Category Archives: News

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.