Lots of happy faces at the University of Bremen and at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM): Fabio La Mantia, Professor in the Faculty of Production Engineering and an expert in the field of battery research, is to receive an ERC Consolidator Grant – one of the most highly endowed personal grants awarded by the European Research Council. La Mantia now has funding of around 2 million euros for his basic research in the field of energy storage.
Exploring electrochemical interaction
The use of regenerative energy from wind or water is becoming increasingly important. And for the development of more efficient battery storage systems, for example, we need to have more knowledge about the conversion of chemical into electrical energy. La Mantia will therefore use the ERC Consolidator Grant mainly for basic research in connection with ElIonT (Electron and Ion Transfer at the Interface: A Hyphenated Dynamic Multi-Frequency Approach). He wants to investigate how advanced analytical methods, modeling, and precise experimental designs can be combined to better explore the effect of non-ideal particle interaction in the charge-transfer process at the solid-liquid interface. This process is the basis of all electrochemical systems, including fuel cells, electrolyzers and batteries, which are much discussed in context of the turnaround in energy policy. A better understanding of such interactions would facilitate the development and design of improved systems.
The aim of this project is to extend the ideal theory of charge transfer to the real world via the investigation of electrochemical interactions. “The five-year grant from the ERC presents a wonderful opportunity to implement my research idea together with my research group. With the additional resources we will be able to perform the required complex experiments much faster and to a greater extent. The conditions that result from the cooperation between the Faculty of Production Engineering at the University of Bremen with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) are ideal for this”, says La Mantia happily.
From Italy to Bremen
La Mantia holds a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Palermo (Italy) and was awarded his Ph.D. in 2004 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland). Following positions at Stanford University in California and at the Chair of Analytical Chemistry at the Ruhr University Bochum, Fabio La Mantia received a call to the University of Bremen in 2015, where he holds a bridge professorship in the field of “Energy Storage and Energy Conversion Systems” in the Faculty of Production Engineering - Mechanical Engineering and Process Engineering. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM), he researches aqueous zinc ion batteries, the recovery of energy from salt water and heat, and the modeling of electrochemical systems. Among other things, the aim of his research work is to develop long-life batteries for stationary applications in industry.
The ERC grant: A highly coveted award
The ERC Consolidator Grant is one of the European Union’s most highly endowed funding lines for individual researchers, by means of which the European Research Council supports excellent early-career researchers to conduct independent research.
If you would like more information on this topic, feel free to contact:
The University of Bremen
Faculty 04: Production Engineering
Research Group Energy Storage and Energy Conversion Systems
Prof.Dr. Fabio La Mantia
Tel.: +49 421 2246-7331
E-Mail: lamantiaprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
