National Institute of Chemistry

National Institute of Chemistry is a scientifically excellent, established and breakthrough research institution based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. NIC includes 8 departments and two research centres with approx. 440 employees. Laboratory for Modern Battery Systems is part of the Department of Materials Chemistry and employs 28 researchers. The group works on monovalent, multivalent and organic battery materials with focus on in-depth understanding of these systems through developing and utilizing advanced diagnostic tools in order to gain insights into the relevant electrochemical processes and material properties. (NIC)

SCIENTIFIC TEAM

Robert DOMINKO (Principal Investigator)

Dr. Robert Dominko is a research professor at the National Institute of Chemistry and associate professor at University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. His research interests are in the field of materials science and electrochemistry, more precisely in electrochemical systems for energy conversion and storage, with main activities in the field of modern battery systems. He was a coordinator of two European projects developing Li-S batteries, and he has tide connections with different companies. He received several awards, e.g. the Honda initiation grant (2013) and is a member of the Slovenian Academy of Engineering. He is a deputy director of Alistore ERI and core member of Battery 2030+ initiative. Robert Dominko has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers (H-index 62 SCOPUS 03/2024).

Sara DRVARIC TALIAN

Dr. Sara Drvarič Talian obtained her PhD from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2018 on the topic of lithium sulfur batteries under the supervision of Dr. Robert Dominko. Her dissertation won the 2019 Maks Samec prize for doctoral thesis, the 2020 Pregl award for outstanding doctoral work and the 2021 Jozef Stefan Golden Emblem award for outstanding contributions made to science in Doctoral theses. In 2020 she did a 3-month research visit to the MPI Solid State Research in Stuttgart in the group of Joachim Maier. She has been employed as a researched at NIC since 2015. Her expertise is in impedance spectroscopy measurements and the use of novel operando characterisation techniques with the objective of determining the electrochemical mechanism of operation of energy storage materials. She has co-authored 25 research papers (H-index 14, SCOPUS 03/2024).

Ivan DACREMA (DC06)

Ivan Dacrema began his journey in battery research and solid-state chemistry during his master’s internship in the Physical Chemistry group at the University of Sassari (Italy). His work primarily involved the electrochemical and structural characterisation of materials, originally developed for hydrogen storage, to assess their possible use as solid-state electrolytes. During this period, Ivan had the opportunity to spend a few months at the University of Pau (France) to conduct structural characterisation on solid electrolyte materials by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The aim of the collaboration was to understand the degradation mechanisms induced by mechanochemical or electrochemical treatments. This experience deepened Ivan’s interest in material characterisation and in the chemistry of interfaces which led him to apply for DC06 position within the RIDERS project.
His work will focus on understanding the mass and charge transfer between single ion polymer electrolytes and the electrodes, as well as investigating the reactions happening at these critical interfaces. Ivan was immediately interested in the RIDERS project seeing the emphasis it gave to collaboration between different laboratories and looks forward to working alongside other colleagues, sharing knowledge and ideas to advance the understanding of this technology. This will be a great opportunity to build the knowledge and skills required to tackle the future technological challenges that await us.

National Institute of Chemistry
Hajdrihova ulica 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia