It was recently discovered that low-valent main-group (MG) compounds can mimic the behavior of transition metals and activate small molecules, such as H₂, CO, CO₂, NH₃, etc., similarly to  transi­tion metals (TM). This discovery is exciting because it provides a new strategy to substitute the rare, expensive, and toxic TM by the widely available and less toxic MG elements, signifying an important step forward towards a more sustainable chemistry. The 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for this general topic.