The collaboration is co-funded by the Austrian Government (within the COMET programme) and industrial partner Electriq Global Ltd. It will include a joint PhD project and an exchange program for scientists and graduate students, who will be able to travel and run experiments at both locations.

The focus of the collaboration is on the fundamental catalytic and material aspects of clean energy applications. Prof. Rothenberg’s group specialises in catalyst and materials design for sustainable chemistry and sustainable energy applications. The design and development of such catalytic materials often face challenges that span both chemistry and physics. This is especially true where multiphase systems are concerned, in which friction, wear and lubrication play a key role. The fundamental understanding of these interactions at catalyst particle surfaces is essential for improving the performance of real-life catalyst and engine systems. Such projects are interdisciplinary by nature and thus benefit from collaboration. According to Dr Pauschitz “the technical expertise and state-of-the-art equipment at AC²T, which includes tailored analytical techniques for generation and evaluation of process-specific material characterisation data, is an optimal complement to the expertise in heterogeneous catalysis at the UvA”.

Websites

Austrian Excellence Centre for Tribology AC2T research GmbH
Research group Heterogeneous Chemistry and Sustainable Chemistry
Electriq Global