Electrochemical Technologies for Energy Conversion and Storage

The Laboratory of Process Systems Design and Implementation (PSDI) of CPERI/CERTH (Greece) has strong expertise in the design, development, testing and integration of electrochemical technologies for clean energy conversion, storage and industrial decarbonisation. Our work is highly relevant to the CETPartnership Joint Call 2026, particularly Call Module 2026-05: Hydrogen and renewable fuel and Call Module 2026-06: Stationary battery technologies and systems for climate-neutral industry and built environment, with additional relevance to industrial carbon management and integrated industrial energy systems.

Our research focuses on electrochemical energy conversion and storage, including hydrogen production through water electrolysis, fuel cells, regenerative fuel cell systems, CO₂ electrochemical conversion, battery materials and stationary energy storage technologies. We have long-standing experience in the synthesis, processing, advanced characterisation and electrochemical evaluation of electrocatalysts, electrodes, membrane–electrode assemblies, electrochemical cells and stacks. Specific activities include PEM water electrolysis, solid oxide electrolysis cells, steam and CO₂ co-electrolysis for syngas production, and the development of membrane-based electrochemical cells for the conversion of CO₂ to e-fuels and value-added chemicals, such as syngas, formic acid/formate, ethanol, methane and other products.

PSDI has advanced experimental infrastructure for materials development and electrochemical testing. This includes facilities for the synthesis and processing of catalysts, electrodes, membranes and MEAs, using techniques such as ultrasonic spraying, screen printing, tape casting and hot pressing. Our electrochemical test stations support the evaluation of PEM and solid oxide cells (SOC) and stacks, including performance, durability, accelerated stress testing and degradation studies. Available techniques include EIS, cyclic voltammetry, polarisation curves, steady-state current–voltage and current–power measurements, combined with gas/product analysis through GC, MS and NDIR. The laboratory also has access to advanced physicochemical and surface characterisation tools, including operando/near-ambient-pressure Near Ambient Pressure (NAP)-XPS, XRD, ICP, BET, SEM/TEM-EDX and temperature-programmed techniques.

In hydrogen technologies, we have more than 15 years of experience in the development and long-term testing of electrolysis systems for H₂ production and regenerative fuel cell systems, including demanding applications in European and international research projects. Our infrastructure also includes integrated renewable hydrogen systems combining photovoltaics, PEM electrolysis, hydrogen storage and batteries, as well as expertise in automation, monitoring, SCADA/DCS/PLC systems, energy management and advanced control.

In CO₂ utilisation, we work on integrated concepts combining CO₂ capture, electrochemical conversion and renewable electricity. Our expertise covers catalyst and electrode development, cell and reactor design, CO₂ electroreduction, CO₂/H₂O co-electrolysis, product selectivity and Faradaic efficiency evaluation, stability testing, degradation analysis and process integration. We are particularly interested in approaches that transform captured CO₂ from industrial sources into renewable fuels and chemical products, supporting circular carbon use and industrial symbiosis.

Complementing our expertise in hydrogen-based energy storage and conversion, including fuel cells, electrolysers and regenerative fuel cell systems, we are also interested in redox flow batteries for stationary electrochemical storage. Our contribution can focus on materials and cell components, including porous carbon electrodes, membranes/separators, current collectors and lab-scale flow battery cells. We can address electrolyte formulation and stability, electrode activation/modification, electrode/electrolyte interfaces, membrane selectivity and crossover, electrochemical performance testing, long-term cycling and degradation analysis. This is supported by CΕΡΤΗ infrastructure for materials synthesis, electrode and membrane processing, electrochemical testing and post-mortem characterisation.

We are interested in joining or forming consortia addressing renewable hydrogen production, advanced electrolysers, CO₂ electroconversion to e-fuels and chemicals, redox flow batteries for stationary storage, electrochemical technology scale-up, renewable energy integration and climate-neutral industrial processes.