Electrocatalysis for renewable energy conversion, 6.0 credits

Entry requirements

Entry requirement for studies on third-cycle education courses

• second-cycle degree,
• 240 credits in required courses, including at least 60 second-cycle credits, or
• acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other manner

Specific entry requirements for this course basic knowledge of modern physics, chemistry or material sicence.

Specific information

The course is intended for PhD students who is interested in electrochemistry, catalysis, materials for energy conversion, sustainable energy technologies, or related areas.

The course is given in English. Teaching is based on lectures, literature seminars, student presentations, group discussions, and individual written assignments. The course can be organized over approximately 8–10 weeks.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the students will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• Explain fundamental concepts in electrocatalysis.
• Describe the role of electrocatalysis in sustainable energy conversion technologies, such as green hydrogen from water splitting, CO₂ reduction.
• Identify the key mechanisms and catalytic challenges in important reneable energy conversion, and understand the common strategies to solve these challenges, such as electrocatalyst design and electrolyzer optimization.
• Describe how electrochemical measurements, product analysis, in situ/operando characterization, and theoretical calculations can be used to study electrocatalytic mechanisms.

Competence and skills

• Analyze and interpret electrocatalytic data.
• Compare different electrocatalyst systems and assess their advantages, limitations, and suitability for specific energy conversion reactions.
• Identify knowledge gaps in current electrocatalysis research and formulate scientifically relevant research questions.
• Critically evaluate scientific literature in electrocatalysis with respect to experimental design, data interpretation, benchmarking, reproducibility, and practical relevance. Present and discuss recent research articles in a clear, structured, and critical manner.
• Design a short research proposal addressing an open challenge in electrocatalysis for sustainable energy conversion.

Judgement and approach

• Reflect on the difference between fundamental catalyst studies and practical device implementation.
• Evaluate electrocatalytic systems from broader perspectives, including sustainability, resource availability, scalability, environmental impact, and long-term technological relevance.
• Demonstrate a critical and responsible approach to scientific claims, reproducibility, and research ethics in energy materials research.

Contents

• The course covers fundamental and advanced concepts in electrocatalysis for sustainable energy conversion, such as electrochemical thermodynamics and kinetics, the electrode–electrolyte interface, adsorption and reaction intermediates, mass transport, catalyst reconstruction under operating conditions and others.
• The course also introduces important electrocatalytic reactions relevant to sustainable energy technologies, including the hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, and carbon dioxide reduction reaction.
• The course also covers materials design principles for electrocatalysis. Experimental methods for evaluating electrocatalysts are discussed. The course also introduces the use of in situ and operando characterization techniques for studying catalyst structure and reaction mechanisms under working conditions.
• The course concludes with device-level and sustainability aspects, including gas-diffusion electrodes, flow cells, membranes, and the gap between laboratory-scale studies and practical sustainable energy technologies.

Educational methods

Educational methods applied in this course are lectures, literature seminars, student-led paper discussions, group discussions and oral presentations.

Examination

Oral examination.

Grading

Course literature

A list of recommended literature will be provided by the course coordinator before the start of the course.