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James Durrant is Professor of Photochemistry and Sustainable Energy in the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, following his previous professorial appointments at Imperial College London and the University of Swansea. His research focuses on the use of transient optical spectroscopies to investigate the function of new materials for sustainable energy conversion, including materials for artificial photosynthesis, photocatalysis, solar cells and electrolysis. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2017 and appointed a CBE for services to photochemistry and solar energy research in 2022.
There is increasing interest in harnessing sunlight to drive the synthesis of molecular fuels and chemicals, including in particular water photolysis to yield molecular oxygen and hydrogen. This can be achieved either through the coupling of photovoltaic cells and electrolysis, or through direct sunlight conversion by photoelectrodes or photocatalysts, the latter being the focus of this talk. In solar conversion, there is often a critical kinetic mismatch between the lifetimes of initially generated photoexcited states and the timescales of charge extraction / catalysis. I will start my talk by introducing solar driven fuel synthesis, its motivation and examples of state of the art materials and devices. I will then go on to discuss the charge carrier lifetime challenge in photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic systems. I will contrast this with the smaller lifetime challenges for photovoltaic solar energy conversion. I will then go on to discuss some of our recent studies employing transient optical spectroscopies measuring charge carrier dynamics in photoelectrodes and photocatalysts and how these impact upon the efficiency of solar driven water splitting, covering a range of inorganic, hybrid and organic materials. I will highlight the multi-timescale nature of the challenge – from the ultrafast recombination of excitons and polarons to the seconds time scale of water oxidation catalysis. I will in particular highlight how recent advances in materials design are enabling the solar driven generation of charges with lifetimes of milliseconds to seconds, long enough to drive interfacial charge transfer and catalysis, drawing upon examples of studies in group on metal oxides, metal-organic-frameworks, organic semiconductors, carbon nitride and gallium nitride. The mechanistic origins of the remarkably long carrier lifetimes vary between materials. However, across these materials classes, long charge carrier lifetimes are enabling substantive advances in the performance of photocatalytic devices. In each case, I will discuss the opportunities, challenges and potential for low cost solar driven hydrogen generation.
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The sustainable production of hydrogen via water electrolysis is pivotal to the global transition toward carbon-neutral energy systems. Yet, the dependence on high-purity water remains a critical bottleneck, especially in regions facing freshwater scarcity. Low-grade water sources such as seawater, wastewater, and industrial effluents, offer a vastly abundant alternative, but their complex compositions present major electrochemical and materials challenges, particularly at the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) anode.
In this presentation, I will give an overview of our recent advances in engineering highly selective and robust oxygen anodes tailored for low-grade water electrolysis. Our work centers on the rational design of transition metal catalysts modified through dopant incorporation, surface reconstruction, and nanoscale interface engineering. These strategies enhance not only intrinsic OER activity but also suppress competitive parasitic reactions such as chlorine evolution, which is prevalent in chloride-rich environments. Using a combination of structural and electrochemical analysis, we elucidate the fundamental structure–property relationships that dictate selectivity and long-term stability. We also present performance benchmarks in both synthetic and real-world low-grade water matrices, demonstrating high Faradaic efficiency, low overpotential, and operational durability over extended periods. Our findings lay a framework for the next generation of water electrolyzers capable of operating efficiently in non-ideal conditions, with direct implications for decentralized hydrogen production, wastewater valorization, and coastal energy systems. By advancing selective anode design, we move closer to a truly scalable and sustainable hydrogen economy that is not constrained by water purity.
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Professor Adélio Mendes (born 1964) received his PhD degree from the University of Porto in 1993.
Full Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. Coordinates a large research team with research interests mainly in dye sensitized solar cells and perovskite solar cells, photoelectrochemical cells including water splitting and solar redox flow batteries, photocatalysis, redox flow batteries, electrochemical membrane reactors (PEMFC, H-SOFC, chemical synthesis), methanol steam reforming, membrane and adsorbent-based gas separations and carbon molecular sieve membranes synthesis and characterization.
Professor Mendes authored or co-authored more than 300 articles in peer-review international journals, filled 23 families of patents and is the author of a textbook; received an Advanced Research Grant from the ERC on dye-sensitized solar cells for building integrated of ca. 2 MEuros and since 2013 he is partner in 4 more EU projects and leads one EU project. Presently he is the leader of a FET Open project, GOTSolar, on perovskite solar cells. He received the Air Products Faculty Excellence 2011 Award (USA) for developments in gas separation and Solvay & Hovione Innovation Challenge 2011 prize, the Prize of Coimbra University of 2016, and the prize of Technology Innovation - 2017 by the University of Porto. Presently, he is the Coordinator of CEner-FEUP, the Competence Center for Energy of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto.
