ACE-FUELS is an acronym for the African Center of Excellence in
Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems, domiciled at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria. It was set up primarily to fill a growing education, skills and information gap in the field of renewables and other clean energy sources within the sub region and in this way address the regional development challenge of poor availability and access to energy. The center focuses on four core areas of discipline namely; Clean & Future Energy, Electrochemical Systems, Nanotechnology and Corrosion Technology, which complement each order and prioritizes research and development; knowledge sharing and dissemination; community education, technical skills and capacity development.
The objective of ACE-FUELS align perfectly with the mission of the
Federal University of Technology, which is to operate practical and
result-oriented programs and training geared towards transforming the nation’s economy with a sound technological base,
Nigeria and other Sub Saharan African countries are facing the challenge of meeting increasing energy demands to reduce poverty and improve well-being. The shift towards low carbon emissions means that renewable energy sources are crucial. The region has an abundance of renewable energy resources, but lacks the necessary skilled workforce and infrastructure to effectively exploit them.
The Africa Centre of Excellence in Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems (ACE-FUELS) at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria, is addressing this gap by focusing on four core areas: clean energy, electrochemical systems, corrosion protection, and advanced functional materials. Through research, education, and partnerships, the center aims to develop new technologies and materials for efficient use of the region’s energy resources.
ACE-FUELS, while helping to strengthen existing programs in the University, has also introduced new programs, while providing training and support for young entrepreneurs. The center also collaborates on multidisciplinary research projects to facilitate knowledge transfer and enable partner organizations to deliver challenging projects competitively.
ACE-FUELS is partnering directly with 24 academic institutions (5 national, 9 regional and 10 international) for education and research collaborations in such areas as postgraduate training, research and co-supervision, lecture delivery, access to facilities, joint workshops etc. as well as with 8 industrial/sectoral partners who shall partake in setting training and research agenda, and offer adjunctships, fellowships, student internship positions and so on. The Centre has established partnerships with national, regional, and international knowledge networks to develop innovative technologies and approaches. These collaborations aim to effectively involve local and regional scientific talents while benefiting from global expertise.
The objectives of the proposed ACE-FUELS Centre align perfectly with the mission of the Federal University of Technology Owerri; “to operate practical and result-oriented programmes and training geared towards transforming the nation’s economy from consumer-oriented to production-oriented, with a sound technological base”. The initiative satisfies the energy priority of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), to fully utilize the opportunities that promote greenhouse gas mitigation, as well as the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS) on the development of power generation infrastructure. Moreover, energy is central to virtually all MDGs, as access to equitable and sustainable energy is a precursor to poverty reduction/eradication, wealth generation, good health services, women empowerment and enhancing literacy.
To provide postgraduate-level and professional training to nurture and develop a critical mass of competent technocrats to address Africa’s developmental challenges of poor access and availability of energy, through application of knowledge and technology, in line with requirements of the current energy transition and adoption of renewable technologies.
The Centre was set up primarily to fill a growing education, skills and information gap in the field of renewable and other clean energy sources within the sub region and in this way address the regional development challenge of poor availability and access to energy.
The Centre focuses on four core areas of discipline at MSc and PhD levels to train students in line with the goals of the Centre.
On March 14, 2018, the Electrochemistry and Materials Science Research Unit (EMRU-FUTO) partnered with Bio-Logic Science Instruments (France) to organize a workshop tagged “Future of Electrochemistry in Modern Africa 1:New Trends in Electrochemistry and the Role of Electrochemical Technologies in Africa’s Economic Development”. The key objective of the event was to inform and familiarize the FUTO Research Community on the wide-ranging applications of techniques in Electrochemical Science and Technology, which has capacity to institute and nurture multidisciplinary research initiatives in the frontiers of science and presents a ready means for FUTO researchers to engage in top-rate high impact research.
The workshop participants massively supported the idea of the setting up a University-wide multidisciplinary research group, to develop multi-disciplinary research projects based on electrochemical technologies, as well as to draft a comprehensive research proposal to set up an International Centre for Electrochemical Energy, Nanotechnologies and Interfacesin FUTO.Thus, the Electrochemical Energy, Interfaces and Nanotechnology (EMINeNT) Research Consortium was created.
Following the call for proposals for the Africa Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE 3) in May 2018, the proposal submitted to the World Bank won the grant that would enable establishment of the Africa Centre of Excellence in Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems (ACE-FUELS) at the Federal University of Technology Owerri.
