Title: Hydrogen Batteries

Speaker: Prof. Wei Chen (University of Science and Technology of China)

Invited by: Prof. Zhenxing Liang

Time: November 02, 2026 (Monday), 10:00 – 11:00

Venue: Meeting Room 804 of Building B13, University Town Campus

Organizer: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering / Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology

Biography

Prof. Wei Chen is a Professor and doctoral supervisor in the Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, and a Professor at the Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and the Institute of Carbon Neutrality. He received his B.S. degree in Materials Physics from University of Science and Technology Beijing in 2008, and his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in 2013. He carried out postdoctoral research at Stanford University from 2014 to 2018, and worked as a Scientist at EEnotech from 2018 to 2019. He joined the University of Science and Technology of China in July 2019, focusing on research of large-scale energy-storage batteries.

Since establishing his independent research group, he has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers as (co-)corresponding author in international journals including Nature Sustainability, Nature Communications, Nature Reviews Clean Technology, Chemical Reviews, Chemical Society Reviews, Joule, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, and Advanced Materials. His papers have accumulated over 23 000 citations with an H-index of 76. He holds 5 US patents and more than 20 Chinese invention patents. He serves as Associate Editor of Energy Z, Editorial Board Member of Materials Today Energy, and Youth Editorial Board Member for journals including eScience, Nano Research Energy, and Energy Materials Advances.

Abstract

Rechargeable batteries play a critical role in high-energy-density and large-scale energy-storage applications. Nevertheless, stringent requirements for low cost, long cycle-life and calendar-life limit the broad deployment of most battery chemistries in energy-storage fields. In recent years, we have developed a new generation of rechargeable hydrogen batteries employing hydrogen redox reactions as electrodes, which feature safe operation, high energy and stable electrochemical performance. In this presentation, I will introduce new systems of rechargeable hydrogen batteries, including aqueous nickel-hydrogen batteries, proton-hydrogen batteries, halogen-hydrogen batteries, and non-aqueous lithium-hydrogen batteries. I will also discuss several extended applications of hydrogen batteries, including self-charging batteries, decoupled water electrolysis for hydrogen production, and metal-mediated nitrogen reduction for ammonia synthesis. Rechargeable hydrogen batteries exhibit promising prospects for large-scale and high-energy energy-storage applications.

Announced by School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.