After 4500 million years running an optimization algorithm, nature chose to produce hydrogen from the water splitting - photosynthesis - but not to store it or use it as such; Nature chose to produce and transform hydrogen into energy-carrying biomolecules and into biomolecules used to build biological structures. Hydrogen, under ambient conditions, has a low energy density and must be compressed or liquefied to be used as an energy vector, that is, as a substrate for energy transport and storage. At 700 bar, hydrogen exhibits an energy density of 1.3 kWh L-1, and the compression process requires the equivalent of ca. 13 % of the energy of compressed hydrogen (thermodynamic energy is 6.7 %, assuming isothermal compression, and 10.5 % for adiabatic compression); Liquefied hydrogen has an energy density of 2.3 kWh L-1, and the liquefaction process requires the equivalent of ca. 36 % of the energy of liquefied hydrogen. Hydrogen is then a bad energy vector, but a very relevant intermediate reagent. Hydrogen should be produced and consumed locally, as Nature realized millions of years ago.
The reaction of methane splitting is:
CH4 ⇌ C (s) + 2H2, ∆H0 = 75.3 kJ/mol
and produces decarbonized hydrogen and carbon. Intermediate-temperature catalytic methane splitting (IT-CMS) is probably the most efficient and low-cost process for this reaction. If NG is used as a feedstock, it produces decarbonized hydrogen and high-value carbon nanofilament particles with a defined size; if biomethane is used as a feedstock, it produces decarbonized hydrogen, high-value renewable carbon particles, and CO2 permits. The estimated cost for hydrogen is < 2 € kg-1 if produced from NG (main assumptions are: NG at 30 € MWh, green electricity at 70 € MWh-1, CO2 permits at 70 € kg-1, graphitic carbon at 1 € kg-1) and is << 2 € kg-1 if produced from biomethane (main assumptions are: biomethane at 100 € MWh, CO2 permits at 70 € kg-1, graphitic carbon at ≥3 € kg-1). If hydrogen steam methane reforming (SMR) is replaced by the IT-CMS technology, the world would save 410 Mt y-1 of CO2 emissions and 32 000 M€ y-1 (main assumptions: world’s hydrogen production by SMR of 45.6 Mt y-1 and hydrogen price, including the required payment of the CO2 permits, of 2.7 € kg-1), and if the present entire world’s hydrogen production – ca. 100 Mt y-1 – were to switch to IT-CMS, the CO2 emission savings would be ca. 1 Gt y-1 (ca. 2 % of anthropogenic CO2 emissions).
The present talk is about this fascinating new technology and when it is expected to be implemented. Also, it will discuss the energy cycle based on direct CO2 hydrogenation to methanol (load) using biogas, followed by oxy-combustion (unload), using CO2 as a hydrogen carrier. The first energy cycle has a thermodynamic round-trip efficiency of 89 %.
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Ifan is a Professor in Electrochemistry at the Department of Materials at Imperial College: he leads the Interfacial Electrochemistry Group there and is also Atoms to Devices Research Area Lead at the Henry Royce Institute.
Ifan joined Imperial College in July 2017. Prior to Imperial, he was at the Department of Physics at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU); he was first employed as a postdoctoral researcher, then as assistant professor and finally as associate professor and leader of the Electrocatalysis Group there. In 2015, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) appointed Ifan as the Peabody Visiting Associate Professor. He taught and conducted research at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT for a whole semester.
Ifan’s research aims to enable the large-scale electrochemical conversion of renewable energy to fuels and valuable chemicals and vice versa. Such processes will be critical in order to allow the increased uptake of renewable energy. His focus is on the catalyst at the electrode, i.e. the electrocatalyst. It turns out that the electrocatalyst material defines the efficiency of several important electrochemical processes, including:(i) electrolysis for the storage of renewable electricity — which is inherently intermittent — in the form of fuels, such as hydrogen or alcohols.(ii) fuel cells as a potentially zero emission source of power for automotive vehicles. (iii) the green synthesis of valuable chemicals, such as ammonia and H2O2. (iv) batteries, which tend to degrade by gas evolution at the electrode-electrolyte interface. Hence the reactions that need to be accelerated in electrolysers and fuel cells — such as CO2, CO, O2 and H2 evolution — are precisely those that need to be inhibited in batteries.
Ifan has discovered or co-discovered several new catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction, which exhibited significant improvements in performance over the prior state-of-the-art. In particular, his research on hydrogen peroxide production led to the establishment of the spinout company, HP Now.
Ifan is the recipient of RSC's Geoffrey Barker Medal (2024), the RSC's John Jeyes Award (2021). He also currently holds an European Resarch Council Consolidator Grant (2021-2025). Since 2022, he has been a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher.
Proton exchange membrane water electrolysers offer a highly promising route towards producing green hydrogen. Their solid electrolytes and relatively low temperature operation make them particularly amenable to coupling with intermittent renewables. Their long term scale up is constrained by the use of oxides based on scarce precious metals at the anode to drive O2 evolution. Ruthenium oxide is the most active catalyst, but suffers from poor stabiity. Iridium oxide exhibits improved stability but lower activity.
