Albert holds M.Sc. and PhD in Physics from the University of Barcelona (2001, 2007) and M. Eng. in Materials Science from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (2007). He worked as research associate at the IMB-CSIC (ES) and as visiting researcher at the University of Oslo (NO), Imperial College London (UK) and Caltech (USA). In 2010, Albert gained a Ramon y Cajal Fellowship and joined the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) as the Head of Group. Since 2018, he is ICREA Professor at IREC and leads a group of 30+ people devoted to alternative technologies based on solid state ionics and iontronics. He has been PI of 12 EU projects, including one ERC-CoG, one ERC-PoC and four coordinated actions, attracting a total amount of 25+ M€. He is editor of J. Phys. Energy (IoP), APL Energy (AIP) and J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. (Elsevier). Albert is included in the 1% top-cited scientists in the field of “Energy”.
Research interests
The research work carried out by Albert is in advanced materials for energy applications. In particular, he has been developing innovative concepts for improving the performance of different solid state energy devices such as Solid Oxide Fuel and Electrolysis Cells (SOFC/SOEC), ThermoElectric Generators (TEGs) or Li-ion batteries for energy storage and portable power applications. In the last years, Albert has been specifically developing new concepts for the unexplored field of Nanoionics and Iontronics. They are called to drive a new revolution similarly to Nanoelectronics, underlining the relevance of size effects and interfaces on mass transfer, transport and storage. Albert's group is pioneer in implementing interface-dominated nanomaterials in devices for radically new applications. In this direction, he was awarded with an ERC CoG to implement disruptive Nanoionics concepts in Si-integrated micro-SOFC technology and two FET Proactive projects on new microenergy technologies. From this recent activity, Albert's group developed unprecedented synaptic transistors based on oxide-ion conductors in the frame of their Transionics ERC-PoC project. This can be considered the starting point for a new class of switchable devices that will boos the future Ion Age.
Selected publications
- Tarancon A, Esposito V et al. 2022, '2022 roadmap on 3D printing for energy', Journal of Physics-Energy, 4, 011501
- Chiabrera F, Baiutti F, Diercks D, Cavallaro A, Aguadero A, Morata A & Tarancon A 2022, 'Visualizing local fast ionic conduction pathways in nanocrystalline lanthanum manganite by isotope exchange-atom probe tomography', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 10, 2228-2234.
- Morgenbesser M, Viernstein A et al. 2022, 'Unravelling the Origin of Ultra-Low Conductivity in SrTiO3 Thin Films: Sr Vacancies and Ti on A-Sites Cause Fermi Level Pinning', Advanced Functional Materials, 32, 2202226
- Sojo JM, Estrada D, Duque C, Gadea G, Salleras M, Fonseca L, Morata A, Tarancon A 2022, 'Tuning the Thermoelectric Properties of Boron-Doped Silicon Nanowires Integrated into a Micro-Harvester', Advanced Materials Technologies, 7, 10, 2101715
- Tang Y, Chiabrera F, Morata A, Cavallaro A, Liedke MO, Avireddy H, Maller M, Butterling M, Wagner A, Stchakovsky M, Baiutti F, Aguadero A & Tarancón A 2022, 'Ion Intercalation in Lanthanum Strontium Ferrite for Aqueous Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 14, 18486
Selected research activities
- Coordinator of the 5M€ EpiStore and 7M€ HarveStore FET EU-actions, 3D-PASSION Spanish project and NANOEN (SGR)
- Editor of APL Energy (AIP), Journal of Physics: Energy (IoP) and Journal of the European Ceramic Society (Elsevier)
- Organizer of the 18th European Conference of Thermoelectrics and two symposia in EMRS and MAT-SUS
- Three patents filed
- 2 Keynotes, 3 Invited Lectures and participation in several scientific committees in international conferences
- High impact outreach promoting the Hydrogen Economy (paper press, innovation days, young talents...)