News & Events

The full list of sscientific publications is now available. Click here.

The “Power of Interfaces” 2024 workshop, was held at the Caixa Forum, in Palma de Mallorca from April 3rd to 5th, 2024, and marked a significant moment in European innovation and collaboration in the energy sector. Leading European projects, 24/7 ZEN, HarveStore, EpiStore, and HyP3D and led by IREC researchers, co-organized the event, while also actively engaging and providing invaluable contributions. The workshop provided opportunities for key discussions and insights into the most recent developments and advances in energy technologies. The workshop topics ranged from the exploration of novel materials and solid-state devices for energy storage and conversion, modeling, and characterization techniques, to the application of micro- and nanotechnologies for energy devices. An international spring school was held at the same location on April 3rd, prior to the workshop. The spring school, also co-hosted by EpiStore, HarveStore, HyP3D, and 24/7 ZEN, covered a wide range of topics, providing an overview of the fundamentals of materials, while also analyzing devices and systems. “The Power of Interfaces” workshop showcased prospects for innovation and advancement in the energy sector by demonstrating the potential of collaboration and knowledge sharing among the participants. These European initiatives share a common goal and are determined to create a sustainable energy future.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has established an initiative aimed at boosting cutting-edge technologies from the laboratory to real-world applications. The EIC Transition program provides crucial support to research organizations, start-ups small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), for maturing their innovations and bridging the gap between groundbreaking research and market-ready solutions. OxyBatt (“high-temperature oxygen batteries for industrial Internet of Things”) is one of the 27 granted projects under this scheme during the first call of 2024 and will develop a portable battery operating at high temperatures above 150 ºC. The core of this new battery solution is a thin-film rechargeable system that utilizes oxygen storage, with no reliance on scarce elements such as Li. During the project, the product will be coupled to a thermoelectric energy source and will be integrated into a commercial industrial internet of things device (IIoT), demonstrating the potential to enter the important market of predictive maintenance in harsh industrial environments as a safe and sustainable solution. The project joins the forces of 5 strong European entities in the field, and combines technology developers (IREC, Vienna University of Technology, Nano4energy), IIoT device manufacturers (AEInnova) and business developers (DayOne). “The OxyBatt project represents a unique opportunity,” says Federico Baiutti, senior researcher in the Nanoionics and Fuel Cells group at IREC and project coordinator. “Our battery technology can work in harsh industrial settings that are currently inaccessible to any storage system. It is easy to integrate in existing IIoT devices and will enable to introduce predictive maintenance practices for improved safety and optimization of industrial processes”. OxyBatt has been granted 2.5M€, starting on May 2024 and lasting for 36 months. The project builds on previous research from Harvestore, where the proof-of-concept for the oxygen battery was demonstrated.

The European projects HarveStore, EpiStore, HyP3D and 24/7 ZEN announce the 4th edition of the “The Power of Interfaces” workshop, which will take place on 3rd – 5th April 2024. Following the last successful meeting, where we hosted more than 80 participants, the workshop will be held in-person at the Caixa Forum of Palma de Mallorca (Spain), where we will discuss the latest advances in: New materials for energy; Solid-state devices for energy storage and conversion; Advanced manufacturing; Advanced characterization techniques; Modelling; Micro and nanotechnologies for energy devices. The workshop will comprise of invited, keynote, contributed talks and posters. The event will be preceded by an international spring school covering aspects from fundamentals of materials to devices and systems. The spring school will take place on April the 3rd in the same venue and will be co-organized by EpiStore, HarveStore, HyP3D and 24/7 ZEN. For further info: link.

The Nanoionics and Fuel Cells group at IREC is looking for a PhD student for an exciting new project on a novel battery technology based on thin films! Check it out: link.