In this contribution I will present a series of studies where we have investigated the factors that enable iridium oxide and ruthenium oxide to exhibit superior catalytic performance. Our studies include electrochemical measurements coupled to optical spectroscopy, surface X-ray diffraction, electrochemistry mass spectrometry, inductively coupled mass spectrometry, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory. We have investigated the catalysts in multiple forms, from single crystals to commercial catalysts to well defined nanoparticles. We provide a holisitic view of the factors controlling the performance.
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Green hydrogen is a promising energy vector for many reasons. However, significant challenges remain, particularly regarding its production and practical storage. This contribution focuses on hydrogen storage using Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHCs) as a potential and competitive technology.[1] However, since hydrogen must be reversibly bound into chemical carriers and subsequently released through dehydrogenation, the necessary conversion and reconversion steps inevitably increase the overall hydrogen cost, thereby constraining the industrial appeal of LOHC-based systems.
To address this challenge, we propose the development of an integrated long-term energy storage system based on hydrogen derived from biomass through simultaneous electrocatalytic transformations. This strategy enables the direct transfer of hydrogen from biomass to LOHC molecules without the intermediate production of hydrogen gas, while concurrently generating value-added chemical products.
In this work, we review the current state of the art in LOHC technologies [2] [3] and our approach for improving the efficiency of hydrogen storage in the liquid form: https://pecaths.eu/
#H2Future-I3
In this talk, I will discuss recent advances from our laboratory on cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photoelectrodes for solar-driven chemical transformations. Our work explores several complementary material architectures, including thin-film photocathodes, thin-film photoanodes, and particle-based photocatalysts, all derived from Cu₂O as the light-absorbing semiconductor. This unified materials platform allows us to investigate both reductive and oxidative photochemical processes within a common conceptual framework.
On the reductive side, we study the photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) from water, as well as the value-added reduction of organic molecules, where solar-generated electrons drive the synthesis of useful chemical products. On the oxidative side, we examine the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) from water alongside selective oxidation reactions of organic substrates, which offer opportunities for solar-powered chemical manufacturing beyond simple fuel production.
I will begin by describing our approaches to fabricating and modifying Cu₂O thin-film electrodes, including strategies that enable the material to function as either a photocathode or a photoanode despite its intrinsic electronic properties. I will then highlight several representative catalytic reactions that demonstrate the versatility of this semiconductor platform. Finally, I will present recent progress toward translating thin-film photoelectrode concepts into particle-based systems, with the long-term goal of enabling scalable photocatalytic architectures for solar-driven chemical synthesis.
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Duncan Atkins studied at Edinburgh University and Queen Mary's, University of London before moving to the Institut Laue Langevin, Grenoble France in 1990, where he was head of the High Flux Reactor Operation's Group until 2013 before integrating ILL's Industrial Liaison Group.
He was instrumental in the design and construction of the neutron/x-ray tomography station D50/NeXT and is involved in promoting the full range of neutron experimental techniques available at the ILL to industry and academia, specifically in the domain of Hydrogen PtX and battery research.
As part of the EU ReMade@ARI consortium, he activly helps assisting European R&D (Industry, SMEs & Academia) exploring the properties and structures of recyclable materials with a wide range of tailored services including easy, supported and coordinated access to more than 50 European analytical research infrastructures (RIs), user support and much more.
Duncan is also member of the EU ACTNXT project which pools together RIs already performing relevant research within the field of hydrogen and PtX, Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs), and Academia. In this context he is WP2 leader in the development of new instrumentation solutions tuned to provide crucial knowledge essential to testing novel concepts, component designs and materials, and understand their real-time behavior in representative operational conditions.
At ReMade@ARI your R&D departments have the possibility of freely accessing Europe's best existing analytical facilities, instrumentation, methods and the know-how to use them for advanced materials characterization in H2 PtX! Together we will realize your idea, and make a substantial impact on the circular economy.
The project provides scientists who are working on the design of new recyclable materials with analytical tools that enable them to explore the properties and the structure of their material in smallest details up to atomic resolution. ReMade@ARI commits to leverage the development of innovative, sustainable materials for key components in the most diverse sectors, including the immerging Hydrogen Industry, on an unprecedented level. It continues to be the central hub in Europe for all sectors and research areas in which new materials for a circular economy will be developed.
Specific examples will be shown from the world leading neutron reseach facility, the Institut Laue Langevin in Grenoble, France. The benefits of such advanced instrumentation leading to the obtention of experimental data, coupled and compared with theoretical simulation activities, will be given. For instance, combined, operando and high resolution small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and neutron imaging (NI) provide unique and complimentary in-situ local water distribution profiles in operating Hydrogen PtX fuel cells. The results reveal the formation of significant in and through-plane H2O gradients as a function of operating parameters, from nanometer to micrometer scales, and in real-time [1]. These findings, augmented by the investigation of new, more environmentally friendly proton exchange membranes, highlight the intra-cellular complexity of gaseous and fluid flow, and how these essential factors affect functionality, leading to improvements in efficiency and overall cell performance of commercial cells.
