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Microbial electrochemistry and technology capacity building challenges—focus on Latin America & Caribbean and Africa

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Abstract

Microbial electrochemistry and microbial electrochemical technology (MET) is an interdisciplinary research area that has been intensively growing in the past decades. However, in some regions like Latin America & Caribbean (LA & C) and Africa, capacity building within this realm is scarce. Hence, the advancement of research and development in this field is slower and less established than in Europe, Asia Pacific, or North America. This is of special concerns as MET may be important components of a biobased circular economy. Here, we highlight the specific challenges researchers in LA & C and Africa have to face and put these into perspective to their general research and education environment. Subsequently, we discuss possible solutions to these challenges and showcase examples on how to overcome these. We hope that thereby awareness can be created and how each researcher in the field around the globe can individually contribute to decrease the gap in capacity building in LA & C and Africa compared to other regions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Sostenibilidad Ambiental, Instituto Tecnológico Regional Centro Sur, Universidad Tecnológica – UTEC, Maciel sn, 97000, Durazno, Uruguay

    Angela Cabezas

  2. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico en Electroquímica, Parque Tecnológico Querétaro, Pedro Escobedo, C.P. 76703, Querétaro, Mexico

    Bibiana Cercado

  3. Univ. Manouba, ISBST, BVBGR-LR11ES31, Biotechpole Sidi Thabet, Ariana, Tunisia

    Habib Chouchane

  4. Department of Química Biológica and IQUIBICEN-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales – UBA, Ciudad Universitaria, 1430, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Eduardo Corton

  5. Radiation Microbiology Department, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo, Egypt

    Ola Gomaa

  6. Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Falk Harnisch

  7. Biotechnology Innovation Centre, Rhodes University, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, 6139, South Africa

    Janice Limson

  8. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil

    Valeria Reginatto Spiller

  9. Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna, 4860, Santiago, Chile

    Ignacio Vargas

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  1. Angela Cabezas
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Correspondence to Angela Cabezas.

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Cabezas, A., Cercado, B., Chouchane, H. et al. Microbial electrochemistry and technology capacity building challenges—focus on Latin America & Caribbean and Africa. J Solid State Electrochem 28, 1023–1039 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-023-05761-x

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