Research for Energy Transition and Circular Economy

International Symposium on Electrodes for Electrolysis and Fuel Cells hosted in Magdeburg

September 29, 2022

Researchers from the fields of materials science, electrochemistry and process engineering met in Magdeburg from September 5 to 7, 2022 for the second time after 2019 for the International Symposium on "Insights into Gas Diffusion Electrodes – From Fundamentals to Industrial Applications". The event was organized by the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems Magdeburg and the Clausthal University of Technology (TU Clausthal) within the framework of the DFG Research Group 2397 "Multiscale Analysis of Complex Three-Phase Systems".

Gas diffusion electrodes are complex functional materials that are used in various technically important electrochemical processes such as electrolysis processes and fuel cells. The further development of these materials is of great importance, especially with regard to the challenges of the energy transition, but also for the electrification of chemical processes, for example through the direct use of CO2 as a raw material.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has been funding a research group on the "Mul-tiscale Analysis of Complex Three-Phase Systems" since 2016. The scientists aim to gain new insights into the complex processes within gas diffusion electrodes through experiments and simulations. The focus of the work in the second phase of the project is the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to CO as an important value-added product for the chemical industry. Ingo Manke from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Ulrich Nieken from the University of Stuttgart, Christina Roth from the University of Bayreuth, Wolfgang Schuhmann from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and Tanja Vidaković-Koch from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg are involved in the project. The group is coordinated by Thomas Turek (TU Clausthal, spokesperson) and Ulrike Krewer (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, deputy spokesperson).

100 scientists from 11 nations as well as representatives and speakers from various industrial companies, including DE NORA, Elogen, Avantium, SGL Carbon and Johnson Matthey, met in Magdeburg from September 5 to 7, 2022, and discussed the latest developments in the field of gas diffusion electrodes in lectures, presentations and poster contributions. Three poster prizes for young scientists were awarded during the symposium at the Johanniskirche event center.

The symposium was organized by Tanja Vidaković-Koch (Magdeburg) and Thomas Turek (TU Clausthal). The event was sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Chemical Society (GDCh), the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE) and Covestro AG.

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