Gunnar Nurk gives inaugural lecture on how high-temperature electrochemistry can help solve energy problems

On Wednesday, 16 October at 16:15, Gunnar Nurk, Professor of High Temperature Energy Materials at the University of Tartu, will give his inaugural lecture “Possibilities of high-temperature electrochemistry in solving energy problems” in the White Hall of the University Museum.

The growing demand for energy, the finite reserves of fossil fuels and the environmental and security problems associated with their exploitation call for the large-scale deployment of renewable energy sources. However, as the energy flows generated by wind and solar power, for example, are uneven, they can only be efficiently harnessed through storage and energy conversion technologies.

High-temperature electrochemical membrane reactors make it possible to efficiently convert electricity into chemical energy or to produce electricity from fuels. “This type of energy conversion is particularly attractive at a time when there is a surplus of electricity generation. Such moments are occurring with increasing frequency as more and more green electricity generation capacity is added to the energy system. Hydrogen, synthesis gas and the synthetic fuels made from it, as well as ammonia, which are of interest to the chemical industry and the transport sector, can be chemical energy carriers,” explained Gunnar Nurk.

According to the professor, these systems can also harness residual heat from industry or other processes to significantly increase electrical efficiency. “In order to make these technologies competitive, we also need to improve the stability of devices and find ways to lower the price,” Nurk said.

The inaugural lecture will address several questions. What are the main applications of high-temperature electrochemical energy conversion equipment? What are the opportunities, advantages and limitations of this technology? What are the challenges of large-scale deployment of this technology?

The lecture will also give a broader overview of high-temperature membrane reactors, their different types and most important ways of application. It reviews some of the key research issues and briefly introduces the activities of the high-temperature energy materials research group. Among other things, Gunnar Nurk and his colleagues are working on these issues in the framework of the Just Transition Fund's project “High temperature electrolysers, co-electrolysers for CO₂ and H₂O and NH₃ synthesis reactors”.

Gunnar Nurk graduated in physical and electrochemistry (1998) from the University of Tartu, where he also defended his master’s thesis (2000) and doctoral thesis “Adsorption kinetics of some organic compounds on bismuth single crystal electrodes” (2003). He has furthered his education at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, worked as a research fellow at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology and as a postdoctoral student at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. He has been a research fellow at Tartu Tehnoloogiad OÜ, a company developing supercapacitors, and has done scientific development work for AS Elcogen and H2Electro OÜ, companies dealing with high-temperature fuel cells and electrolysers. In 2011, Gunnar Nurk joined the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Tartu as a senior research fellow, later becoming an associate professor and, in January 2024, Professor of High Temperature Energy Materials. He contributes to and lectures on courses in energy technology and materials science. Gunnar Nurk leads a working group at the Center of Excellence in Sustainable Green Hydrogen and Energy Technologies and several other R&D projects involving companies. Five doctoral theses and twelve master’s theses have been defended under his supervision. Gunnar Nurk is a member of several international professional organisations.

The aim of the inaugural lecture is to give the new professor an opportunity to introduce himself, his specialisation and field of research. At the end of the public lecture, the audience will be able to ask the professor questions. Everyone interested is welcome. A live webcast of the inaugural lecture will be available on UTTV.