Researchers at CNRS, in collaboration with IREC, have developed a new technique for probing oxygen kinetics in-situ. The techinque is based on tracking the changes of isotope concentration in a material by Raman. The proof of concept and strengths of isotope exchange Raman spectroscopy (IERS) is demonstrated by studying the oxygen isotope back-exchange in gadolinium-doped ceria (CGO) thin films. Resulting oxygen self-diffusion and surface exchange coefficients are compared to conventional time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) characterization and literature values, showing good agreement, while at the same time providing additional insight, challenging established assumptions. IERS captivates through its rapidity, simple setup, non-destructive nature, cost effectiveness, and versatile fields of application and thus can readily be integrated as new standard tool for in situ and operando characterization in many laboratories worldwide. The applicability of this method is expected to consolidate the understanding of elementary physicochemical processes and impact various emerging fields including solid oxide cells, battery research, and beyond. Link to publication: here.

Project partners from IREC have partecipated in the “Festa de la Ciencia” 2023 in Barcelona. A great outreach event to explain our activities and to introduce people to the power of harvesting heat and light! A very crowded event co-organized with another EU project “EpiStore”, as you can see from the gallery pictures.

The European Material Research Society sprng meeting will take place from may 29th to June 2nd in Strasbourg, France. The project is sponsor and contributor of Symposium A “Solid State Ionics: bulk, interfaces and integration in devices”. Check the full program: link.

Project partners at IREC and CNRS have participated in a new book, “Nanoengineered materials for solid oxide cells” in the IOP ebook series. The volume focuses on the fundamental research and progress achieved in utilizing nanostructured materials to boost the properties and performance of solid oxide cell devices. Link to publication: here.

The “Power of Interfaces 2022” meeting (PoI22) has taken place on October 5th-7th in Palma, Mallorca. It hosted three related events: the Harvestore and Epistore projects meetings, a school and the workshop, with 83 participants from 11 different institutions. This is the third edition of the workshop, being the first one in 2020 at the Royal Society in London, and the second one in 2021 online. The School covered aspects of fundamentals of oxide chemistry, ion transport, electrochemical devices and advanced characterization techniques. The participants had the opportunity to learn from exceptional lecturers: Ainara Aguadero, Stephen Skinner, Louis De Taeye, Juergen Fleig, Miguel Laguna, John Kilner and Dino Klotz. On the 6th and 7th of October, the PoI22 workshop has been celebrated. It included seven different sessions: Advanced techniques, Devices, New Materials, Interfaces and surfaces, Modelling and Protonics. Outstanding keynotes have been presented, in addition to a series of invited and contributed talks. A poster session took place the 6th in the afternoon. At the end of the event the “Early career best poster” and “Early career bet oral presentation” prizes were awarded. Beside the interesting scientific presentations, during the PoI22 event there was also time for informal networking. The welcome reception took place at a micro-brewing were participant could taste local craft beer and food. Invited speakers and project leaders were invited to a Gala dinner at the Xalest restaurant. Visit our gallery section for photos of the event!

A novel rechargeable battery based on oxygen ions has been developed by project partners at TU Vienna. This technology is capable of working at intermediate temperatures with high storage capacity. It can be crafted without the need for rare elements and it is made of non-combustible materials, becoming therefore an interesting alternative to Li-ion batteries for long-term storage and for application in hazardous environments. The new battery idea has already been patented by TU Vienna and IREC. Publication: link.

IREC researchers, together with Imperial College, Colorado School of Mines and the laboratory of Electron Nanoscopies at the University of Barcelona, have developed a new tool for directly observing mass transport highways in nanomaterials. The method is based on atom probe tomography, which offers a 3D reconstruction of atomic positions with high resolution, and can be applied to a number of energy materials for devices such as fuel cells and batteries. The paper has been recently published by Wiley Advanced Materials: link. Check it out!  

A new Nature Communications paper entitled “A high-entropy manganite in an ordered nanocomposite for long-term application in solid oxide cells” is released today, May the 11^th, 2021. The research has been led by IREC. The paper is a collaborative effort between IREC, University of Cambridge (UK), Colorado School of Mines (USA), Coventry University (UK), ICN2-CSIC-BIST (Spain), Purdue University (USA) and Imperial College London (UK).

The communication reports on the development of a novel class of functional materials with enhanced electrochemical properties based on nano-engineered composite oxides.

