The African Centre of Excellence for Future Energies & Electrochemical Systems (ACE-FUELS) proudly participated in the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) program held in Accra, Ghana. The event, themed “A Decade of Impact and Innovation”, was organized by the World Bank in partnership with the Government of Ghana.
Led by the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Prof. Nnenna N. Oti, the ACE-FUELS delegation joined regional and international stakeholders to mark a decade of progress in research, innovation, and postgraduate education across Africa.
During the event, Prof. Emeka E. Oguzie, Centre Leader of ACE-FUELS, presented the Centre’s key achievements, including:
Cutting-edge research in clean energy and advanced materials
Over 1600% increase in research grant income to FUTO
Establishment of two additional centres: CE-sPESS (World Bank) and CELoMAS (NCDMB)
Creation of a turnkey electrochemistry lab for solar and battery R&D
Strategic partnerships in the UK, China, and Africa
Prof. Oguzie also acknowledged challenges such as low student enrollment, poor industry uptake, and capacity constraints. However, targeted strategies, including gender inclusion efforts and global collaborations, have begun to address these issues.
Looking to the future, the Centre unveiled the ACE-FUELS Agenda 2030, which includes:
A Perovskite Solar Cell Roadmap to advance affordable, efficient solar technologies
A Sodium-Ion Battery Roadmap to pioneer next-gen energy storage systems
Plans to strengthen commercialization, establish a clean energy innovation hub, and build a resilient research ecosystem
“We have created a Centre of Excellence—now we must build a community of excellence,” Prof. Oguzie stated.
