Johan Hjelm

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Johan studied chemistry at Uppsala University 1993-1998 where he later did his PhD in Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry in the group of Prof. Anders Hagfeldt 19992003. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Centre for Sensor Research and the School of Chemical Sciences at Dublin City University in 2004-2005, where he worked with Prof. Robert Forster (physical and analytical electrochemistry) and Prof. Han Vos (coordination chemistry). Johan joined the Fuel Cell and Solid State Chemistry Division at Risø National Laboratory as a Researcher in 2006 and got a permanent position as an Senior Scientist in 2007. Risø National Lab was merged with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in 2007 and in 2012 the Department of Energy Conversion and Storage (DTU Energy) was created where he became an Associate Professor and later, in 2019, a full Professor of Electrochemical Materials and Interfaces.

In 2023 he became a Head of Section for a unit at DTU Energy called “Electrochemical Materials” with around 35 sta including PhD students, postdocs, and PIs. Johan’s research focuses on three major areas:

• Sustainable Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage (redox flow batteries, organic redox active solids for batteries, earth abundant inorganic materials for energy storage, non-fluorinated membranes)

• Electrochemical Synthesis of Chemicals and Fuels (organic electrosynthesis, metal-free OER/ORR electrocatalysts, and capture and reduction of CO2)

• Advanced Diagnostics of Electrochemical Flow Reactors, Batteries, and Porous Electrodes (use of in-situ spectroscopies – NMR, vibrational spectroscopies, mass spectrometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). Wind and solar energy are today cheaper than fossil fuel-based energy and even nuclear energy in several parts of the world. Scandinavia, like many other regions in Europe, is experiencing a rapid electrification of mobility and fast growth of intermittent renewable energy sources and thus also a great and very urgent need for e icient, a ordable, sustainable, and dispatchable energy storage at many di erent scales. With increasing abundance of “renewable electrons” sourced from primary energy sources such as wind and solar, electrification of chemicals production becomes another important pathway to further emissions reduction and decreased waste generation. Accelerating the transition to a decarbonized and renewable energy powered sustainable society through discovery and innovation of new materials and sustainable processes for materials/chemicals production is central to Johan’s research vision. He is currently leading research in the areas of all-iron hybrid flow batteries, organic redox flow batteries, and organic electrosynthesis and valorisation of biomass.

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