R1.2 million
Tax benefit recovered
3
R&D projects approved
Overview
Cerax, a leading innovation-driven wax manufacturer, specialises in developing products and production processes for a range of industrial applications. Its R&D spans electrochemistry, microbial oil production and the chemical recycling of waste polymers, with each project contributing to one ambitious objective: developing alternative feedstocks and processes for the production of high-value waxes.
This work extends far beyond routine product refinement. Each project required Cerax to investigate scientific questions that existing knowledge could not readily answer. Accessing the available tax benefit added a separate challenge: translating that work into the technical and evidentiary framework of Section 11D.
Since 2023, Catalyst Solutions has acted as Cerax’s specialist R&D tax partner, bringing together the scientific, financial and legislative expertise needed to identify qualifying work, translate complex research into strong technical motivations aligned with Section 11D, and build compliant financial claims that captured the full eligible benefit from the approved activities.
Across the approved projects, Cerax has realised approximately R1.2 million in tax savings, reducing the effective cost of continued development and retaining more capital to support the next stage of R&D.
The Challenge
Cerax’s projects involved genuine scientific R&D, but Section 11D approval depends on how clearly the scientific advancement, uncertainty and experimental process are expressed against the legislation. Translating highly specialised research into that framework created a real risk of eligible work being misunderstood or rejected.
„Navigating the entrepreneurial landscape in South Africa is tough, we have to provide our own services and utilities while building a plant from the ground up. Catalyst Solutions took away the noise around R&D rebates and made it much easier for us to focus on what we are good at.“ – Stuart Prior, CEO, Cerax
The R&D Projects
Cerax pursued three advanced research programmes, each exploring a distinct route to high-value wax production. Together, they demonstrate the breadth and ambition of the company’s scientific R&D.
Developing a natural alternative to conventional wax
Cerax investigated whether a scientific process could be developed into a viable industrial method for producing a natural alternative to petroleum-derived paraffin wax.
Existing knowledge did not establish whether the process could consistently achieve the required wax quality and efficiency or be scaled beyond the laboratory.
Producing wax feedstock from microbial oils
Cerax explored whether naturally occurring microorganisms could produce oils with the specific properties needed for high-value wax manufacturing.
Although microbial oils were already used in other industries, no established process could produce the characteristics Cerax needed consistently and at industrial scale.
Converting waste polymers into high-value waxes
Cerax investigated a new recycling process to convert waste polymers into cleaner, more consistent waxes suitable for higher-value industrial applications.
The research addressed limitations in existing processes, including variable feedstocks, impurities and unwanted by-products, where the feasibility of achieving the desired wax properties remained uncertain.
The Outcome
Catalyst Solutions managed the scientific, legislative and financial requirements as one integrated process, keeping Cerax’s involvement focused on the project knowledge and decisions only its team could provide.
This reduced the operational burden on the business while ensuring that the claim remained aligned with the approved R&D activities and supporting expenditure.
Across the approved projects, Cerax has realised approximately R1.2 million in tax savings, reducing the effective cost of its R&D and retaining more capital within the business.
Cerax has used the benefit to support further experimental work, invest in pilot-scale development and strengthen the specialist resources needed to move its research closer to industrial application.
Looking ahead, Cerax plans to continue developing alternative feedstocks and production methods for high-value waxes, with further research focused on their novel application in the wax industry.
“Working with the Catalyst Solutions team was a pleasure because they were persistent in getting the correct information out of a busy team, that has little time to waste. ”
