Dr. Rebecca Marcilla
IMDEA Materials Institute
Dr. Rebecca Marcilla
About the Speaker
Dr. Rebeca Marcilla received her PhD in Chemistry in 2006 from the University of the Basque
Country (UPV/EHU) in the field of ionic liquids and polymers with application in electrochemistry
and nanotechnology. She was awarded by the specialized group of polymers of the RSEQ-GEP
with the prize for the "Best doctoral thesis in Polymers of the 2005-2006 biennium". After a
postdoctoral stay at the University College London (2008) she joined CIDETEC (Centro de
Tecnologías Electroquímicas, Donostia-San Sebastian). In 2010, Dr. Rebeca Marcilla joined the
Electrochemical Processes Unit of the IMDEA Energy Institute as a postdoctoral researcher. In
2012, she was awarded with a Ramon y Cajal contract, and in 2015, she was promoted to Senior
Researcher.
During her fruitful scientific career, she has acquired proven experience in advanced materials for
energy storage (eg. ionic liquids, polymer electrolytes, redox-active polymers, etc) and in nextgeneration batteries including organic batteries and redox flow batteries. She has co-authored 8
patents (3 of them licensed to private companies) and published more than 130 scientific
publications (h-index = 50 and >7,700 citations, Scopus (Oct 2024)), with ∼ 90% of her publications
among the top 25% most cited in their topic. She has also disseminated her scientific results in
international congresses and workshops (>30 oral), participating as keynote and invited speaker in
the most relevant international congresses (>15 Invited/Keynotes). She has supervised 14 PhD
thesis (7 presented+7 on-going). Notably, she appears among the 2% of the most influential
researchers worldwide according to the ranking prepared annually by Stanford University.
Moreover, Dr. Marcilla has participated in more than 30 Research projects (Regional, National,
European and direct contracts with industry) being Principal Investigator (PI) in 20 of them. In 2017,
she was awarded with an ERC Consolidator Grant to develop a new concept of membrane-free
redox flow battery. Besides the ERC, she is currently PI of four on-going European projects
including 2 Marie-Curie ETN (Polystorage, eNargiZinc), 1 FET-Proactive (Light-cap), 1 EIC
Pathfinder (Mebattery). Moreover, she has been PI of 4 consecutive research projects of the
Spanish National Plan, and PI of 3 Networks of Excellence.
Dr. Marcilla has served as expert reviewer in numerous evaluation panels of the AEI
(Spanish State Research Agency) including Ramón y Cajal call (2019), Retos de Investigación
(2020), and also for the European Commission including ERC Consolidator Grant (2022), Marie
Curie Actions (2022-2023) and European Innovation Council (2024). Moreover, she was appointed
as manager of scientific area of “Material Science” in the AEI in the period 2019-2022.
Moreover, Dr. Marcilla is member of the Governing Board of the Electrochemistry Group of the
Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (GEE-RSEQ). She has been an Editor for the Journal Power
Sources since 2023 and Guest Editor for Green Chemistry at the Royal Society of Chemistry
(2024). Dr. Marcilla is organizing the MATSUS 2025 conference (> 500 participants), and she
chaired the GENBAT Symposium at MATSUS 2024. Furthermore, she is organizing the
Symposium 5 on “New Battery Chemistries” for the 76th ISE Annual Meeting in 2025.
Abstract
Membrane-Free Redox Flow Batteries: Design Strategies and Performance Enhancement
Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage due to their decoupled energy and power design, safety, and long cycle life. However, the reliance on ion-exchange membranes significantly increases system cost and can limit long-term stability due to crossover and degradation. In this talk, I will present recent advances in the development of membrane-free redox flow batteries, focusing on alternative design strategies that eliminate the need for costly separators while maintaining high performance.
Our approach is based on the rational design of organic electroactive materials combined with tailored electrolyte engineering, such as immiscible biphasic systems. [1,2] Particular emphasis will be placed on current strategies to mitigate the inherent self-discharge at the liquid–liquid interface. These approaches enable effective spatial separation of redox species, suppress crossover, and enhance cycling stability. [3,4]
Recent results demonstrate improved coulombic efficiency, extended cycling stability, and competitive energy densities, positioning membrane-free configurations as a viable pathway toward low-cost and sustainable energy storage technologies. The insights discussed provide general guidelines for the design of next-generation RFBs beyond conventional membrane-based architectures.
References
- Navalpotro et al. Angew. Chemie - Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 12460
- a) Joule, 4 , 2020, 953-966;b) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 41, 28414–28426
- Navalpotro et al. APL Energy 2025, 3, 012001
- Navalpotro et al. Angew. Chemie - Int. Ed. 2025, 64, e202424650