The key innovation of POLYHEDRA lies in the combination of magnetic induction heating with advanced magneto-dielectric phase change materials, which allow thermal energy to be stored more efficiently, compactly, and safely than existing technologies. This approach significantly improves the energy density, charging speed, and service life of the system, while reducing investment and maintenance costs. Furthermore, it has the potential to become an enabling technology for the electrification of industrial heat, contributing to the decarbonization of this concept, which is responsible for a very significant proportion of global CO2 emissions.

Elena Palomo, Scientific Director of the Thermal Energy Storage and Conversion Area, and Artem Nikulin, researcher in the Phase Transitions and Critical Behaviors Group, are the CIC energiGUNE researchers responsible for this project..

CIC energiGUNE´s second individual project is NovELIS, which focuses on the development of lithium-sulfur batteries, an emerging technology with the potential to surpass lithium-ion batteries in energy density and cost, which may be key for applications such as heavy electric mobility or the aerospace sector.

The project takes a comprehensive approach that addresses all battery components, from new materials for cathodes and advanced carbon matrices to safer and more stable electrolytes and higher-quality lithium anodes. NovELIS is expected to contribute to the development of lighter batteries with greater autonomy and longer service life, accelerating the transition to more sustainable energy storage systems.

Daniel Carriazo, Ikerbasque Research Professor and Leader of the Solid State Electrolytes line, and Alexander Santiago, Senior Researcher in the Organic and Hybrid Materials group, are in charge of this project.

Finally, the PROEZA project aims to generate a disruptive alternative to conventional urea production—an essential product for fertilizer manufacturing and the chemical industry—through a sustainable electrocatalytic process that transforms CO2 and nitrates, two environmental pollutants, into a high added-value product. In this case, CIC energiGUNE acts as the coordinating entity for the project developed in collaboration with the University of the Basque Country (EHU), in which the DPIC-Donostia International Physics Center also participates.

The PROEZA project focuses on the design of double-atom catalysts based on abundant elements, capable of efficiently and selectively promoting the formation of carbon-nitrogen bonds, one of the greatest current challenges in electrosynthesis. This is expected to have a direct impact on the circular economy and the decarbonization of the chemical industry by converting emissions and pollutants into a strategic product.

In addition, the knowledge generated could be extended to other electrosynthesis processes, driving the development of sustainable fuels and chemicals powered by renewable energies. Max García Melchor, Ikerbasque Research Professor and leader of the Atomistic and Molecular Modeling for Catalysis Group, is responsible for this project at CIC energiGUNE.