The research of the Membrane Engineering group is related to the EU grand challenges of:’

• Secure, clean and efficient energy;
• Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials;
• Food and water security.

The research focuses on experimentally and theoretically untangling the intimate relationships between the physical-chemical properties and the transport properties of polymeric/inorganic materials. This expertise is of central importance in designing high-performance materials for electrochemical processes such as innovative energy conversion and storage systems and photo or biochemical CO₂ reduction reactors.

More in particular the membrane group is active in the fields of:

• high-efficient cation conductive membranes and their applications in flow batteries (including vanadium, organic, ionic liquid based flow batteries). For this research line, the group collaborates with the groups of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Batteries and Power to Chemicals at AU, the University of Pisa (IT), and Tor Vergata (Rome, IT).
• separators and electro-catalyst-coated membranes for CO₂ utilization and reduction in  collaboration with Nina Lock.
• Bipolar membranes and acid-base batteries in collaboration with the European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology (Wetsus, the Netherlands).