The researchers realized vertically aligned nanocomposites of an ionic and an electronic conductor with straight applicability as functional layers in solid oxide cells. The ordered structured is characterized by a coherent, dense array of vertical interfaces at the nm-scale. The synergy between the two materials results in high electrochemically activity and superior thermal stability. The authors use a combination of state-of-the-art and novel techniques including physical vapour deposition, atom-probe tomography combined with oxygen isotopic exchange, density functional theory calculations, to disclose the exciting properties of the material and to highlight the relevance of local disorder and long-range arrangements for functional oxides nano-engineering.

The Nature Communications paper can be downloaded from this link.

A new PhD position under the supervision of Dr. Mónica Burriel and Dr. David Jauffres in the framework of the HarveStore project is available at LMGP/SIMAP (Grenoble, France): “Optimization of high performance nano-architectured electrode/electrolyte bilayers for reversible Solid Oxide Cells”. More info: download.

The project is sponsor of symposium G: “Solid state ionics: advanced concepts and devices”. Two special sessions “Interface and surface phenomena” and “In situ/Operando Characterization” will be dedicated to the project.

On April 15th, the project will host the presentation of the EPO-IEA study “Innovation in batteries and electricity storage – a global analysis based on patent data”, followed by round table. The study is a global analysis of energy storage technologies based on the patents filed in the last 20 years and highlights the trends in terms of applications, materials, forthcoming technologies. We will host one of the authors and we will discuss the directions of the innovation in the field with main actors of battery research and technology.
Confirmed list of speakers: Dr. Z. Georgiou (EPO director), Dr. A. Aguadero (Imperial College), Dr. G. Gregori (EPO Patent examiner), Prof. A. Tarancón (IREC), Dr. P. Vereecken (IMEC), Dr. C. Villevieille (CNRS). Click here for the final program.

Registration is open for the 2021 project workshop!

The JSPS core to core network SOIFIT (Solid Oxide Interfaces for Faster ion Transport) and the EU project HARVESTORE invite you to join an online workshop on April 21st, 2021.
These two international consortia are concerned with the common goal of gaining a deeper understanding of materials and their interfaces for ionic devices. Last year we held a very successful joint meeting “The Power of Interfaces” at the Royal Society in London, where we managed to host almost 70 participants. This year, we have decided to hold a virtual workshop, which will consist of four sessions covering new materials, nanoionics, interface techniques, iontronics. To start each session we have an invited speaker, followed by contributed talks.

Poster of the event and registration: here.

List of confirmed invited speakers:
• Dr. Marine Reynaud (CIC Energigune): “Design of new materials for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries”
• Prof. Atonino Martorana (University of Palermo): “Electrode-electrolyte interfaces in protonic ceramic fuel cells: materials and perspectives”
• Prof. Tatsumi Ishihara (Kyushu University): “Strain effects on electronic band structure of SrTiO3 and photocatalytic water splitting activity”
• Dr. Francesco Chiabrera (IREC-DTU): “In situ spectroscopy ellipsometry for studying the defect chemistry of oxide thin films”.

Join us for a full day on the Power of Interface!

A series of events have been organized by the consortium.

• April 21^st Power of Interfaces workshop, co-organized together with JSPS core to core network SOIFIT (Solid Oxide Interfaces for Faster ion Transport). Following last year’s joint meeting “The Power of Interfaces” at the Royal Society in London, where we managed to host almost 70 participants, this year the workshop will take place virtually. It will consist of four sessions covering new materials, nanoionics, interface techniques, iontronics. Registration link: here.

• April 15^th EPO webinar. The European Patent Office has recently released a global analysis related to energy storage technologies (especially batteries) based on the patents filed in the last 20 years, highlighting the trends in terms of applications, materials, forthcoming technologies: link to the study here. We will host Dr. Giuliano Gregori, one of the authors of the study, together with the director of EPO, for a presentation of the work followed by a round table of discussion which will involve group leaders from different European research groups in the battery field. Registration link: here.

