Cape Town

History

Cape Catalytix (Pty) Ltd was established in 2017 to service a demand for custom-made laboratory-scale scientific equipment developed at the University of Cape Town. The company manufactures a patented in-situ X-ray reaction cell with free-standing controller, catalytic reaction test units and related custom-manufactured laboratory equipment.

The founders recognised that there was value in having world-class expertise in the design and layout of engineer-to-order chemical processing equipment for scientific use, as well as in developing novel, patented analytical instruments. This expertise has been combined with logistics to source, manufacture and/or assemble the ancillary components to produce such turn-key chemical processing equipment and analytical instruments for clients, including the capacity for automation, servicing and maintenance of the equipment.

Cape Catalytix has responded to the market’s need to provide turn-key solutions that address a lack of custom-built equipment available on the market capable of conducting scientific studies under the appropriate conditions for the specific chemical processing study under investigation.

Meet the Team

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Rein is a founding member and chief executive officer of Cape Catalytix (Pty) Ltd. Rein’s interests revolve around business management and business development. In particular, new product development and bringing new innovative products to market provide interesting challenges and opportunities, especially if these are globally competitive and marketable.
Rein has previously served on the board of HyPlat (Pty) Ltd and the SA Chemical Technology Incubator (CHEMIN). Rein holds a PhD and MBA from the University of Cape Town and has been privileged enough to jointly be awarded the Hargraves Library Services Prize for “Managing Organisations & Human Resources” (MBA Part-Time Class 2004/5).

Our new in-situ non-ambient chamber. Reaches temperatures above 400 and pressures up to 20 bar.

Rein Weber (PhD, MBA) (CEO)

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Stephen heads the manufacturing and operations division of Cape Catalytix (Pty) Ltd and holds a MSc (Chem. Eng) from the University of Cape Town. Stephen is responsible for the production and quality control testing of the Ikey in-situ XRD Cell. His primary interests are in applied industrial catalytic research and technology development projects, with a special focus on precious metals research.
Stephen is the former chairperson of The Catalysis Society of South Africa (CATSA) and had been a committee member for 18 years. He is a registered engineer and is a founding member and holds directorship in both Cape Catalytix (Pty) Ltd and Hydrogen Energy Applications (Pty) Ltd.

Our new in-situ non-ambient chamber. Reaches temperatures above 400 and pressures up to 20 bar.

Stephen Roberts (PrEng)

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Jack drives sales of custom-built equipment & marketing in Cape Catalytix. He is also credited with the manufacturing of the custom-built equipment and the development of the catalytic test units. Jack holds a PhD within the chemical engineering space with his research revolving around catalysis. 
Jack’s research interests are in off-grid hydrogen generation and Power-to-X technologies (notably H₂ + CO₂ -> green LPG)

Our new in-situ non-ambient chamber. Reaches temperatures above 400 and pressures up to 20 bar.

Jack Fletcher (PhD)

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Michael plays a critical role in the team. He is responsible for product development and forms half of the sales and marketing division. Michael's interests in catalysis are directed around Power-to-Liquids technologies for green sustainable fuels and chemicals production. CO₂ valorisation to close the carbon cycle. In-situ catalyst characterisation for development of improved catalysts.
Michael has done substantial work using the IKey XRD Cell. He was recently upgraded to A-rating, by the National Research Foundation (NRF), for his work in catalysis for energy applications. His awards include:
2021 NSTF-South32 Awards Finalist – Category Innovation Award: Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) – Cape Catalytix (Pty) Ltd
2012 Billiton-NSTF Award Finalist – Category Research for innovation through an organisation
2012 Billiton-NSTF Award Finalist – Category Research for innovation through an organisation

Our new in-situ non-ambient chamber. Reaches temperatures above 400 and pressures up to 20 bar.

Michael Claeys (Dipl.-Ing., Dr.-Ing.)

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Rein Weber (PhD, MBA) (CEO)

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Stephen Roberts (PrEng)

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Jack Fletcher (PhD)

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Michael Claeys (Dipl.-Ing., Dr.-Ing.)

Michael plays a critical role in the team. He is responsible for product development and forms half of the sales and marketing division. Michael's interests in catalysis are directed around Power-to-Liquids technologies for green sustainable fuels and chemicals production. CO₂ valorisation to close the carbon cycle. In-situ catalyst characterisation for development of improved catalysts.
Michael has done substantial work using the IKey XRD Cell. He was recently upgraded to A-rating, by the National Research Foundation (NRF), for his work in catalysis for energy applications.
Awards include:
2021 NSTF-South32 Awards Finalist – Category Innovation Award: Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) – Cape Catalytix (Pty) Ltd
2012 Billiton-NSTF Award Finalist – Category Research for innovation through an organisation
2012 Billiton-NSTF Award Finalist – Category Research for innovation through an organisation

The Company

We, at Cape Catalytix, are committed to exercising our combined 30 years of experience in catalytic processing research and development. We manufacture products designed for their functionality and reliable data generation in the research environment to suit our clients’ expectations, using safe engineering methodologies for peace of mind.

The company’s core expertise relates to laboratory-scale catalytic reaction test units, namely gas and/or liquid delivery systems, single or multiple catalytic reactor configurations, as well as simple product separation for off-line or on-line chemical analysis. This knowledge has been combined with logistics to source, manufacture and/or assemble the ancillary components to produce turnkey catalytic reaction test units, supported by computer integrated systems and equipment maintenance policies.