Professor Georgios Kontogeorgis from DTU Chemical Engineering receives the ERC Advanced Grant 2018 from the European Research Council (ERC).
Electrolytes are (almost) everywhere, but major questions and misunderstandings in electrolyte thermodynamics, some remaining for over 100 years, currently prevent real progress from being made. Professor Georgios Kontogeorgis now receives the ERC Advanced Grant of EUR 2.5 million for his project “New Paradigm in Electrolyte Thermodynamics” to create a new paradigm, which will ultimately pave the way for the development of new engineering models for electrolyte solutions.
“It means very much to me to receive the ERC Advanced grant. Above all, the possibility to work in depth on a very important topic but also some type of recognition after lots of efforts. This was my fifth application to ERC Advanced Grant. I have been trying since 2008, and I was almost about to give up - but I guess one should never give up”, says Professor Georgios Kontogeorgis.
Unwanted path lead to an array of new possibilities
“I actually never wanted to work with electrolytes. In the beginning, I was urged by industry and later encouraged and supported by some of the excellent colleagues around”, says Georgios.
Despite his initial aversion to the fields of electrolytes, he recognizes the importance of further studies in the field as electrolyte solutions are present almost anywhere and find numerous applications in physical sciences including chemistry, geology, material science, medicine, biochemistry and physiology as well as in many engineering fields especially chemical & biochemical, electrical and petroleum engineering.
Pushing the boundaries
It is very important, to have generally applicable models to a very wide range of conditions so that they potentially can be used for a wide range of applications.
“In this project, we attempt to go beyond the current state of the art and create a scientific foundation for studying and comparing diverse modern theories. We will validate the models at their extremes, i.e. conditions and situations never considered before in order to discover the frontiers of our understanding in electrolyte thermodynamics”, Georgios explains, but is also quick to acknowledge the magnitude of this project:
”This is a risky, ambitious and crucial task, but a successful completion will have significant benefits in many industrial sectors as well as in environmental studies and biotechnology”.
Georgios Kontogeorgis was born in Greece (1968), got his MSc in Chemical Engineering from Technical University of Athens (1991), earned his PhD from DTU Chemical Engineering (1995), and returned as faculty in 1999 (associate professor; professor in 2011). Georgios is now centre leader at Center for Energy Resources Engineering (CERE) and KT Consortium at DTU Chemical Engineering.