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Teresa Andreu is senior lecturer in the Department of Materials Science and Physical Chemistry and holds a degree in Chemistry (UB, 1999) and a PhD in Materials Science and Technology (UB, 2004). She has been part-time lecturer at the Dept. of Materials Science of University of Barcelona (2014-17) and Polytechnic University of Catalonia (2017-19). After a period in industry as researcher in MacDermid Inc, she has been deputy group leader at the Catalonia Energy Research Institute (2009-20), and is now a member of the consolidated Materials for Surface Engineering (MES) group, and the principal investigator of the Sustainable Electrochemical Processes group at the Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTC). Her research focuses on the use of green electricity for the sustainability of the chemical industry, with the development of materials and reactors for hydrogen production, carbon dioxide conversion and waste valorization using (photo)electrochemical or plasma-catalytic technologies. Throughout her career, she has participated in and led several national, European and industrial projects.
She has participated in the definition of the Catalan Hydrogen Roadmap for 2030-2050 and is currently an active member of the Catalan Hydrogen Network H2CAT (Home – Xarxa H2CAT) and of the Executive Committee of the Hub of Global Sustainability of the University of Barcelona. She has been member of EMIRI (the energy materials industrial research initiative), the Spanish Technological Platform of CO2, PTECO2 (CCU group), and is currently member of the Real Sociedad de Quimica-grupo Electroquimica, the International Society of Electrochemistry, European Materials Research Society and Societat Catalana de Química (SCT). From 2024, she is appointed as SCT representative in the Physical Chemistry division of the European Chemical Society (EUCHEMS).
She is professor of Materials for Energy at the Master of Renewable and Sustainable Energies. She has mentored several postdoc researchers, supervised more than 10 TFMs and 11 PhD thesis in renewable energy-related subjects. Among the graduate doctors, most of them continue their scientific or technological career. Now, 4 thesis are in progress at UB. T. Andreu has authored 4 patents and more than 100 scientific articles. Her h-index is 49 (Scopus, march 2026).
The electrooxidation of glycerol presents a dual opportunity for sustainable chemistry: upgrading a biodiesel byproduct and reducing the energetic cost of some electrolytic processes by replacing the oxygen evolution reaction. Despite this dual benefit, the reaction remains highly complex, with multiple competing pathways and a strong dependence on catalyst composition and operating conditions. In this contribution, we present the recent advances from our group aimed at developing anodic materials suitable for coupling glycerol oxidation with CO2 electroreduction, following two complementary research lines.
The first line focuses on understanding how electrocatalyst composition and reaction environment influence activity and product distribution. We have examined three representative materials supported on nickel foams: NiCo oxide, AuIn alloy, and PdNi alloy. Electrochemical characterization, combined with in situ UV–vis reflectance spectroscopy, reveals clear differences in the oxidation pathways. Operating conditions also play a significant role. Continuous‑flow experiments show that temperature enhances reaction kinetics, reduces cell potential, and accelerates surface reactivation, helping to mitigate catalyst passivation. Flow rate provides an additional lever to tune residence time, thereby modifying the balance between intermediate and deeper oxidation products.
The second research line explores photoassisted glycerol oxidation using semiconductor electrodes. We have evaluated the electrocatalytic and photoelectrochemical behavior of TiO2, BiVO4, and a Bi‑rich graded BiVO4. Illumination not only decreases the energetic requirements of the process but also alters product selectivity by suppressing the oxygen evolution reaction to a lesser extent than glycerol oxidation. Operating near the OER onset photopotential maximizes faradaic efficiency toward C3 products, particularly in TiO2, while the Bi‑rich graded BiVO4 improves charge separation and photocurrent without affecting selectivity.
Overall, these results highlight the importance of integrating catalytic and engineering considerations when designing practical electrochemical systems.
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Experienced professional in international business development and sales in the energy sector, specializing in green hydrogen technology. Currently Director of Market Development and Sales at H2Greem Global Solutions, the only Spanish company that manufactures 100% domestically produced PEM electrolyzers with CE certification. Engineering background with a strategic vision for industrial decarbonization projects. Key competencies: management of complex technical and commercial projects, cross-border international relations, market development in the industrial and transportation sectors, interdepartmental coordination, and negotiation with sovereign wealth funds. Proven track record in positioning emerging technologies in European markets and exports. Passionate about driving sustainable solutions that guarantee a clean energy future for generations to come.
#H2Future-T1
Hydrogen is a key energy carrier for a sustainable future, as it can be used directly as a fuel and as a precursor in the chemical industry for the production of fuels, solvents, monomers, and other value-added chemicals.
Electrochemical methods enable water splitting, leading to the simultaneous generation of H₂ and O₂. However, the high energy demand of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains a major challenge for the cost-effective production of hydrogen via water electrolysis.
