
Alberto Vomiero, Professor of Experimental Physics, Io Antonopoulou, Senior Lecturer in Biochemical Process Engineering, Nazanin Emami, Professor of Machine Elements and Joel Sundström, Senior Lecturer in Fluid Mechanics at Luleå University of Technology
5 June 2024
They received 8 SEK million for research ideas that benefit sustainable societal transformation
In a rousing finale at Vetenskapens hus in Luleå, the Jubilee Fund distributed a total of 8 million to innovative research ideas. The researchers who received money to make their research ideas come true, are: Io Antonopoulou, Senior Lecturer in Biochemical Process Engineering, Nazanin Emami, Professor of Machine Elements, Joel Sundström, Senior Lecturer in Fluid Mechanics and Alberto Vomiero, Professor of Experimental Physics.
“Winning this funding fuels our vision for the Green Transition, turning possibilities into breakthroughs”, says Io Antonopoulou.
This year, 38 applications were received and eight finalists were selected for the Jubilee Fund's grand finale evening. There, the eight finalists had to present their ideas for a sustainable future and compete for millions of crowns under the guidance of presenter and TV host Björn Oldéen. Four researchers were then crowned this year´s winners. They were all delighted to receive the research money.
“It's so wonderful that the Jubilee Fund prioritisies our project! We can now continue working on an important social issue that affects everyone's health and is very topical in Europe in terms of green generation of electricity", says Nazanin Emami.
Her project is about replacing PFAS materials such as PTFE and Teflon, which are currently used to reduce friction. The aim of the project is to develop new solid lubricants and bearing materials that achieve the same effective results, but in a way that is sustainable in the long term.
Joel Sundström will optimise an already developed process in order to develop more robust water turbines with a longer service life and create a balance between power generation and power consumption. Investing in fossil-free steel production requires large amounts of fossil-free electricity.
“This award gives me a unique opportunity to enhance an already adanced system that will enable the further establishment of renewable energy in Swedish generation of electricity," says Joel Sundström.
Alberto Vomiero's project will contribute to the development of fossil-free steel in northern Sweden and to a large-scale hydrogen production that will benefit society as a whole.
“With this price, I will be able to create new catalysts for the environmentally friendly production of green Hydrogen using non critical and abundant materials”, says Alberto Vomiero.
Io Antonopoulou harnesses solar energy to produce clean energy using photosynthetic microalgae, a solution for future carbon capture and hydrogen production.
The Jubilee Fund was established by Vice-Chancellor Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn when Luleå University of Technology turned fifty years old in 2021. She saw a need for more sophisticated solutions and innovations to enable a sustainable future.
The Jubilee Fund is funded by foundations, private individuals, companies and organisations – parties who want to open doors to ideas that can sometimes struggle to find a platform in mainstream structures and funding schemes.
The fund's current donors are: Kempestiftelserna, Gunnar and Barbro Liljedahl, Margareta and Kjell Jonsson and Mats Wäppling. Most of them were present at the Jubilee Fund's grand finale evening.
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