Meet the WISE fellow -Lizhou Fan

In this interview series, WISE proudly presents the WISE Fellows. Today, we feature Lizhou Fan, an Assistant Professor and WISE Fellow at Linköping University. He received his PhD from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2020. He was subsequently awarded an international postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto, Canada, where he joined the research group of Professor Ted Sargent.

Can you tell us about your research?

My research focuses on electrocatalysis for renewable energy conversion. In particular, we use renewable electricity to transform CO₂, water, and biomass-derived feedstocks into fuels and chemicals—including green hydrogen, ethanol, ethylene, and other industrial building blocks—to reduce the rely on the fossil resource and carbon emission. Our work lies at the intersection of materials science, chemistry, and chemical engineering.

What are the sustainability aspects of your research?

The widespread use of fossil fuels has provided abundant energy to support modern society. However, it also contributes significantly to environmental problems through the emission of CO₂. At the same time, the world-wide increasing population and economic development continuously increase global energy demand. Our mission is to provide renewable energy solutions for next generations, reshape the carbon cycle, and contribute to low-carbon and sustainable future. To ensure an accurate assessment of the overall benefits and trade-offs, we incorporate life cycle assessments (LCAs) through the work of our collaborators.

As part of your WISE fellow package you will have the possibility to hire 2 PhD and 2 postdocs, how do you think this starting package will influence your academic career?

The WISE Fellow package provides a great opportunity to build a diverse, world-class team that brings together top expertise, perspectives, and ideas. It has already enabled me to establish a strong research platform for renewable energy conversion, pursue pioneering research, and contribute to scientific advances that support sustainability. At Linköping University, I have the exciting opportunity to establish a research group in this field and build it from the ground up.

Can you give a word of advice to young researchers wanting to pursue an academic career?

Stay curious, aim for excellence in scientific research, and focus on solving the key problems. In our laboratory, we strive to conduct world-leading research by identifying the next major challenges in our field and focusing our efforts on addressing them. For example, we investigate what constitutes an effective catalytic material for energy conversion while continuously looking beyond the current state of the art. We ask ourselves not only what is scientifically possible today, but also what advances are needed to bring these technologies closer to commercialization.