Michel Armand, reference researcher at CIC energiGUNE, repeats as one of the most influential researchers in the world in the annual Clarivate Analytics report

Highly Cited Researchers, the annual list of the world’s most cited scientists based on the number of references to their work by the global scientific community, once again includes the honorary scientific director of CIC energiGUNE’s electrochemistry department in the 2024 report

Michel Armand, who has recently been recognised as the most important researcher in the Basque Country at all levels in Stanford University’s ‘Ranking of World Scientists’, is currently working on new projects at the Basque centre, such as the ‘Power Our Future 2025’ conference to be held in Vitoria-Gasteiz from 8 to 11 July, where he will act as ‘Chair’ of the event

Michel Armand, flagship researcher at CIC energiGUNE, a leading Basque research centre in electrochemical energy storage and conversion and thermal energy storage and conversion, repeats as one of the most cited scientists in the world in the prestigious list published each year by the British company Clarivate Analytics, which specialises in analysing and compiling data from scientific and academic research. Armand’s presence in the ‘Highly Cited Researchers 2024’ report – which lists the researchers whose work has been most frequently mentioned by scientists around the world during the current year – highlights the persistent impact of his research and the enormous scope of his career.

‘The fact that Michel appears year after year in the main rankings of the most influential researchers in the world is undoubtedly a source of pride, and shows the impact of our research activity,’ said the Director General of CIC energiGUNE, Nuria Gisbert. ‘Fortunately, since our inception, Professor Armand has been mentoring a team of top-level researchers who are more than capable of accompanying him in new challenges’.

In this sense, the Basque centre reminds us that Professor Armand, in addition to being Honorary Scientific Director, is the coordinator of a CIC energiGUNE working team focused on achieving the solid-state battery for the electric vehicle of the future, and that his work continues to be fundamental in responding to the challenges of a sector in permanent transformation. In fact, Michel Armand will play a special role in the ‘Power Our Future’ Congress, which will be organised by CIC energiGUNE in Vitoria-Gasteiz from 8 to 11 July, and which will bring together the main international players in the energy storage sector. Armand will be the ‘Chair’ of the event, bringing his vast experience and innovative vision to the debate and analysis of the future of batteries.

It is worth mentioning that the list of ‘highly cited researchers’ is obtained through the most cited articles in the Web of Science™ citation index and that these articles form part of the top 1% of the most cited articles in their field of study during the same year. Dr Armand’s inclusion in the Clarivate Analytics report also coincides with his presence in Stanford University’s ‘Ranking of World Scientists’, the leading international reference for the scientific community. Once again this year, Michel Armand appears as the most important researcher in the Basque Country at all levels and is the main reference researcher in Spain in the field of Energy, occupying 14th place worldwide.

In fact, his global impact exceeds his own individual career, as his research work is closely linked to the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to John Goodenough and Stanley Whittingham. Armand has a collaborative patent and a joint publication with Goodenough, who in 2016 made a public and express recognition of the work of the Honorary Scientific Director of CIC energiGUNE during the tribute paid to him for his 40 years of scientific career, highlighting his work as a ‘pioneer in the development of the polymer electrolyte’ and for his commitment to improving the technology of lithium ion LFP batteries.

A reference trajectory

Born in France in 1946, Michel Armand began research into rechargeable lithium batteries at the end of the 1980s – through the combination with solid polymer electrolyte – which has led to the development of the main associated technologies, including the electric vehicle. He is currently the head of the polymer electrolyte research area and honorary scientific director of the electrochemistry area at CIC energiGUNE, where he coordinates a working team focused on achieving the solid-state battery for the electric vehicle of the future.

Professor Armand has received several scientific awards such as the volta medal in 2000, the Galileo 2010 prize, the Aymé Poirson 2012 prize, and the Catalan-Sabatier 2016 prize. He also holds honorary doctorates from Deakin University in 2006 and Uppsala University in 2016, and in October 2022 he was distinguished in Atlanta with the ‘Fellow of The Electrochemical Society’ award by the ECS. He is also the author or co-author of 416 publications in international journals, 295 conference presentations, and 200 patents filed or pending, and has supervised 30 doctoral theses, three of which belong to the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU.

His relationship with CIC energiGUNE began in 2011. Since then, Professor Armand has been the great scientific mentor at the centre, a position he continues to hold in his position as honorary scientific director of CIC energiGUNE. It is worth remembering that the Basque centre’s solid electrolyte research line is one of the top five at European level.