Curriculum

YEAR 1 - Fundamentals

Year 1 is more dedicated to the science fundamentals (electrochemistry, materials science, physical chemistry, etc.) associated with Energy Storage and Conversion. The first semester (S1) will be spent in Poland (Warsaw) by the whole class, which then will continue for S2 in France (Toulouse).

TU#	TU title	ECTS	Main topics covered
TU1	Electrochemistry	4	Fundamental electrochemistry concepts; Redox couples Thermodynamics and kinetics Redox reactions Electrochemical double layer Basics of electro-analytical methods
TU2	Solid State Chemistry	6	Mechanisms and kinetics of solid-state reactions Sintering Non-stoichiometric materials Diffusion in solid state
TU3	Physics for Materials Engineering	4	Crystallography Chemical bonding in solids Defects in solids Energy bands and semiconductors Electric and optical properties of solids Rheology of liquids Polymers and particles suspensions
TU4	Ionics in Electrochemistry	4	Physical and chemical properties of electrolytes Conductivity mechanisms in liquid, solid and polymer electrolytes Composite electrolytes Electrochemical stability
TU5	Calculations in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering	4	Chemical equations Calculus in materials synthesis Determination of equilibrium constants of reactions Redox balance Kinetics and electro-kinetics calculations
TU6	English and scientific publication writing	2	Grammar and phrase structure at CF level Fluency in spoken and written English Scientific texts – features, rules and tips Preparation of reports and scientific articles
TU7	Laboratory Practice	6	General chemistry practices (e.g. inorganic equilibria) General electrochemistry practices (e.g. electrolytes, conductivity, redox reactions, Galvanic cells) Structural studies (e.g. DSC, X-ray, FTiR) Rheological studies (e.g. electrode slurries)

TU#	TU title	ECTS	FIVE main topics covered
TU8	Advanced Electrochemistry	6	Electrochemistry in macro vs. micro electrodes Electro-analytical methods (e.g. chrono-amperometry, rotating electrodes, transient state voltammetry) Advanced electrochemical techniques (e.g. EQCM, CME, EIS, PITT, GITT) Corrosion Protection against corrosion
TU9	Advanced Solid State Chemistry	6	Soft chemistry (chimie douce) Crystal chemistry; Nanostructured materials Polymer molecules and macromolecules (synthesis, characterization and properties)
TU10	Advanced Physical Chemistry of Solids	4	Electronic structure of solids Crystal defects and their influence on physical and electrochemical properties Characterization tools of electrical and optical properties of solids
TU11	English and Scientific Conference Presentation	4	Fluency in spoken English; Scientific presentations – features, rules and tips Preparation of conference presentations Lab practice: writing a scientific article and presenting orally the results
TU12	Application of Surface Treatments to Energy Materials	4	Chemical conversion treatments Electrochemical conversion treatments Anodization Electrochemical deposit of metals and alloys
TU13	Energy Storage and Conversion Devices I	6	Energy landscape and the role of electrochemistry History of electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices Capacitors and electrolytic capacitors Supercapacitors Primary cells Introduction to batteries (lead acid, lithium-ion, sodium-ion) Introduction to fuel cells.

YEAR 2 – Practical & technological aspects

Year 2 is more focused on practical and technological aspects covering all the levels of the value chain (synthesis of materials, assembly of energy storage systems, prototyping, large-scale facilities).

Indeed, the third Semester, more applied and focusing on technology, will be spent by students either in Spain (Bilbao), Slovenia (Ljubljana) or France (Amiens) that have recently massively invested on technology transfer and prototyping of material synthesis and battery manufacturing.

Semester 4 will be dedicated to a 6-month Master’s Thesis research project within one of the thirty participating organizations in Europe, USA or Australia (Universities and Research Centers of ALISTORE-ERI, companies including BOSCH, UMICORE, RENAULT, TOTAL, E4V, SAFT, SOLVAY).

In addition to scientific and technological modules, during the S1-S4, several modules for soft/transferable skills are provided to students, essential for future careers.

