Federal University Dutse Secures N200m Research Grant On Alternative Energy

Federal University, Dutse (FUD), Jigawa State has been awarded the sum of over N200 million by The World Academy of Science (TWAS) and the African Academy of Science (AAS) based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The announcement was made in a statement signed and made available to Tribune Online by the university's Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Yahaya Bello in Dutse, state capital.

According to Bello, the grants was awarded to aid research on hydrogen (solar fuel) through the splitting of water as an alternative to fossil fuel (petroleum) in Nigeria.

“The World Academy of Science gave the university $59,930 equivalent to N42,849,950 million, while the African Academy of Science gave the university the sum of €220,801 equivalent to N157,872,715 million making the total sum of N200,722,66 million," the statement read in part.

The PRO further revealed that the lead researcher, Dr. Hafeez Yusuf Hafeez of the Physics Department, said the research proposal that won the TWAS award is titled “Development of Efficient and Robust graphene-based photocatalysis for the production of solar fuel(hydrogen) via photocatalic water splitting)

Hafeez added that the title of the proposal that won the AAS award is “Development of Efficient and Robust mxene-based photocatalysis for the production of solar fuel(hydrogen) via photocatalic water splitting”.

The team lead, according to the statement, said  four MSc students will be trained under the TWAS research grant while six MSc students and two Ph.D. students will be trained under the AAS grant to aid the success of the research.

He added that Nigeria's overdependence on fossil fuel (petroleum) in the presence of sufficient solar light and energy is a  motivation to carry out the research.

The researcher also said the research was an extension of his Ph.D. work in India which the government now uses in the commercial level of the state. 

Hafeeez stressed that Nigeria will be the first country in Africa to use hydrogen energy as alternative source of energy, adding that FUD will also be the first centre of hydrogen energy in the continent.