Replacing OER with the electrooxidation of biomass-derived molecules offers a promising strategy to reduce cell voltage and improve process profitability, as it enables the simultaneous production of high-value-added products of industrial interest. In this work, hydrogen production is coupled with the electrooxidation of furans, primary amines, and lignin-derived compounds such as vanillin. These reactions are enabled by nickel-based electrodes, which act as efficient electrocatalysts in alkaline media, where NiOOH species promote selective oxidation at lower potentials.
Beyond electrooxidation, the electroreduction of furans, nitriles, and ketones is also emerging as a promising strategy for the production of value-added compounds without the need for molecular hydrogen.
Overall, these approaches reduce energy consumption while enabling the co-production of value-added chemicals, paving the way for more sustainable and economically competitive hydrogen production systems.
#H2Future-T2
Mohammad Shojaei is a PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin and a Research Engineer at Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (Venterra Group). His work focuses on offshore wind integration, green hydrogen, Power-to-X pathways, and uncertainty-aware energy system modelling, with broader experience in offshore engineering challenges including corrosion protection of marine structures. He has a background in chemical process and energy engineering, and his current research explores offshore wind-to-hydrogen development pathways in Ireland.
The rapid expansion of offshore renewable energy (ORE) is critical for global decarbonization goals [1, 11]. However, increasing penetration of variable renewable energy is exposing severe onshore grid bottlenecks, rising curtailment, and wholesale price cannibalization [3, 12]. In response, dedicated green hydrogen production has emerged as a strategic, non-grid-limited alternative to bypass transmission constraints [8]. This dynamic creates a structural offtake tension for developers who must choose between the traditional, subsidized grid-connected Contract for Difference (CfD) route and a merchant green hydrogen pathway [6]. Despite this, existing literature, including techno-economic assessments, equilibrium formulations, and agent-based bidding models, predominantly assumes a single-route market, failing to endogenize hydrogen as a competing outside option in the developer's strategic decision-making process [6, 9, 16-20]. To address this opportunity-cost modeling gap, this study introduces a stochastic decision-analytic framework grounded in real-options-inspired threshold modeling. The methodology evaluates the discrete, mutually exclusive choice between a grid-connected CfD and an off-grid hydrogen facility under uncertainty. Utilizing a Monte Carlo ensemble, the model systematically propagates parametric uncertainty through the competing expected Net Present Value (NPV) functions of both routes. The framework evaluates the probability of dominance for the hydrogen route and maps exact indifference thresholds, identifying the specific levels of grid dispatch-down and market price cannibalization at which developers rationally forfeit grid protections. Furthermore, by equating the payoff functions, the study mathematically derives the developer’s reservation strike price, providing a quantitative mechanism to evaluate how the hydrogen outside option theoretically acts as a floor that shifts bidding behavior in centralized CfD auctions. Finally, variance-based global sensitivity analysis is employed to rigorously pinpoint the primary technical and economic drivers pushing the ORE market toward green hydrogen adoption.
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The transition to a hydrogen-based energy economy requires catalytic materials that not only enable efficient green hydrogen production, but also leverage hydrogen as a sustainable chemical feedstock. Achieving this goal demands mechanistic insight, physically meaningful descriptors, and computational strategies that operate under realistic electrochemical conditions.
In this talk, I will discuss how reaction mechanisms and activity descriptors can guide the rational design of catalysts for both hydrogen evolution–coupled processes and hydrogen utilization reactions. Using the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) as a representative case, I will illustrate how scaling relations and mechanistic trends across molecular and heterogeneous catalysts can be embedded into automated computational workflows to accelerate the discovery of cost-effective materials for water electrolysis.[1–11]
I will then highlight the importance of modeling electrified solid–liquid interfaces under operando conditions. In electrochemical hydrogenation (ECH), the distribution and binding strength of surface hydrogen govern selectivity and determine competition with the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).[12,13] By tailoring hydrogen surface coverages and interfacial properties, it is possible to promote selective hydrogenation in alkaline media using earth-abundant metals, offering a pathway to couple renewable hydrogen generation with sustainable chemical synthesis.
Overall, this work demonstrates how integrating mechanistic understanding, descriptor-based screening, and operando-aware modeling enables the rational design of catalytic systems for both hydrogen production and hydrogen-driven transformations.
