Dr. Minghao Yu receives ERC Starting Grant of 1.5 Million EUR to advance sustainable batteries

With his "BattSkin” project (Practical Magnesium Batteries Enabled by 2D Crystalline Polymer-Based Artificial Electrode Skins), chemist Dr. Minghao Yu aims to advance research into a new and more sustainable battery technology over the next five years. The focus will be on advancing the promising magnesium batteries, using precise polymer chemistry to govern the interfacial ion dynamics. Magnesium batteries are considered top candidates in the race for the next generation of battery technologies due to their low cost, high efficiency, sustainability, and safety. So far, they are still the subject of fundamental research, since charge transfers at the interface in particular still pose problems in practical implementation.

In his ERC project, Dr. Minghao Yu will work on a groundbreaking concept in which molecule-specific customizable 2D crystalline polymers (2DCPs) serve as artificial electrode 'skins', a kind of interphase, to regulate interfacial ion transport and make magnesium batteries ready for application. “With the project, I expect to strengthen my research independence by assembling a skilled and competitive research team with diverse expertise. Meanwhile, the scientific outcomes will earn me a unique academic reputation in the field of next-generation sustainable batteries,” Yu is convinced.

The Chinese-born chemist is Associated Research Group Leader in Department SMFD at the MPI of Microstructure Physics. He has already been listed several times in Clarivate Analytics’ list of Highly Cited Researchers and has received numerous other awards.