Montse Casas-Cabanas, new CIC energiGUNE Scientific Director

The Catalan researcher, who has been part of the Basque centre since its launch in 2011, reaches the position of top scientific responsibility after an intense professional cycle with outstanding contributions to the growth and positioning of CIC energiGUNE.

“This appointment is a demonstration of our commitment to professional promotion and equal opportunities”, said the Director General of CIC energiGUNE, Nuria Gisbert.

CIC energiGUNE, a leading Basque research centre in electrochemical and thermal energy storage and conversion, and hydrogen technologies, has appointed researcher Montse Casas-Cabanas as Scientific Director of the Electrochemical Energy Storage Area. She has reached the centre’s highest position – in the field of research – after a career of excellence developed mainly at the Basque centre.

“We can affirm that this is a successful case of promotion of the ‘quarry’,” said the Director General of CIC energiGUNE, Nuria Gisbert. “Montse’s work since she joined this project in 2011, when CIC energiGUNE was just an idea, has contributed significantly to our achieving the benchmark position we have, and her own merits have propelled her to this key position,” she said.

In recent years, Montse Casas-Cabanas had been the scientific coordinator of the Electrochemical Storage Area at CIC energiGUNE, a step immediately prior to the position she will now occupy. Her research focuses on the design of next-generation battery chemistries with a focus on sustainability, and she is recognised in the field for her contributions to the study of the impact of crystallochemistry on electrode materials.

In 2021, she was awarded the Young Researcher Award of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry. She also actively participates in international educational programmes and research networks, such as i-MESC or Alistore-ERI, as well as in battery technology innovation initiatives at European level, such as Batteries Europe, where she contributes as Technical Leader of the “New Emerging Technologies” group, and Battery2030+, as thematic leader of new chemistries. Ikerbasque Research Professor, Montse Casas-Cabanas is listed in the latest ranking of the World’s Most Influential Researchers by Stanford University as the tenth most important scientist in the Basque Country.

“This appointment is an immense honour and a challenge that I face with great enthusiasm. I am grateful for the support and trust that I have been given, and I am deeply committed to promoting our research, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence”, said the new Scientific Director of the Electrochemical Energy Storage Area at CIC energiGUNE. The centre also stresses that the promotion of Montse Casas-Cabanas is a demonstration of CIC energiGUNE’s commitment to internal professional promotion and equal opportunities, also highlighting the ability of female talent to occupy positions of high responsibility.