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Frédéric Chandezon, Dr. Ing. Hab. holds an engineer degree in physics (1991) from the Physics and Chemistry school of Paris (ESPCI) and a Ph.D. degree from Grenoble University (1994). After a postdoctoral stay at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, he joined CEA in Grenoble as research scientist (1996). His research interest covered atomic clusters (during his PhD and postdoc), nanoparticles and (nano)materials for energy, in particular for energy storage. From 2016 until 2020, he co-created and headed the SyMMES laboratory, a CEA-CNRS-Grenoble University joint laboratory that develops basic research related to low-carbon energy and health. From 2013-2020, he was the coordinator of the EERA Joint Program AMPEA (Advanced Materials and Processes for Energy Applications). Since 2019, he is deputy coordinator of the SUNERGY European initiative on fossil-free fuels and chemicals (https://www.sunergy-initiative.eu/) and of the SUNER-C European project (06/2022 à 05/2025). He is and was involved in several European projects related to energy storage (batteries and chemical energy storage). He is currently European policy officer for SUNERGY and renewable energy programmes at the Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Grenoble (IRIG) at CEA and he is also the deputy head of the CEA Carbon Circular Economy Programme.
SUNERGY is a pan-European R&I initiative working to enable a circular economy through the sustainable production of fossil-free fuels and commodity chemicals from renewable energy (sunlight, wind) and abundant molecules (CO2, water, nitrogen). The approach is based on scientific breakthroughs tightly coupled to scale-up by increasing the technological readiness of renewable conversion technologies for the large-scale sustainable manufacturing of hydrogen, synthetic hydrocarbons, and ammonia. It builds on an open community of currently 300+ supporters from industry, academia and society, across sectors, and geographical areas.
SUNERGY has been supported in its activities by the Horizon Europe SUNER-C Coordination and Support Action (CSA, Grant Agreement N°101058481, June 2022 à May 2025), covering both fuels produced via indirect processes (e-fuels, thermochemical processes) and direct solar fuels (direct conversion of solar energy to chemical energy, i.e., artificial photosynthesis). A new CSA project, SUN2X-SET, is expected to begin its activities in May 2026 for a duration of two years. This project will focus more on Direct Solar Fuels with the main objective of continuing the activities under the umbrella of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan).
The contribution will introduce the SUNERGY initiative, the main achievements of the SUNER-C project and the SUN2X-SET project taking into account the current context and policies on hydrogen, CCU and sustainable fuels and chemicals.
initiatives-I2
Hydrogen is emerging as a key element in Spain's energy transition strategy, aligning with both European decarbonization goals and national efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. As a clean and versatile energy carrier, hydrogen has gained attention as one of the feasible and potential solution to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry, transportation, and long-term energy storage. Spain's favourable geographic conditions, including abundant solar and wind resources, position the country as a competitive producer of green hydrogen, generated through electrolysis powered by renewable energy.
The Spanish government has taken decisive steps to promote hydrogen development, particularly through its "Hydrogen Roadmap: A Commitment to Renewable Hydrogen," approved in 2020 and reviewed in 2024. This roadmap sets ambitious targets for 2030, including the installation of 12 GW of electrolyser capacity, the deployment of hydrogen refuelling stations, and the integration of hydrogen within different industrial processes.
Challenges remain, particularly in scaling up infrastructure, reducing costs, and creating a regulatory framework that ensures market competitiveness and safety. However, with strong political support, technological advances, and growing key collaborations, Spain is well-positioned to become a leader in the European hydrogen economy.
This abstract provides a concise overview of the current state, policies, opportunities, and challenges of hydrogen development in Spain, emphasizing its strategic role in the broader context of energy transition and sustainability.
This keynote aims to review the National plans to develop and deploy the hydrogen economy, based on the objectives defined for 2030 and 2050 to reach net zero emissions. Current ongoing projects are explained, as well as the different funding schemes used to deploy the solution within different industries to be decarbonized, both as an energy vector and as an industrial raw material.
Finally, the future European and National challenges are mentioned, with the aim of being able to meet the fixed objectives to achieve the complete decarbonization of the economy to reach a net zero emissions by 2050.
Key words: Hydrogen, green hydrogen, renewable energies, decarbonization, Zero emissions, electrolysis, fuel cells, applications, strategy, roadmap, Europe, Spain, Challenges.
initiatives-I3
Hydrogen will play a key role on the energy transition towards a more sustainable society worldwide. However, there are still several challenges to be resolved.
At the CDTI Innovation, we support, with public funding, the development of technology with the goal of having companies bring new products to the market, promoting business growth and a positive impact on society.
This presentation will provide a general overview of the different funding opportunities offered by CDTI for R&D projects related to the entire hydrogen value chain, with examples of projects funded in the past.
#H2Future-T1
The global energy landscape requires the development of sustainable energy production sources capable of replacing finite fossil fuels and reducing environmental problems. Renewable energies are currently in use; however, their intermittency makes it necessary to convert them into energy vectors suitable for long-term storage. The production of hydrogen from water using sustainable processes, such as photocatalysis or electrocatalysis powered by an external source of renewable electricity, is believed to be a promising solution. Unfortunately, most active catalysts capable of carrying out these transformations are based on expensive precious metals. Therefore, the design of highly active, stable, and precious metal-free photocatalysts and electrocatalysts is of utmost importance for the energy transition.
