Our Young Researchers

Indicate your current career stage?
Technology Licentiate which essentially means that I’m half of a PhD.

Where are you from?
Stockholm, Sweden

Which institution do you work at and what is your scientific/ professional background?
I’m the CTO of RANOTOR Utvecklings AB. Before working at RANOTOR I’ve had my own business as a technical consultant but also worked in the automotive industry as well as with battery technology.

What was your motivation to devote yourself to science/research?
I’ve always strived to go to the bottom of things, meaning the most formative parts of different scientific fields. I think that’s why I know a lot about many things but also have some sort of specialized knowledge in a few different fields of science. As a kid I idolized great scientists that also had a philosophical approach like Gödel, Andrew Wiles, Gauss et cetera. This made me form a stringent approach to science even though I’m not in any way near them in achievements. I’ve also always frowned upon pre-conceived notions and wanted to understand things for myself.

What are your tasks in the project/what is your area of responsibility?
It’s mainly as a designer of a completely new engine system. But also negotiations, research, purchasing et cetera since we are such a small company. I try to realize the vision of my CEO basically whilst still keeping everything afloat.

What fascinates you about the project?
It’s a completely game changing technology, new science, new inventions – not the regurgitation of already proven bad ideas.

What is your favorite part of your work?
That I get to do almost everything I already want to do naturally. And the huge upside of possibly getting rich and overturning old industries and infrastructure  that may have done their job and are ready to be substituted by new and better technology.

When you are not researching, what do you do in your freetime?
I’m a musician and music producer. I play in some bands and other constellations and record a lot of music. Otherwise, I hang out with my daughter, girlfriend, friends and so on. Right now, I’m renovating our new apartment.

Indicate your current career stage?
At the moment, I am at the 4^th year of my PhD.

Where are you from?
I am from Italy, my home town is Forlì (near Bologna). However, I am currently working for Politecnico di Milano, and I actually live with my girlfriend in Tuscany, in the province of Arezzo.

Which institution do you work at?
I work at Politecnico di Milano.

What is your scientific/ professional background?
I have a BSc and a MSc, both obtained in the field of energy engineering. The focus of my PhD is the study of novel ammonia production and utilization technologies using high temperature electrochemical systems, such as solid oxide fuel cells, oxygen membranes, and electrolyzers.

What was your motivation to devote yourself to science/research?
I am probably a bit young to state that I am devoting myself to research. However, despite it started as something that I simply felt comfortable doing, it is increasingly making me feel like I could do the difference on the matters I care about. Moreover, the feeling of discovering something for the first time is just exciting.

What are your tasks in the project/ what is your area of responsibility?
Within the HiPowAR project I am mainly responsible for the numerical simulation of the system in order to both support the test rig development and to predict the potentialities of the full-scale system.

What fascinates you about the project?
The HiPowAR project represents a completely new way to approach the design of a power generation system due to the use of a membrane reactor. Moreover, the use of ammonia as fuel is coherent with the energy transition process that is so crucial for our society.

What is your favorite part of your work?
I enjoy the modelling activity that I am responsible for, I find it quite relaxing. This may also be due to the fact that I only need my laptop to do it, and I can work on it when and where I prefer.

When you are not researching, what do you do in your free time?
I hang out with friends, usually for an aperitivo, dinner, or both. If I don’t have much time, I would just relax in front of my laptop, either watching tv series or Youtube. Lately, I’ve been also enjoying cooking and gardening.

Indicate your current career stage.
I graduated in 2020, so my professional career just got going.

Where are you from?
I am from Třebíč, Czech Republic.

Which institution do you work at?
I am working at První brněnská strojírna Brno. PBS Brno is an engineering company that provides end-to-end services, including the construction of power generation and district-heating units.

What is your scientific/professional background?
I have a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Power Engineering. During my studies I attended an internship called Summer University at the Dukovany nuclear power plant, where I gained hands-on experience in everything to do with electricity generation.
I have been working at PBS for just over 2 years, initially in the steam turbine department and currently on the HiPowAR project.

What was your motivation to devote yourself to science/research?
Since childhood, I have been fascinated by how engineers are capable of developing technologies to improve lives. I wanted to be a part of that.

What are your tasks in the project/what is your area of responsibility?
I am responsible for designing a test rig for the combustion of pressurized ammonia. Together with my colleagues we solve questions such as how it will work, how it will look like and what is it made of.

