Energy Storage and Catalysis
Research in energy storage and catalysts involves developing cost-effective, industry-relevant materials and catalysts for enhanced energy generation, storage and conversion.

Our research in the area of energy storage and catalysts is particularly focused on:
- materials design and synthesis in relation to renewable energy
- nanostructured materials for high-performance batteries and supercapacitors
- low-cost non-precious metal and metal-free electrocatalysts for fuel-cells and hydrogen production.
We also have an interest in developing:
- catalyst material for green ammonia production and electroreducing CO2 to fuels and chemicals
- materials for solar-fuel generation, bio-catalysis and heterocatalysis
- computational-chemistry-based theories for electrocatalytic energy conversion processes.
Research impact
Our Energy Storage and Catalysts’ researchers aim to:
- achieve accurate materials design for energy conversion and storage purposes
- understand and link materials’ apparent catalytic performance to their intrinsic properties, such as molecular structure and chemical composition
- generate value-added green products.
Our work regularly achieves significant real-world impact. This includes through such achievements as developing:
- higher-performance battery materials
- more efficient renewable-energy-generation materials and solutions
- a nanomaterials knowledge bank.
Strong industry links
Our research ultimately benefits a significant range of industries, but is of immediate relevance to businesses and organisations working in or with:
- renewable energy storage
- green ammonia production
- hydrogen production
- fuel cells
- CO2-derived green chemicals.
Consulting services
We advise on, contribute to and lead, projects relating to:
- materials analysis and testing
- characterising materials
- building molecular models for materials and simulating their behaviour when performing different functions.
Our researchers
We have expertise across a wide range of areas. Many of our researchers are available to assist with research project supervision for Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy students.
Research team | Expertise |
---|---|
Professor Shizhang Qiao | |
Professor David Lewis | |
Professor Bo Jin | |
Associate Professor Zeyad Alwahabi | |
Dr Philip Kwong | |
Dr Yan Jiao | |
Dr Yao Zheng | |
Dr Deepak Dubal | |
Dr Jingrun Ran | |
Dr Bo You | |
Dr Tran Tung | |
Dr Philip van Eyk | |
Dr Ken Davey | |
Dr Jason Connor | |
Dr Cristiana Ciobanu |
Collaborations
We collaborate with various industry and government organisations, including:
- Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland (USA)
- Curtin University of Technology
- Flinders University
- Harbin Institute of Technology (China)
- Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China)
- Kent State University (USA)
- Kumamoto University (Japan)
- Max-Plank Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam (Germany)
- Monash University
- Nanjing Tech University (China)
- Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
- National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba (Japan)
- Newcastle University (UK)
- Seoul National University (South Korea)
- Shanghai Jiao-Tong University (China)
- Stanford University (USA)
- Surrey University, Guildford (UK)
- Technische Universitaet Dresden (Germany)
- The University of Western Ontario, London (Canada)
- Tianjin University (China)
- Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea)
- University College London (UK)
- University of New South Wales
- University of Queensland
- University of South Australia
- University of Technology Sydney
- University of Western Ontario, London (Canada)
- University of Wollongong
Contact us
To enquire about consulting or working with us on a research project, please contact:
Higher degrees by research
Whether you intend to work in research or industry, a higher degree by research can give you a competitive edge throughout your career. Find out more about studying a Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy.