ERC funding for two LiU researchers for the energy solutions of the future

03 September 2026

Anders Törneholm

LiU researchers Nara Kim and Catherine Aitchison, both at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, have each been awarded an ERC Starting Grant worth approximately SEK 18 million over five years in a highly competitive process. In different ways, they will develop new solutions for generating green energy using conducting plastics.

A couple of people that are in a room. — LOE researchers Catherine Aitchison and Nara Kim have each been awarded a starting grant from ERC.

A total of 4,807 researchers applied for ERC Starting Grants, and 421 succeeded in securing the prestigious award. The researchers will share approximately SEK 7 billion from the European Research Council (ERC). Two of the recipients work in the same division at Linköping University.

Electricity from heat

A woman wearing blue gloves talking to another woman. — Nara Kim, assistant professor and docent.

Nara Kim, assistant professor and docent at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics (LOE), aims to develop a new technology to turn otherwise wasted heat into electricity.

“When you drive a car or use your mobile phone, heat is generated and released into the surroundings. The same is true for our bodies, buildings and industrial processes. Much of this heat simply go unused, especially when the temperature differences are small. The challenge is how to efficiently convert it into useful electricity”, says Nara Kim.

Her idea is a new device concept that combines the large voltage generated by ions with the fast transport of electrons, aiming for much more efficient heat-to-electricity conversion. The device will also be soft and deformable, allowing the technology to adapt to a wide variety of surfaces and heat sources.

“If we succeed, we could expand the range of heat sources that can be practically used to generate electricity. This could open new possibilities for powering autonomous electronics, from wearable health monitors to sensors in places where replacing or recharging batteries is difficult,” says Nara Kim.

Nano power plants for green hydrogen

A woman in a white shirt and blue gloves. — Catherine Aitchison, assistant professor.

Catherine Aitchison, assistant professor at LOE, and her research group aim to develop a new method of splitting water to produce green hydrogen. The technology is intended to function in a similar way to a solar cell.

“But instead of having one large flat surface as in a solar panel, we want to create a liquid solution containing large numbers of tiny nanostructures. Each of these would ideally function as a mini-reactor for splitting water,” she says.

Catherine Aitchison emphasises that this is fundamental research in which they study how charges are generated in the material and where they go. However, if everything proceeds according to plan, it could be a first step towards developing materials for a new type of hydrogen production. According to Catherine Aitchison, the advantage of the structures the researchers hope to create is that they are highly tunable, enabling charge generation and lifetime to be maximised.

“The hope is also to open up a new field of research around these materials, which can then be optimised for different photocatalytic reactions.”

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Laboratory of Organic Electronics

World-leading competence in organic and hybrid materials, from design and modeling to applications in energy, electronics and bioelectronics. Sustainability focus and pipeline from science to commercialization deliver high-impact innovation.

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