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 35+ people devoted to alternative technologies based on solid state ionics and iontronics. He has been PI of 14 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
- Bernadet L, Segura-Ruiz J, Yedra L, et al. 2023, 'Enhanced diffusion barrier layers for avoiding degradation in SOFCs aged for 14000 h during 2 years', Journal Of Power Sources, 555, 232400.
- Sabato AG, Nunez Eroles M, Anelli S, et al. 2023, '3D printing of self-supported solid electrolytes made of glass-derived Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5P3O12 for all-solid-state lithium-metal batteries', Journal Of Materials Chemistry A, 11, 13677-13686.
- Stangl A, Pla D, Pirovano C, et al. 2023, 'Isotope Exchange Raman Spectroscopy (IERS): A Novel Technique to Probe Physicochemical Processes In Situ', Advanced Materials, 35(33):e2303259.
Selected research activities
- Coordinator of the EU-projects EpiStore and 7M€ HarveStore (H2020-FET program), HyP3D (Clean Hydrogen JU) and TransIonics (ERC PoC)
- Coordinator of the 3D-PASSION Spanish project (MICINN) and leader of the Consolidated Research Group (SGR) NANOEN
- Editor of the Journal of the European Ceramic Society (Elsevier), Journal of Physics: Energy (IoP) and APL energy (AIP). Guest editor of a special issue in JPhysEnergy
- Several Keynotes (4) and Invited Lectures (4) and chairs and scientific committees in international reputed conferences
- Co-author of two book chapters
- Holder of 6 active patents
- High impact outreach activity on the promotion of Hydrogen Economy including paper press outputs