Research

Ulrike Krewer is a full professor and head of the Institute for Applied Materials – Electrochemical Technologies at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Her more than 20 years of research expertise in electrochemical technologies cover established technologies, such as Li-ion batteries and PEM electrolysis, as well as a number of exploratory cells such as Li-(sulfur)-, Na-ion-, or solid-state batteries, CO₂ electrolysis and electroorganic synthesis.

Ulrike Krewer has developed an elaborate method repertoire for model-based and dynamic analysis of processes in electrodes and electrochemical cells. Using experimentally validated models on surface-to-cell level and dynamic analysis, her group reveals performance-limiting steps and the (degradation) state of cells and electrodes, and uses the models to optimize cell/electrode design and operation.

Her group is one of only a few groups that does in-depth kinetic modelling of processes at electrodes and in cells, including complex networks of electrochemical and chemical reactions and degradation/surface changes. Parameter, process, and model identification are conducted by reproducing experimental electrochemical measurements (e.g., polarization/discharge curves, electrochemical impedance spectra, cyclic voltammograms, …) and (surface) concentration measurements. Highlights in method development include the establishment of nonlinear frequency response analysis for the analysis of battery state and electrode kinetics, the first operando electrochemical mass spectrometry for batteries up to 130°C, and coupled kinetic Monte Carlo/continuum models for the build-up of degradation layers.

For her research, she has received several awards, such as the Award for Fundamental Research of the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt, the Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society, and the Gold Medal in the Samsung SDI Paper Award. She is co-speaker of the Cluster4Future “Electrifying Technical Organic Synthesis” (ETOS). Furthermore, she is active in the board of several conferences (Advanced Battery Power, ISE conferences…) and the DECHEMA/VDI Chemical Reaction Engineering Section, as co-chair of the ISE Annual Meeting in Mainz in 2025, and appointed member in the ESYS initiative of the German Acadamies of Science and of the advisory boards of the Battery Research of the German Ministry for Research, Technology and Space, and Bavarian Center for Battery Technology.

Curriculum Vitae

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrike Krewer

Since 2021	Co-optation at the KIT Department of Chemical and Process Engineering
since 2020	Full Professor and head of the Institute for Applied Materials – Electrochemical Technologies, KIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, DE
2017	Visiting Scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering (Prof. Richard Braatz), MA, USA
2012 – 2020	Full professor at and head of the Institute for Energy and Process Systems Engineering, Braunschweig University of Technology, DE
2008 – 2013	Head of Otto Hahn research group Portable Energy Systems at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg, DE
2009 – 2011	Junior-Professor for Portable Energy Systems at the Chair for Process Systems Engineering, University of Magdeburg, DE
2006 – 2007	Senior Researcher/Senior Engineer at the Energy Research Center of Samsung SDI Ltd., South Korea
in 2005	Ph.D. degree (Dr.-Ing., summa cum laude) in Process and Systems Engineering at the University of Magdeburg, DE, title: System-oriented analysis of the dynamic behavior of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells
2001 - 2005	Research Assistant, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems (Supervisor: Prof. Kai Sundmacher)
1995 – 2001	Studies of Chemical Engineering, Diploma degree (with distinction) in Process Engineering at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, DE

Publications

Statistics (as of 04/2026): >200 journal articles, 3 patents, h-Index: 45, > 7200 citations (google scholar > 9200)

For a complete overview see GoogleScholar or Orcid

Selected Publications:

Microkinetic Analysis of the Oxygen Evolution Performance at Different Stages of Iridium Oxide Degradation
Geppert, J.; Röse, P.; Czioska, S.; Escalera-López, D.; Boubnov, A.; Saraçi, E.; Cherevko, S.; Grunwaldt, J.-D.; Krewer, U.
2022. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 144 (29), 13205–13217. doi:10.1021/jacs.2c03561
The passivity of lithium electrodes in liquid electrolytes for secondary batteries
He, X.; Bresser, D.; Passerini, S.; Baakes, F.; Krewer, U.; Lopez, J.; Mallia, C. T.; Shao-Horn, Y.; Cekic-Laskovic, I.; Wiemers-Meyer, S.; Soto, F. A.; Ponce, V.; Seminario, J. M.; Balbuena, P. B.; Jia, H.; Xu, W.; Xu, Y.; Wang, C.; Horstmann, B.; Amine, R.; Su, C.-C.; Shi, J.; Amine, K.; Winter, M.; Latz, A.; Kostecki, R.
2021. Nature Reviews Materials, 6, 1036–1052. doi:10.1038/s41578-021-00345-5
Impact of electrolyte impurities and SEI composition on battery safety
Baakes, F.; Witt, D.; Krewer, U.
2023. Chemical Science, 14 (47), 13783–13798. doi:10.1039/d3sc04186g
Knowledge-driven design of solid-electrolyte interphases on lithium metal via multiscale modelling
Wagner-Henke, J.; Kuai, D.; Gerasimov, M.; Röder, F.; Balbuena, P. B.; Krewer, U.
2023. Nature Communications, 14 (1), Art.Nr.: 6823. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42212-7
High temperature in situ gas analysis for identifying degradation mechanisms of lithium-ion batteries
Schmidt, L.; Hankins, K.; Bläubaum, L.; Gerasimov, M.; Krewer, U.
2025. Chemical Science, 16 (12), 5118–5128. doi:10.1039/D4SC08105F
Processes and Their Limitations in Oxygen Depolarized Cathodes: A Dynamic Model‐Based Analysis
Röhe, M.; Kubannek, F.; Krewer, U.
2019. ChemSusChem, 12 (11), 2373–2384. doi:10.1002/cssc.201900312
Impact of carbonation processes in anion exchange membrane fuel cells
Krewer, U.; Weinzierl, C.; Ziv, N.; Dekel, D. R.
2018. Electrochimica Acta, 263, 433–446. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2017.12.093
Unveiling the kinetics of CO reduction in aprotic electrolyte: The critical role of adsorption
Oppel, N.; Röse, P.; Heuser, S.; Prokein, M.; Apfel, U.-P.; Krewer, U.
2024. Electrochimica Acta, 490, 144270. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2024.144270
Identification of Lithium Plating in Lithium-Ion Batteries using Nonlinear Frequency Response Analysis (NFRA)
Harting, N.; Wolff, N.; Krewer, U.
2018. Electrochimica Acta, 281, 378–385. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2018.05.139
Insights on SEI Growth and Properties in Na-Ion Batteries via Physically Driven Kinetic Monte Carlo Model
Hankins, K.; Putra, M. H.; Wagner-Henke, J.; Groß, A.; Krewer, U.
2026. Advanced Energy Materials, 16 (12), 2401153. doi:10.1002/aenm.202401153