TU#	TU title	ECTS	Main topics covered
TU14	Structural Characterization of Energy Materials	4	Crystal structures, symmetry, diffraction Phase identification and quantification Use of structural databases Crystal structure resolution Rietveld refinement Density Functional Theory for structure properties prediction
TU15	Morphological and Thermal Analysis of Energy Materials	3	Methods for particle size measurement Electron, IR and Raman Spectroscopy Microscopy (optical, electron, scanning probe) Computer tomography Thermo-analytical techniques.
TU16	Modern techniques for the synthesis of Energy Materials	3	Sol gel technique and precipitation Hydrothermal and templating synthesis Hybrid materials Nanomaterials
TU17	Energy Storage and Conversion Devices II	4	Lithium ion batteries Sodium ion batteries Lithium sulfur batteries Lithium metal batteries Metal air batteries Solid state batteries Redox flow batteries Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell Solid oxide fuel cells Comparison between technologies and selection rules Hydrogen production, transport and storage Photo-electrochemical devices, Materials recycling Environmental costs of the technologies
TU18	Tools for Bibliography search, Fund Hunting, Intellectual Property - Soft skills and Professional Development	4	Classical and advanced (e.g. text mining) tools for bibliographic search and bibliographic organization EU funding; Project proposal structuring Project monitoring and reporting Patent structuration Invention reports Professional development Entrepreneurship Presentation rhetoric in entrepreneurship

TU#	TU title	ECTS	Main topics covered
TU20	Analytical (Electro-)Chemistry and Electrocatalysis	6	Analytical chemistry and electrochemistry Atomic and molecular spectroscopy Separation methods (GC, HPLC, IC) Electrocatalysis (nano-catalysts activity, stability and selectivity) Electro-kinetics

TU#

TU title

ECTS

Main topics covered

TU19

Hydrogen Technologies znd their Engineering

Hydrogen fuel cells (low, intermediate and high temperature)

Manufacturing process of fuel cell electrodes and cells

Electrode formulation

Electrochemical characterization

Electrochemical water splitting devices

TU20

Analytical (Electro-)Chemistry and Electrocatalysis

Analytical chemistry and electrochemistry

Atomic and molecular spectroscopy

Separation methods (GC, HPLC, IC)

Electrocatalysis (nano-catalysts activity, stability and selectivity)

Electro-kinetics

TU#	TU title	ECTS	Main topics covered
TU21	Thermal Energy Storage and Renewable Fuel Production	6	Thermal energy storage fundamentals Synthesis and characterization of advanced thermal energy storage materials Separation methods (GC, HPLC, IC) Electrocatalysis (nano-catalysts activity, stability and selectivity) Electro-kinetics
TU22	Large Scale Facilities for In Operando Studies for Energy Materials	6	Large scale facilities in EU and worldwide Electrochemical in situ / operando measurements Structural studies - in situ operando X-ray and neutron diffraction Spectroscopic studies - in situ operando X-ray Ion and electron spectroscopies Large scale facility proposal preparation

TU#

TU title

ECTS

Main topics covered

TU21

Thermal Energy Storage and
Renewable Fuel Production

Thermal energy storage fundamentals

Synthesis and characterization of advanced thermal energy storage materials

Separation methods (GC, HPLC, IC)

Electrocatalysis (nano-catalysts activity, stability and selectivity)

Electro-kinetics

TU22

Large Scale Facilities for In Operando
Studies for Energy Materials

Large scale facilities in EU and worldwide

Electrochemical in situ / operando measurements

Structural studies - in situ operando X-ray and neutron diffraction

Spectroscopic studies - in situ operando X-ray

Ion and electron spectroscopies

Large scale facility proposal preparation

TU#	TU title	ECTS	Main topics covered
TU23	Battery technologies and their Engineering	6	Manufacturing wet process of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery electrodes and (coin, pouch, cylindrical) cells Electrode formulation Electrochemical characterization Dry manufacturing processes (e.g. extrusion) of lithium-ion and solid-state battery electrodes Battery safety and aging
TU24	Numerical Simulation, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twins	6	Computational modeling-based engineering of batteries and fuel cells (manufacturing processes and operation) Big data and AI Supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques and applications to batteries and fuel cells Digital twins for the optimization of electrodes and cells

TU#

TU title

ECTS

Main topics covered

TU23

Battery technologies and their Engineering

Manufacturing wet process of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery electrodes and (coin, pouch, cylindrical) cells

Electrode formulation

Electrochemical characterization

Dry manufacturing processes (e.g. extrusion) of lithium-ion and solid-state battery electrodes

Battery safety and aging

TU24