Battery Technologies
Sustainable energy storage represents one of the great challenges in the twenty-first century. In response to the needs of modern society and emerging ecological concerns, improved energy storage is essential to enable the use of more renewable energy on the grid and shift from a petrol powered to a carbon neutral mobility. Therefore, new chemistries are vital that are inherently eco-efficient and environmentally friendly, in combination with feasible approaches to low-cost and recyclable materials.
My research is dedicated to address challenges and chances in novel, innovative concepts, chemistries and architectures for advanced energy storage systems. It is my aim to push the frontiers for advanced energy storage systems, that are low-cost and environmentally friendly.
Ass.Prof. Dr. techn Engelbert Portenkirchner
NEWS
01.10.2026
Welcome to our new Master Students James & Viktoria.
James (University of Edinburgh) and Viktoria (LFU) have now started their Master's thesis in our group. Welcome!
21.09.2026
Institute Hiking Day 2026
This year’s institute hiking day took us to 'Meißner Haus'. The hike and a relaxing stop at the hut offered a welcome opportunity to spend time together and connect outside the institute.
22.07.2026
Set-Up of TUrelax
During a research stay in Vienna for experimental measurements, members of our group also helped set up TUrelax, a new green community space in Schauerhofgasse. With plants, comfortable seating and spaces for exchange, TUrelax offers a welcoming place for neighbours, students and university staff to relax and connect.
17.12.2025
Christmas Party at Umbrüggeller Alm
This year's Christmas party of the Institute of Physical Chemistry was held at the Umbrüggeller Alm. It was a very nice evening!
15.12.2025
Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Werner!
Daniell successfully defended his Doctoral thesis. Congratulations on this great achievement!
21.11.2025
FunMat Paper Award 2025
This year's FunMat Paper Award was awarded to Christoph Thurner and Daniel Werner for their joint work ‘New Insights into the Hydrogen Evolution Mechanism near the Ni/YSZ Triple Phase Boundary during Steam Electrolysis: A Patterned Model Electrode Study’. Congratulations!
Link to the article: https://doi.org/10.1021/acselectrochem.4c00031
20.11.2025
Törggellen 2025
The research groups Materials- & Electrochemistry, Interface Chemistry & Structure, and Battery Technologies met for a Törggelen event at the Canisiusbrünnl in Rum.
29.10.-31.10.2025
3rd Autumn Workshop on Functional Organic Materials
Members of our group took part in the 3rd Autumn Workshop on Functional Organic Materials for a Sustainable Future in Brno. There, they presented our latest research findings and exchanged ideas with international colleagues. It was an exciting workshop that provided valuable inspiration for our work!
06.10.2025
New Article in Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research
Our new publication: "Addressing the Cllanges of 3C-SiC - Synergetic Effect of Conductive Additives on the Performance of SiC as Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries" is now online! Check it out: https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202500214
01.10.2025
New PostDoc - Boonphop
We now have a new PostDoc in our group. Welcome, Boonphop!
22.09.2025 - 23.09.2025
8th GÖCh-Symposium for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry
Members of our group participated in the 8th GÖCh Symposium for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria in Wels, which took place from 22 to 23 September 2025.
07.09.2025 - 12.09.2025
76th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry
Several members of our working group attended the 76th Annual Meeting of the ISE in Mainz, Germany. With over 2,000 contributions, the conference was the most well-attended annual meeting in its history. We were represented at the conference with two presentations and two poster contributions.
31.01.2025
AG Portenkirchner Skitour
On 31 January 2025, the Portenkirchner working group went on a skitouring trip. A nice adventure!
28.09.2023 - 29.09.2023
7th GÖCh-Symposium for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry
Members of our group participated in the 7th GÖCh Symposium for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at the TU Vienna, which took place from 28 to 29 September 2023.
03.09.2023 - 08.09.2023
74th ISE Annual Meeting
Members of the Materials- & Electrochemistry and Battery Technology groups took part in the 74th ISE Annual Meeting, which was held in Lyon, France. We presented a number of papers and actively contributed to the scientific exchange at the conference.
18.05.2023
New Article in Elecrochemical Science Advances
MiUsing the method of electrochemical X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) from the laboratory, redox-active processes can be investigated directly in situ at the electrified solid-liquid interface. This approach is described in detail in our article ‘Lab-based electrochemical X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for in-situ probing of redox processes at the electrified solid/liquid interface’.
Link to the article: https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/elsa.202300007
Contact
Institut für Physikalische Chemie
Josef-Möller-Haus
Innrain 52c
A - 6020 Innsbruck
Österreich
Team Leader
Priv.-Doz. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn.
Engelbert Portenkirchner