What was your original motivation to pursue a career in innovation, e.g., become a researcher/project manager?
It just happened. I had been working as project manager in the automotive industry a few years, but stuck in a rush hour traffic jam I decided that I would not want to contribute to more cars being sold anymore and enrolled for a Master in Renewable Energies followed by a PhD on sustainability assessment of energy technologies (biofuels back then)
What is your (main) research area today?
Sustainability assessment of energy storage. This means quantifying the potential environmental impacts of energy storage system, above all batteries, in a forward looing way, trying to anticipate them when the technology is still in an early stage of development. I am particularly interested in material flows and circular economy, but also broader sustainability assessment approaches that include consumption and demand aspects and thus go beyond prevailing techno-centric perspectives.
What is the main focus of you and your team in Episode?
We support the development of the Episode-batteries under eco-design aspects, developing methods for sustainability assessment and prospectively modelling possible recycling pathways. We want to know how circular and resource-autarch the Episode batteries can be and how to optimise these aspects.
From all your activities within the project, what are you the most proud of/keen of to share with the public?
We will try to set up a server that allows to access and re-use all date we produce right in the corresponding life cycle assessment software, thus contributing to community-based data development. Hopefully we also get new insights on how sustainable a European-produced battery can be, but the project just started..
How do you expect the Episode results will impact your organisation and the battery sector in Europe?
Episode will contribute to the consolidation of a new research line at University of Alcalá, and create visibility and impact within the European battery environment. We hope to be able to drive the development of new, European produced batteries towards minimum environmental impacts and thus to contribute to the final objective of a carbon neutral society.
