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Assistant Professor Yaolin Xu from Aalto’s Department of Applied Physics was awarded the prestigious journal Energy Storage Materials’ . The honour, extended to three scientists within 10 years of completing their PhD, highlights people who already have made significant contributions to energy storage research and display great future potential.

“I am proud to be selected for this award and very happy to see my research efforts in energy storage materials internationally recognized in the field. This award is encouraging and motivates me to continuously push boundaries and to obtain new breakthroughs,” Xu says.

Xu has been working on understanding of materials for energy storage solutions like batteries since his Master study. After a PhD in the Netherlands in 2018, he landed at Aalto in late 2024. The new-ish Professor has since then filled out the ranks of his Energy Materials & Interfaces group and equipped his laboratory.

“Right now I’m working on mechanistic understandings of electrochemical materials and interfaces with advanced and in situ characterization techniques. The goal is to develop more efficient electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies. The applications include things like rechargeable batteries and electrochemical ammonia synthesis, which is a way to make ammonia, a crucial component in synthesizing many everyday items, more sustainably.”

Improving lab workflows for better science

Xu’s work relies on combining characterization techniques. At Aalto, he regularly employs the facilities of the Nanomicroscopy Center—a part of the Finnish national research infrastructure .

“My research utilizes advanced characterization techniques, such as cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), in situ transmission electron microscopy (in situ TEM), synchrotron X-ray and neutron-based spectroscopy, and microscopy. What is more challenging is to achieve effective correlation between these methods.” 

Xu aims to yield scientific impact by improving characterization and analysis workflows inside the lab. 

“In the near future, my aspiration is to develop an efficient workflow for correlative materials characterization and analysis of sensitive electrochemical materials and interfaces,” he says. “Once that is done, I believe the findings will lead to breakthroughs in my electrochemical energy research from storage systems to conversion solutions. In the long-term, I will seek opportunities for know-how transfer and contribute to carbon neutralization in real life.”

The ENSM Young Scientist Awards will be presented in an official ceremony on September 24, 2025, in in Shenyang, China at the 6th annual International Conference on Energy Storage Materials.