The Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Platform develops advanced catalysts and innovative reactor systems to enable cleaner and more sustainable chemical processes. By integrating heterogeneous catalysis with reaction engineering, the platform focuses on transforming renewable feedstocks and industrial by-products into high-value fuels and chemicals.

We investigate fundamental reaction mechanisms and process optimization on nanostructured materials to establish structure–property relationships, which in turn inform the design of catalysts with specific architectures and properties. A key strength is the use of tailored catalytic interfaces and 3D-printed designs to deliver efficient, scalable, and environmentally viable solutions.

Dr. Priya Samudrala’s research focuses on the design and development of innovative heterogeneous catalysts, including hierarchically structured materials, nanozymes, and bio-inspired catalytic systems, for transforming waste and renewable feedstocks into value-added chemicals and clean fuels. Her work sits at the intersection of green chemistry and sustainability, aiming to create efficient and economically viable catalytic processes that advance both the biofuel and chemical industries.

She has extensive expertise in developing mesoporous, microporous, crystalline, and amorphous catalysts, as well as supported nanoparticle systems (mono-, bi-metallic, and bifunctional). Her research integrates catalyst synthesis, reaction engineering, process optimisation, and kinetic studies to establish structure–activity relationships and improve process efficiency. With a solid background in both experimental and theoretical aspects of catalysis, Dr. Samudrala advances molecular-level understanding of catalytic phenomena while translating these insights into practical solutions for biomass valorisation, bio-based fuel production, and sustainable chemical manufacturing.

__Prof. Gil Garnier

Prof. Sankar Bhattacharya

• Sustainable biomass utilisation – developing tailored catalysts and optimised processes to transform eucalyptus-derived molecules into valuable industrial chemicals, providing renewable alternatives to petrochemical feedstocks.
• C1 feedstock conversion – engineering catalytic interfaces to selectively activate methane, enabling its direct conversion to methanol under mild conditions for safer and more sustainable fuel use.
• Bio-inspired catalyst design – creating heterogeneous catalysts inspired by enzyme function to valorise bioglycerol, aiming to generate new routes for biopolymer production and value-added products from industrial by-products.