Jan Philipp Hofmann

Hofmann is a chemist and full professor of Surface Science at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany since 2020. He received his academic education and Dr. rer. nat. from Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany followed by a postdoctoral stay at the Debye Institute of Nanomaterials Science at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Between 2013 and 2020, he has been assistant professor for Solar Fuels Catalysis and Inorganic Materials Chemistry at Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands. His current research focuses on the investigation of interface chemistry, energetics and dynamics of renewable energy conversion and storage materials and devices using surface science and in-situ/operando approaches.

Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
(https://www.mawi.tu-darmstadt.de/of/das_fachgebiet_of/of_team/of_mitarbeiter_details_115456.en.jsp)

Prof. Graham Hutchings

Graham Hutchings is Regius Professor of Chemistry at Cardiff University He studied chemistry at University College London. His early career was with ICI and AECI Ltd where he became interested in gold catalysis. In 1984 he moved to academia and has held chairs at the Universities of Witwatersrand, Liverpool and Cardiff. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2009, a Member of Academia Europaea in 2010, a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2010, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2023 and an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society in 2023. He was awarded the Davy Medal of the Royal Society in 2013, the ENI Award for Advanced Environmental Solutions in 2017, a CBE in 2018 and the Michel Boudart Award in 2021.

Cardiff University, UK 
(https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/hutch) 

Prof. Khomotso Maenetja

Khomotso Portia Maenetja is an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Limpopo based at the Materials Modelling Centre. She obtained her PhD (Physics) in 2017 at the University of Limpopo. In her MSc, she was granted a student exchange programme award to do her research at University College London (UCL). She is also the recipient of the ESRC-NRF Newton collaborative research grant whilst she was starting her Post doc research at Cardiff University. When she started her job as a Senior Researcher, she was awarded the NRF Thuthuka Grant based on an innovative research concept that was designed to unravel the surface interactions on discharge products in metal-air batteries with RuO¬2.  

Prof Maenetja’s focus area is in, energy storage materials, using computational methods. She has been working on enhancing oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction in metal-air batteries and currently working surface studies in cathode materials in Li-ion batteries aiming to improve cycling performance of secondary Li-ion batteries and preventing Manganese dissolution. Prof Maenetja is a recipient of several recognitions, amongst them, as one of the Inspiring Top 50 Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (2021). She is the founding member and a chairperson of Women in High-Performance Computing (WHPC-SA).

University of Limpopo, South Africa 
(https://za.linkedin.com/in/khomotso-maenetja-a2050552)

Dr Thelma Ngwenya

Dr Thelma Ngwenya is an engineer at Mintek with 10 years’ experience in research in catalysis for industrial applications. Specialising in catalyst development, Dr Ngwenya uses her experience to develop catalysts and reactor systems for air pollution control and advanced fuel cell catalysis. She has led a team of young researchers in designing a synthesis method for highly active and durable Pt-Ni nanoframes as fuel cell ORR catalysts; the synthesis of highly durable chemically modified high surface area carbon supports for fuel cell catalysts; and, high surface area antimony doped tin oxide supports.

By focussing on developing economically viable industry solutions, Dr Ngwenya has utilised her chemical engineering degrees, obtained at the University of the Witwatersrand, extensively. Over the years, Dr Ngwenya’s strengths have garnered recognition and as a result she has presented her work at various local and international conferences.

Mintek, South Africa 
(https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thelma-Ngwenya)
(https://za.linkedin.com/in/thelma-ngwenya-phd-wits-62590a153)

Prof. Richard Catlow 

University College London & UK Catalysis Hub, UK 
(https://www.ucl.ac.uk/chemistry/people/richard-catlow)

Programme 

Information on the full programme will be available soon.