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Research

SMN conducts interdisciplinary research to create a more sustainable world. Research in materials science for renewable and sustainable energy solutions is crucial for addressing today's challenges related to climate change, resource utilization, and sustainable development.

Strategic Thematic Areas

The research at our centre aims to discover and develop materials with enhanced properties and functionalities that can aid in the transition to a sustainable future. Key topics are energy storage and harvesting, CO2 management and abatement, production of hydrogen, ammonia, and other green fuels, and development of new energy saving materials for both power electronics and information- and communications technology. To focus our efforts, we have identified six Strategic Thematic Areas (STAs), which you can read more about below.

Batteries testing in the lab

Emerging battery chemistries

The need for advanced energy storage solutions is important when considering the large-scale electrification of society and implementation of renewable, but variable, energy sources. While Li-ion batteries are the most widespread electricity storage technology, there are significant concerns regarding the cost, lifetime, environmental impact and sustainability of large-scale production of these across the world. We combat these issues by conducting research in new materials, and solid-state batteries.

This STA is headed by Alexey Koposov.

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Material platforms for Quantum Technology

Quantum Technology (QT) aims to utilize properties of quantum mechanics in practical applications. Our focus is on point defects in semiconductors as a qubit platform, mainly for use in quantum sensing. Point defect based QT relies on two key characteristics: manipulation of the spin state of a defect and the single-photon emitter (SPE) property. SPEs are particularly promising for quantum sensing as the emission spectrum responds rapidly to minuscule changes in surrounding fields. In this STA we explore novel materials and defect systems that can be used as SPEs.

This STA is headed by Lasse Vines.

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Complex Oxide Electronics and Sensors

The electronics industry is at a major crossroad with respect to development of future information- and communication technology. As the size of electronic components decreases into the nanometer scale, silicon is no longer a viable option, at least not for all purposes.  Additionally, the overall energy use of the current technology is becoming unsustainable, as society becomes increasingly computationally intensive. New materials and device architectures are therefore needed. Our research will focus on ternary- or quaternary oxides with very high magnitudes of functional electric- and magnetic response, as well as having defect states that are controllable with high precision. This gives a range of tunable properties that may be used as an advantage in future device technology. 

The STA is lead by Henrik Sønsteby.

Novel Materials for High-Efficiency Tandem Solar Cells

Green energy harvesting through photovoltaics (PV) has become an industrial locomotive, but still keeps a wide array of possibilities for improvements. The future of PVs builds on silicon’s tremendous success by adding additional layers to capture and convert a wider range of the solar spectrum, i.e., the tandem cell. The current challenges of the state-of-the-art tandem solar cells are inherent in the materials themselves, as promising materials contain elements that are either toxic, scarce, prone to geopolitical stress, or too costly to produce on a large scale. Our research will aim for the development of new novel materials and structures that overcome these challenges, mainly focusing on multi-cation oxides, ternary nitrides, and lead-free halide perovskites. With joint expertise and effort in physical- and chemical synthesis, characterisation, and theory, we therefore aim to tailor the next-generation tandem solar cell materials to increase the power of current PVs.

This STA is headed  by Vegard Skiftestad Olsen.

 

Solar and e-fuels 

To prevent detrimental climate scenarios, humankind need to mitigate further CO2 emissions and the transition to a circular CO2 economy is a necessity. Production of fuels and added-value hydrocarbons (polymers, pharmaceuticals, lubricants, solvents etc.) from water and carbon dioxide using solar energy (photons) are emerging concepts together with ideas where thermal-, photo, and electro- catalysis are combined. Key research challenges are to pair two or more energy inputs on a common gas-phase reaction platform and to develop atomic scale composite catalysts to achieve a fully optimized reaction sequence, which is energy effective and give no side-products. Our research will focus on developing a gas phase reactor system that accommodate both thermal and solar energy to catalytically convert H2O/CO2into H2or light hydrocarbons over tailor-made nanostructured catalysts. 

This STA is headed by Anja Olafsen Sjåstad.
 

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Hydrogen Materials

The element hydrogen H is part of every aspect of the planet and life on it. Hydrogen gas is today mostly produced from fossil sources, much of it for ammonia synthesis in the fertilizer industry. Emission-free hydrogen will become an increasingly important part of future sustainable storage and use of energy, constituting a major focus of this strategic area. Here we explore novel materials for production, storage, and use of hydrogen, but also how hydrogen affects the functional properties of a range of advanced materials (electrolytes, electrodes, electrocatalysts, semiconductors, metals). The uniquely light and small single proton H+ leads to differences in models, nomenclature, and experimental approaches in materials physics and chemistry, but offers also opportunities for novelty and innovation. In STA Hydrogen Materials, SMN seeks to pursue this along established and new collaborations between the groups, with overarching objective to pursue breakthrough ideas and develop new directions in science and innovation on hydrogen in materials for sustainable energy technologies.

This STA is headed by Truls Norby.

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