MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF 2026)

USP‑CEU is a competitive and supportive host institution for MSCA‑PF candidates, with a strong track record including 10 awarded fellowships, an exceptional 100/100 score, and two recent successes in the MSCA‑PF 2025 call. We offer personalised guidance throughout the proposal preparation process, as well as our International Talent Retention Programme, which provides successful MSCA Fellows with an additional 6–12‑month contract to support long‑term career development.

Hosting Research Group

The host group is the Solid State Chemistry and Materials Research Group of USP-CEU, which has been working on intercalation materials for lithium-ion batteries since 1995 and, more recently, on sodium-ion and magnesium-ion batteries. The group has a very complete laboratory to carry out research tasks that cover the whole process, from the synthesis of active materials to the prototyping of pouch cells up to 2 Ah.

We leverage extensive collaborations with national and international research groups on various integrated projects. These partnerships allow us to significantly expand the range of characterization techniques available to us. This comprehensive approach ensures we acquire the necessary data to fully understand the structural properties of target materials and their relationship to electrochemical behaviour. Main research lines and key achievements include:

Advanced Electrode Materials for Li- and Na-Ion Batteries.

We are developing high performance cathode and anode materials based on transition-metal oxides, oxyfluorides, and fluorides, especially vanadium-based compounds (V₂O₅, V₄O₉, H₂V₃O₈, VO₂F, and TiO₂-based materials). Our group has yielded two recent patents on vanadium oxide-based electrodes, one transferred to a company.

Post-Lithium Battery Technologies: Magnesium- and Zinc-Based Systems.

We are exploring novel electrode materials for magnesium- and zinc-based batteries, aiming to overcome current limitations in multivalent-ion storage, and to enable safer, sustainable, and commercially viable post-lithium energy-storage technologies.

Understanding Electrochemical Storage Mechanisms.

Investigation of redox processes, ion-storage mechanisms, and structural evolution during battery operation using advanced operando synchrotron and neutron-based techniques. We use operando synchrotron diffraction, operando XAS, to monitor structural evolution of electrode materials in real time during battery operation.

As part of a solid collaboration with the University of Bialystok, computational approaches are being employed to evaluate and predict the suitability of inorganic materials as electrode candidates for lithium-, sodium-, and magnesium-based batteries.

Relevant publications

• R. Córdoba, J. Goclon, A. Sarapulova, J. Maibach, S. Dsoke, E. García González, F. Fauth, A. Kuhn, F. García-Alvarado, Slab-Gliding–Induced Structural Evolution in β-V2O5 Enables Reversible High Na-Ion Storage: A Combined Operando Synchrotron Diffraction and Operando XAS Study. Chem. Mater. 2025, 37, 8649-8663.
• C. M. Subramaniyam, A. Kuhn, E. García González, F. Fauth, I. J. Villar-García, E. Rodríguez-Castellón, Flaviano García Alvarado, The Long Cycle Capability And Charge Storage Mechanism Of V4O9 As Sodium Storing Cathode. J. Power Sources 2025, 655, 237910.
• A. Duarte Cárdenas, L. Mereacre, M. Knapp, P. Díaz Carrasco, F. García-Alvarado, A. Kuhn, Unveiling the reversible sodium-ion storage mechanism in rutile TiO2 nanorods. Electrochimica Acta 2025, 525, 146113.
• A. Basa, D. Tatko, K. Lapinska, A. Wilczewska, J.Goclon, K. Winkler, A. Kuhn, F. García Alvarado, Li3FeF6/Fe2O3,LiF anchored oxidized multi-wall carbon nanotubes as high power cathode in lithium ion batteries. J. Power Sources 2025, 630, 236103.
• C. M. Subramaniyam, A. Kuhn, E. García González, O. Guerrero-Pérez, E. Rodríguez-Castellón, F. García-Alvarado, Cost Effective Synthesis of 3-Dimensional V4O9: A Promising High-Capacity Lithium Cathode. Catalysis Today 2024, 429, 114507.

Research Project Description

Prof. Alois Kuhn leads research on novel electrode materials for next-generation Mg batteries, directly supporting the EU’s 2035 zero-emission vehicle goals. Rechargeable magnesium batteries are highly attractive due to their safety, sustainability, and high energy-storage potential. However, commercialization is still hindered by the limited compatibility of magnesium metal anodes with current electrolyte systems. Conventional electrolytes form passivating surface layers on Mg metal, while alternative electrolyte formulations, such as APC (all-phenyl complex) systems are not compatible with high-voltage cathodes.

This project aims to develop stable and efficient magnesium metal anodes for use with advanced cathode materials by investigating electrode–electrolyte interactions and designing improved stabilization strategies. The project will contribute to enabling high-energy-density magnesium batteries for future sustainable energy storage and electric mobility technologies.

Candidate experience and profile:

Postdoctoral candidates of any nationality (max. 8 years after defense)

Application: An expression of interest shall be sent to akuhn@ceu.es (Att. Prof. Alois Kuhn) and your file should contain the following elements:

1. A short CV (Max. 2 pages)
2. A one-page research proposal
3. Two letters of reference.

For MSCA-PF 26 call, at the deadline for the submission of proposals (09/09/2026) candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activities in Spain for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the above mentioned deadline.

Those files received before 3 of July will be considered for MSCA-PF 2025 call. Applications received after this date, will be considered for other calls after discussion with the candidate.

Keywords: Mg metal anode, Mg Batteries, Electrochemical Energy Storage, Post-Lithium