In this regard, molybdenum sulfide-based materials have emerged as potential precious metal-free candidates towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Bulk molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) shows low activity in HER because its activity originates mainly at the edge sites, while the basal planes are catalytically inert. Generally, most strategies used to improve the activity of MoS2-derived catalysts have focused on the nanostructuring of these materials to maximize the exposure of active edge sites. Nevertheless, the most convenient approach to achieve this goal should involve the activation of basal planes by defect engineering.
Recently, we have established an innovative bottom-up synthetic strategy that uses Mo3S4-7 molecular cluster complexes as precursors to engineer defective molybdenum sulfide nanomaterials (called {Mo3S4−7}n) with a greater number of defects in both the edge positions and the basal planes and, therefore, with higher activity. Remarkably, the unique structural configuration of these subunits has made it possible to obtain advanced heterogeneous catalysts for hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions in fine chemical synthesis.[1,2,3] In this communication, it will be shown how, thanks to the extended molecular nature of the {Mo3S4−7}n nanomaterials and their processability in the form of heterojunctions with conductive carbon supports and inorganic semiconductors, highly active HER electrocatalysts and photocatalysts have been obtained, respectively.[4] Furthermore, the ability to adjust the composition of the molecular cluster precursor allows the derived materials to be precisely tuned and, therefore, the nature of the HER active sites to be deciphered.
#H2Future-T2
Electrocatalysis has emerged as a promising process to store renewable energy into fuels, such as green H2, and high added-value chemicals to decarbonise the energy and fine chemical sectors. In the H2 evolution, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the process bottleneck due to its slow reaction kinetics, especially when using Earth-abundant metal oxide catalysts. The efficiency of these catalysts does not only depend on the nature of the metal oxide, but also on their physical characteristics such as composition, magnetic susceptibility, and chirality, as well as the transient behaviour and cooperativity between active sites. However, the influence of some of these catalysts characteristics in the OER mechanism and kinetics remains elusive. Obtaining such detailed mechanistic and kinetic knowledge requires the use of in-situ and operando spectroscopic techniques that can probe the system under operating conditions.
In this talk, I will discuss cooperativity between active sites in different NiFeOx anodes for OER and glycerol oxidation.1 Such cooperativity effects have recently been reported to lead to different surface coverage of active sites,2 leading to changes in the OER mechanism. I will also be discussing how external magnetic fields3 or the intrinsic chiral nature,4 taking advantage of the chiral induced spin selectivity effect, of a NiFeOx anode influence such cooperativity and lead to enhanced OER kinetics.
#H2Future-T3
Hydrogen generated via water electrolysis is a cornerstone of emerging low-carbon energy systems. Replacing critical noble metals such as Pt with earth-abundant alternatives is essential for sustainable and scalable hydrogen technologies. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is a promising catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) [1]. Its performance can be enhanced considerably by doping and nano-structuring of the material. However, the aimed development of a competitive catalyst is limited by an incomplete understanding of adsorption and transport processes.
In this work, quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS), neutron spin-echo (NSE) and inelastic neutron spectroscopy (INS) are combined with X-ray techniques (XPS, XRD and EDX) to elucidate hydrogen and water dynamics in pristine, electrochemically activated and chemically doped MoS₂ nanopowders. Electrochemical activation and doping with nitrogen or cobalt provide scalable modification routes to engineer defect density and surface chemistry [2, 3].
Our neutron measurements reveal distinct dynamical regimes across multiple time and length scales. In pristine MoS₂, hydrogen species exhibit in-plane diffusion, while recombined molecular hydrogen shows enhanced diffusion. INS identifies vibrational signatures of S–H bonds and interfacial water, whose intensities increase after electrochemical activation, indicating enhanced surface hydrogenation. Nitrogen incorporation and cobalt addition generate defect-rich environments that significantly impact hydrogen diffusion, consistent with modified adsorption energetics and improved catalytic functionality.
By directly correlating atomic-scale hydrogen motion with chemical modification strategies, this work provides fundamental insight into transport mechanisms governing HER activity. The results demonstrate how advanced neutron techniques enable sustainable materials development for hydrogen production, supporting resource-efficient and low-carbon energy infrastructures.
#H2Future-T4
Nanometer-resolved Operando Photo-Response of Faceted BiVO4 Semiconductor Nanoparticles
Photo(electro)catalysis with semiconducting nanoparticles (NPs) is an attractive approach to convert abundant but intermittent renewable electricity into stable chemical fuels. However, our understanding of the microscopic processes governing the performance of the materials has been hampered by the lack of operando characterization techniques with sufficient lateral resolution. Here, using Atomic Force Microscopy we demonstrate that the local surface potentials of NPs of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) and their response to illumination differ between adjacent facets and depend strongly on the pH of the ambient electrolyte. The isoelectric points of the dominant {010} basal plane and the adjacent {110} side facets differ by 1.5 pH units. Upon illumination, both facets accumulate positive charges and display a maximum surface photo-response of +55mV, much stronger than reported in the literature for the surface photo voltage of BiVO4 NPs in air. High resolution AFM images reveal the presence of numerous surface defects ranging from, vacancies of a few atoms, to single unit cell steps, to microfacets of variable orientation and degree of disorder. These defects typically carry a highly localized negative surface charge density and display an opposite photo-response compared to the adjacent facets. Strategies to model and optimize the performance of photocatalyst NPs therefore require an understanding of the distribution of surface defects, including the interaction with the ambient electrolyte [1-2].