Project partners participated in the online European Researchers’ Night 2020, organized in Barcelona. Here is the link to the video presentation (in Spanish).

Our project coordinator Albert Tarancón has been hosted by Fundación Naturgy for a webinar on status and future of hydrogen technology. The book “Hidrógeno. Vector energético de una economía descarbonizada”, realized by IREC – Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya has been presented. Here is the link to the video of the event. and for book download.

A new article has been published by our partners FETFX on the project activities.

Interested in being part of Harvestore? The Materials and Physical Engineering Laboratory (LMGP) and the Laboratory of Electrochemistry and Physical-Chemistry of Materials and Interfaces (LEPMI) in Grenoble offer a PhD project on design and characterization of advances energy materials for micro-cell applications. Check this out!

The first edition of the joint Harvestore-SOIFIT worskhop “The Power of Interfaces: Fundamentals for Solid State Devices” will take place at the hystorical Royal Society in London next March 10th and 11th. Some of the most influential scientists in the field will be present…check out the program and sign up! https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/95807/the-power-of-interfaces-fundamentals-for-solid-state-devices/

The project has built up a collaboration with an ongoing H2020 project on Governing Nanotechnologies Through Societal Engagement “GoNano” (http://gonano-project.eu/) with an aim to identify potential flaws/untapped markets and opportunities. Particularly, the collaboration enables project co-creation between citizens, researchers, industry, civil society organisations, and policy makers across Europe to align future nanotechnologies with societal needs and concerns.  On October 30^th, a joint workshop between the two projects has been organized at IREC, with the participation of several partners from Harvestore (IREC, ICL) and of professionals in the field as potential stakeholders.

http://gonano-project.eu/harvestore/

The project partner Worldsensing has released a news article for introduction and for describing their role in the project:

https://www.worldsensing.com/news/green-solutions-energy-harvesting-storage/

Today we have been hosted by Prof. Lughi (Dept. of Engineering and Architecture) at the University of Trieste for a seminar on hydrogen-based technology, device and future applications. Tomorrow and on Wednesday we will participate in a Joint School on Scientific Data management.

Harvestore will be present with his “Power on your fingertip” activites during the European Researcher’s Night at Cosmocaixa forums in Barcelona and Zaragoza. A suitcase of fun! Download the program flyer here.

The group of Dr. Monica Burriel “Oxides for Nanoioncs Devices” (Grenoble, France) is looking for a postodoctoral researcher to work on the development of electrochemical materials and on their advanced characterization within the framework of the Harvestore project. More info here!

A big participation from the project is planned for E-MRS Meeting 2019, to be held in Warsaw from Sept. 16th to 19th. Harvestore will sponsor the symposium A: “Ion-related phenomena in nanoscale systems: From fundamentals to applications” and will be present for a dedicated session in the same symposium on Tuesday afternoon, starting at 9 am. Several related talks will be presented by project partners…follow us on Twitter for the latest news!

Nature electronics has recently published a review article by the project coordinator Albert Tarancon (IREC), who comments on the potential of CMOS technology and thermoelectric-based microdevices for powering next-generation IoT nodes.

New conference appointments at the International Conference on Electroceramics in Lausanne: today July 17th at h 12:00 “Nanostructured Ceramic Electrodes for Micro Energy Devices”, tomorrow h 15:45 “Engineering Transport in Manganites by Tuning Local Nonstoichiometry at the Grain Boundaries”, both by Albert Tarancon.

Harvestore partners will be present at Solid State Ionics Conference which is taking place in Pyeongchang (South Korea), from June 16 to June 21:

• Monday 16/6 h 9:10, keynote talk by Albert Tarancon: “The role of grain boundaries in MIEC electrodes”
• Monday 16/6 h 18:00, poster presented by A. Tarancon : ” In-situ ellipsometry study of the defect chemistry in La1-xSrxFeO3-δ thin films”
• Tuesday 17/6 h 18:00, poster presented by C. Pirovano: “In-situ Raman Spectroscopy: a tool to measure the oxygen exchange properties in oxide-ion conductors”

Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces for Advanced Ionic Electronic Conducting Oxides….available from our download page.

