A personal view on homogeneous catalysis and its perspectives for the use of renewables

This personal account is based on a talk at the conference "Fats and Oils as Renewable Feedstock for the Chemical Industry" in Emden, Germany. It describes selected perspectives and challenges applying catalysis for the refinement of renewables. Because the author himself has not been active in the past using biomass-based starting materials, special focus is given on the use of homogeneous catalysis as a tool for a more sustainable chemistry in industry and academia. Recent developments of catalysts in our research group are used to illustrate the current status and challenges of homogeneous catalysis in this area.