#H2Future-I1
Solar-driven hydrogen production is a central goal in the development of sustainable energy technologies. Hybrid systems that combine light-absorbing materials with molecular catalysts offer promising routes to achieve efficient solar-to-fuel conversion. Here we examine two complementary strategies for hydrogen generation: light-induced proton reduction using semiconductor–molecular catalyst assemblies and solar-powered electrochemical hydrogen production coupled to ammonia oxidation. In the photochemical approach, semiconductor quantum dots act as efficient photosensitizers while molecular catalysts mediate proton reduction in aqueous media. Time-resolved studies reveal rapid electron transfer from photoexcited quantum dots to the catalyst, whereas catalytic turnover proceeds on slower timescales, identifying catalytic kinetics as the main limitation to overall hydrogen evolution efficiency. In parallel, photovoltaic-driven electrochemical systems enable hydrogen production through ammonia oxidation using molecular catalysts, reducing the energetic requirements relative to water electrolysis. Together, these results highlight the importance of controlling interfacial charge transfer and catalytic kinetics to advance efficient solar-to-hydrogen technologies based on hybrid molecular–semiconductor systems.
#H2Future-I2
The sustainable production of hydrogen through photoelectrochemical processes represents a key strategy for the development of solar fuels. In this work, we investigate the role of silver (Ag) nanocorals as cocatalysts on CuBi₂O₄ photocathodes for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). CuBi₂O₄ photocathodes were fabricated by electrodeposition and extensively characterized using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption techniques, confirming their tetragonal structure and stoichiometric composition.
Ag nanocorals were deposited by physical vapor evaporation, resulting in a homogeneous distribution of nanoscale domains on the semiconductor surface. The Ag-modified photocathodes exhibited a significant enhancement in photocurrent density under simulated solar illumination compared to bare CuBi₂O₄ photocathodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed a decrease in charge transfer resistance and reduced carrier accumulation at the semiconductor–electrolyte interface.
Furthermore, steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL), together with transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS), demonstrated suppressed electron–hole recombination and prolonged carrier lifetimes in the presence of Ag. These results indicate that silver acts as an active cocatalyst, promoting efficient charge separation and extraction rather than merely passivating surface states.
Then, this study provides mechanistic insight into the role of Ag nanocorals in CuBi₂O₄-based photocathodes and demonstrates that their incorporation constitutes an effective strategy to improve photoelectrocatalytic performance. The proposed system emerges as a promising candidate for solar-driven hydrogen production and other photoelectroreduction reactions.
#H2Future-I3
By virtue of its high volumetric energy density, well-defined distribution infrastructure and the possibility to obtain COx-free hydrogen (H2) from its decomposition, ammonia (NH3) is considered a key energy carrier in future neutral-carbon energy systems. Unfortunately, the use of this carrier has been limited by the absence of an efficient NH3 decomposition process. Photo-thermal catalysis, a hybrid approach that combines both thermal and non-thermal contributions of light, has showed a great potential to drive chemical reactions using sunlight as unique energy source. Among others, MOF-derived materials have recently appeared as promising candidates for applications in photo-thermal catalysis due to their broad light absorption, effective light-to-heat conversion and well-dispersed metal active sites. Here, we demonstrate the use of MOF-derived photo-thermal catalysts to perform the NH3 decomposition reaction at low temperatures and high conversion rates.
Catalysts were obtained from the controlled pyrolysis under inert atmosphere of different Fe- and Co-based MOF precursors. The photo-thermal NH3 decomposition was performed under continuous flow configuration using a commercial reaction chamber equipped with a quartz window. At high space velocities in the order of 20000 mL g-1 h-1, the catalysts reached a temperature of 250 °C and a 25 % NH3 conversion, which translated into a H2 production rate as high as 326 mmol H2 g-1 h-1. Additional blank experiments under dark conditions displayed negligible NH3 decomposition rates, thus indicating that the synergy between light and heat is crucial to enhance the catalytic activity towards NH3 conversion. In fact, mechanistic experiments including irradiance-dependent catalytic tests and photo-current measurements demonstrated the cooperative effect between thermal and non-thermal effects in the system. DFT calculations also suggested that the combination of high temperatures and photo-generated carriers under illumination prevented the formation of a thermodynamic sink, thus facilitating the reaction rate compared to dark conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of the use of MOF-derived catalysts for the efficient photo-thermal NH3 cracking reaction under continuous flow configuration.
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