Harvestore will be present at next E-MRS Fall meeting (Warsaw, Sept. 16th to 19th) with a special session within the symposium A: “Ion-related phenomena in nanoscale oxide systems: from fundamentals to applications”. Contributions from several project partners will be presented. Click here for the full list of invited speakers and for more info.
The deadline for the abstracts’ submission is May 20th: hurry up to stay up-to-date with the world of Nanoioncs!

The Harvestore Team at IREC (Barcelona) is looking for a PhD candidate in the field of Nanomaterials for Energy. Do you want to be part of the IoT revolution? Apply!

Read here an abstract from the interview that one of our project partners, CNRS research Scientist Monica Burriel, gave for “MinaNews”, the magazine of the Grenoble Microtechnology Campus. A privilege for our French speaking followers 🙂

A summary presenting our goals and mission has been published today on an article by the EU commission.

Here is the link to the page.

Harvestore – A new paradigm for the Internet of Things

The internet of things will revolutionise the way in which we interact with the world around us: sensors of temperature, presence, traffic density will measure data and communicate to a control unit for decision-making. Autonomous actions for process optimization, intervention, environmental safeguard will be taken without human intervention.

IoT is an universe in fast expansion. A countless number of applications can be imagined: smart cities, remote health care, automated production lines…. We expect 27 billion devices to be installed by 2025, but how will they be powered? Batteries are bulky and environmentally unfriendly, thus strongly limiting the possibility of device miniaturization, at the same time posing serious problems of sustainability. Embracing the IoT in our lives will require the advent of a new generation of portable power sources. For this, the project HarveStore aims to introduce a family of micro-energy sources (m-Harvestorers) which will be autonomous, rechargeable and will offer high specific power (0.5-10 mW and 1-100 J) for full integration with the nodes of the future IoT. The m-Harvestorers will work on two steps: energy harvesting from ubiquitous heat and light and energy storage in the form of a fuel or of electric charge. Such two steps will be carried out at the same time and the total footprint of the device will not exceed 1 cm³. Harvestore will provide power on your fingertip.

The scientific and technological foundations of the project are related to the highly advanced concepts of Nanoioncs and Iontronics, for which new materials can be designed ad-hoc by taking advantage of local effects at the nanoscale. This way, surprising properties of fast conduction and high storage capacity can be obtained. The concepts behind Nanoionics and Iontronics have already been proven by advanced research experiments and, with HarveStore, we want to feed them into mainstream technology by taking advantage of silicon microfabrication techniques. Silicon ensures superior manufacturability, cost-effectiveness and the possibility to host dense structures in a seamless architecture; all in an environmentally friendly material. Silicon is the champion to bring micro and nano technologies to the economy of scale and is therefore the material of choice for the support of our m-Harvestorers.

The HarveStore consortium puts together some of the main actors of science and technology across Europe. Research, technology centers and advanced industries from 6 different countries have joined their efforts with the goal of opening-up a new technology paradigm in the world of IoT.

StartUp Olé

Thanks to our partner AEInnova, we will be present with a stand at the next Startup Olé fair (Salamanca, ES, March 26th-28th). Download the event flyer here.

E-MRS Fall

The European Material Research Society meeting is among the reference conferences in the topic and will take place in Warsaw, PL, from Sept. 16th to 19th. Here, a special “Harvestore” session will be hosted within symposium A: “Ion-related phenomena in nanoscale oxide systems: from fundamentals to applications”. A selection of invited and contributed speakers will focus on the latest advances in the fields of energy harvesting and of micro-devices. The conference postcard is available here.

Abstract submission is open till May 20th.

Representative of all partners joined the Harvestore kick-off meeting, which took place at IREC (Barcelona) on Dec. 17th and 18th. The agenda was led by the project coordinator Albert Tarancon and included the presentation of all the partners involved, a general overview of the project and a first round-table on the specific work packages. Interesting discussions, great participation and a good outcome for starting the work!