Rate My Professor Martin Dornheim

Professor Martin Dornheim serves as the Leverhulme International Professor for Hydrogen Storage Materials and Systems in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham since 2022. He studied Physics at the University of Hamburg and completed his doctoral studies at the University of Göttingen as a scholarship holder of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, earning a Dr. rer. nat. in Metallphysik. His doctoral research investigated hydrogen uptake in metals, hydrogen-induced strains and stresses, their stress relaxation mechanisms, and effects on thermodynamic properties. Following his PhD, he led the 'hydrogen in metals' group at the Institute for Material Physics for one year. In 2003, he joined the GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht (later Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon), becoming head of the Department of Nanotechnology in 2005 with a focus on hydrogen storage materials development. His team discovered, investigated, and optimized several new complex hydrides and Reactive Hydride Composites. He later headed the Department of Materials Design at the Institute of Hydrogen Technology, initiating hydrogen stores and demonstrators in collaboration with industry. Dornheim holds the 'Science of Hydrogen and Energy Award' from the International Symposium on Hydrogen and Energy in Sapporo, Japan (2020), the Leverhulme International Professorship Award (2021), and earlier awards from the Ernst-Hermann Kölln Foundation and Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Dornheim's research specializes in hydrogen technology, emphasizing storage and compression, materials physics for energy, and multifunctional hydrides for energy storage and conversion. He leads the International Energy Agency Hydrogen Technology Collaboration Programme Task 51 'Hydrogen Materials for Energy Storage,' coordinating over 60 experts from 19 countries. With more than 15,000 citations on Google Scholar, his work has advanced novel materials like hydrides and Reactive Hydride Composites to improve hydrogen storage capacity, uptake/release kinetics, and high-pressure compression beyond 850 bar, supporting applications in net-zero emissions targets. Key publications include 'Application of hydrides in hydrogen storage and compression' (International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2019), 'Research and development of hydrogen carrier based solutions for hydrogen compression and storage' (Journal of Physics: Energy, 2022), and 'Diverse hydrogen chemistry with perspectives for energy storage' (Chemical Communications, 2026).