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The German Research Foundation (DFG) has accepted Dr. Helen Grüninger into its prestigious Emmy Noether Programme. Based at the Northern Bavarian NMR Centre (NBNC) and the Bavarian Battery Centre (BayBatt) at the University of Bayreuth, the Emmy Noether junior research group is exploring photobatteries that combine the properties of solar cells and batteries.
Through its affiliation with NBNC and BayBatt, the new Emmy Noether group is embedded in an excellent scientific environment with internationally leading expertise. The group also benefits from close collaboration with the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1585 MultiTrans, which conducts top-level interdisciplinary research into transport phenomena in nanostructured materials for the energy sector of the future. The aim of Dr. Helen Grüninger’s Emmy Noether group is to develop electrodes for photobatteries that integrate solar energy conversion and storage within a single material. The DFG is funding the StoreLight project with €1.6 million over six years.
“I am absolutely delighted to receive support from the DFG through the Emmy Noether Programme. The University of Bayreuth offers an ideal environment for this work: the combination of the Northern Bavarian NMR Centre and the Bavarian Battery Centre provides outstanding infrastructure. At the same time, the interdisciplinary collaboration on campus and the scientific exchange within coordinated programmes such as CRC MultiTrans and the International Research Training Group OptExc create optimal conditions for the successful implementation of my StoreLight project,” says Grüninger.
Photobatteries are considered a promising technology for sustainable energy supply, as they can simultaneously convert and (electro)chemically store solar energy within an integrated system. The key to realising photobatteries lies in so-called bifunctional electrodes, which absorb light, generate charge carriers, and simultaneously store and release ions. Dr. Helen Grüninger’s Emmy Noether project aims to develop such bifunctional electrodes. The basis for this is composites made from hybrid perovskites as photoactive materials and metal oxides as battery electrodes for the reversible storage of lithium or sodium ions.
About Dr. Helen Grüninger
Helen Grüninger studied chemistry at the University of Bayreuth and completed her doctorate in an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Bavarian Geoinstitute and the Inorganic Chemistry department, focusing on NMR spectroscopic analysis of defect chemistry in high-pressure minerals. As a postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University in the Netherlands, she deepened her expertise in solid-state NMR and began investigating the material properties of hybrid perovskites for solar cells. Since 2023, she has led a junior research group at the Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology (BayBatt), focusing on in-situ NMR spectroscopy for energy materials. Dr. Grüninger is currently completing her habilitation in Inorganic Chemistry, is a member of CRC 1585 MultiTrans, and will launch her Emmy Noether project on photobatteries in 2026.
About the Emmy Noether Programme
The Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG) enables outstanding early-career researchers to achieve scientific independence at an early stage. It is aimed at postdoctoral researchers who have already demonstrated initial scientific success and offers them the opportunity to lead their own research group. Over a six-year period, these junior researchers can qualify for a university professorship. Requirements for funding include an excellent doctoral degree, high-impact publications, and an outstanding research proposal.
Dr. Helen Grüninger
Junior Research Group Leader
Inorganic Chemistry III
University of Bayreuth
Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-2528
E-Mail: helen.grueninger@uni-bayreuth.de
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