What fascinates you about the project?
It’s innovative and it has the potential to be an alternative source of environmentally sustainable energy.

What is your favorite part of your work?
I enjoy the process of designing something new. It’s challenging and it makes you think outside of the box. There’s something extremely satisfying about finding a simple solution to an issue that seemed unsolvable several days ago.

When you are not researching, what do you do in your free time?
I am an active person so I spend the majority of my free time working out or hiking in nature. I enjoy cooking and making DIY projects involving basic electronics and woodworking.

What are your tasks in the project/ what is your area of responsibility?
The overall objective of HiPowAR is to develop a novel technology to convert renewable NH3 into power. My colleague and I are assessing the environmental impact and economic feasibility of HiPowAR. Based on continuous new insights during the technology development, we calculate the environmental footprint compared to existing technologies and conventional fuels. For this we use methods such as lifecycle assessment. By evaluating the overall costs and identifying areas of application, we identify economic potential.

What fascinates you about the project?
HiPowAR combines the best of different technologies. Ammonia is a promising renewable energy carrier in many respects. The aim of HiPowAR technology is to convert it into electricity and heat without emissions. It can be integrated into conventional power generation plants. Thus, the HiPowAR project combines basic research with the strive for industrial application, which is very fascinating.

What is your favorite part of your work?
I enjoy the international collaboration with project partners with very different expertise and academic backgrounds. To have the freedom to work creatively on unsolved challenges.

When you are not researching, what do you do in your free time?
I like to spend my free time with friends, in nature, doing sports or reading.

Indicate your current career stage?
I’ve finished my doctor thesis in 06/2019. Since then but also during my doctor thesis I am working as a scientific engineer at Fraunhofer IKTS. So I am a 4th year PostDoc.

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Jena in Thuringia in Germany. I am still living there.

Which institution do you work at?
I am working at Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems.

What is your scientific/ professional background?
I have studied materials engineering (Bachelor and Master), which is why I my scientific and professional background is related to synthesis, processing and analysis of materials like polymers, metals, ceramics and biomaterials.
Due to my work at Fraunhofer IKTS I am now further specialized in preparation of ceramic powders and ceramic shaping in order to produce ceramic membranes and storage materials for high temperature gas separation and storing.

What was your motivation to devote yourself to science/research?
I was always interested in nature and sciences and wanted to understand how specific phenomenon take place. My favorite subjects in school were mathematics and chemistry so I decided for studying materials engineering. It was always a dream to invent some new technology or product which could help solving the world’s problems and make it a better place to live.

What are your tasks in the project/ what is your area of responsibility?
In the HiPowAR project I am in charge of delivering the raw material for the desired membranes as well as of coordination of the shaping process and thermal treatment of the membranes. If there are any problems occurring during powder manufacturing, membrane shaping or firing I am in charge of finding suitable solutions. Also, I am in charge of structural analysis.

What fascinates you about the project?
It is always very interesting to create new membrane geometries and work out strategies for a successful production of them.

What is your favorite part of your work?
The fact I like the most concerning my work is that there are always new challenging tasks which need to be handled. I also like the fact that you are very free in choosing your working methods and creating your own way of solution. It is also great to work with teammates and project partners from all over the world which creates the possibility to share totally different expertise and experiences.

When you are not researching, what do you do in your free time?
After work and on weekend and holiday I spend time with my daughter and my family. I like walking outside in nature and doing sports as well as relaxing at home and playing games or being creative by doing puzzles. Further I am interested in ancient history and many technological and creative aspects.

Indicate your current career stage.
2^nd year PostDoc

Where are you from?
Alexandria, Egypt

What is your scientific/professional background?
Material Science and Engineering

Which institution do you work at?
Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology

What was your motivation to devote yourself to science/research?
Science shines the world and break the borders, research is the definite way to realize the scientific ideas.

What are your tasks in the project/what is your area of responsibility?
Project responsible and working on the work package 3 tasks:

• Identification of candidate materials for high performance MIEC membrane
• Synthesis and optimisation of bulk, thin layer and composite membranes and characterisation of performance and Stability
• Selection of a benchmark membrane for incorporation in final device

What fascinates you about the project?
It is a future game changer project with amazing team of experts, it motivates me to keep dreaming for a sustainable green energy and work hard for achieve this dream.

What is your favorite part of your work?
Challenges

When you are not researching, what do you do in your freetime?
Travelling, workout, painting, oriental dancing and reading