WIRA-SET serves as a nexus linking WISE-supported research with Swedish industry in the realm of electrochemical flow technologies and processes. It plays a crucial role in advancing materials innovation toward commercially viable processes and products, particularly in finding alternatives to PFAS and reducing the use of CRM in electrochemical technologies. WIRA-SET offers expertise in production, testing, and scaling up of electrochemical technologies, enhancing Sweden’s competitiveness in cutting-edge research and industry. Concurrently, WIRA-SET engages in dialogues with stakeholders across grassroots organizations and political arenas to advocate for the potential benefits of flow electrochemical technologies. This interaction also aims to understand stakeholders’ needs, priorities, and future requirements, ensuring the maximum impact of WISE-funded research. Through its outreach efforts, WIRA-SET seeks to inspire the next generation of innovators.

Watch Magnus Svensson, Director of Industrial Cooperation & WIRA at WISE, as he presents firsthand the vision and strategies propelling the success of the WIRA program. Click below to gain valuable insights into how the transformative power of WIRA program is shaping the future.

WIRA-SET operates on a distributed framework with testbeds and facilities located at participating industrial partners. These testbeds enable researchers and companies to test and validate materials, designs, and processes for various electrochemical applications.

Industrial partners

Redoxme AB (redox.me) excels globally in designing and manufacturing equipment for both fundamental and applied research in electrochemistry. They supply academic and industrial research sectors and are expanding to include pre-industrial demonstrator-scale equipment.

Redoxme AB hosts WIRA-SET at its Centre for Electrochemical Flow Systems in Norrkoping, currently under construction. This non-commercial testbed specializes in developing electrochemical flow technologies, offering design and manufacturing expertise for such systems. Visiting researchers have the opportunity to validate and benchmark materials and systems developed through WIRA-SET activities. Redoxme AB provides resources including scientists, engineers, technicians, and facility access.

IPCO AB specializes in Process Solutions, uniquely equipped to develop and construct production capabilities tailored for continuous manufacturing of diverse materials, with a strong focus on film processing. They are also a key partner in material development initiatives.

IPCO AB provides access to established test centers in Germany (Fellbach and Göppingen), facilitating tests on materials at both small and large scales to optimize industrial production processes. Plans are underway to establish a similar test center in Sweden. IPCO AB also intends to develop module-based production machines for small-scale production of films and pastilles, which can be rented to interested partners.

Alleima AB specializes in alloys and develops components for industrial-scale fuel cells and electrolysers. They offer access to coated materials produced by physical vapor deposition (PVD), with potential availability of industrially manufactured samples for center participants. Alleima AB is also establishing a PEMWE test lab housing a ‘Fraunhofer Cell’, a key component in an international benchmarking effort aimed at establishing standards for component testing in electrolysis. This platform will enable benchmarking of developments within WIRA-SET against international standards using a test protocol developed within the IEA Annex 30 dedicated to electrolysis.

Academic partners

Linköping University: The research unit of Organic Energy Materials

Professor Reverant Crispin leads the Organic Energy Materials (OEM) unit within the Laboratory of Organic Electronics. The research unit comprises 33 researchers organized into three groups: organic energy storage, organic energy harvesters, and organic electrochemical devices. In relation to the WIRA initiative, their research focuses on developing materials (catalysts, membranes, electrodes) for various types of electrochemical flow cells.

The OEM unit also supports four startup companies at different stages of development (Ligna Energy AB, OrganicH2 AB, Cellfion AB, CatalyzO2 AB). They have established long-term collaborations with several industries, including Billerud, Thales, Ahlstrom, IMRA-europe, Agfa-Geveart, and Nanotest.

OEM contributes expertise in chemical synthesis, material characterization, electrochemical measurements, and education related to materials used in electrochemical flow cells. Within WIRA-SET, OEM is actively involved in ongoing research projects focused on membranes and catalysts for electrolyzers producing hydrogen peroxide, hydrogenation of liquid organic hydrogen carriers, electrochemical oxygen removal from fluids, organic redox flow batteries, and vanadium redox flow batteries.

Linköping University: Plasma & Coatings Physics Division

Professor Ulf Helmersson leads the Plasma and Coatings Physics Division (PLASM), renowned for its research into the intricate dynamics of thin film growth kinetics, microstructural evolution, and physical properties. His pioneering investigations into super-hard multilayers have catalyzed a global industry, while his groundbreaking insights into ion/surface interactions during crystal growth are foundational to modern advancements in this critical field. At LiU, he has initiated research initiatives in perovskite-structure high-temperature superconductors and ferroelectric oxides.
In recent years, Professor Helmersson has been instrumental in advancing High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS), hailed as a transformative breakthrough in physical vapor deposition. Alongside his academic commitments, he holds multiple patents and has launched several companies, including TiÅ AB, Ionautics AB, and PlasmAdvance AB, among others.
PLASM is a forward-thinking group pioneering advanced plasma techniques to tackle significant challenges in materials science and technology. Through a blend of experimental and theoretical approaches, PLASM aims to understand and harness the interactions between processes, plasma, and materials. The division specializes in thin film deposition using pulsed plasma sputtering methods and the creation of anisotropic nanoparticle arrays through pulse plasma in conjunction with hollow cathodes and applied magnetic fields. PLASM collaborates extensively with research groups and companies worldwide, including its spinoff company Ionautics AB.

Karlstad University: Computational physics

Dr. Moyses Araujo is a condensed matter physicist with a strong focus on renewable and clean energy science. His research group employs density functional theory, molecular dynamics, and Monte Carlo simulations to explore physical-chemical processes in condensed matter relevant to energy conversion, storage, and data-driven methodologies using AI approaches to accelerate the discovery of novel energy materials. They specialize in soft condensed matter, polymer physics, operando spectroscopy, battery materials, photo-electro-catalysis, and photovoltaics.

Dr. Araujo’s group will contribute expertise in molecular modeling and simulations for PEM electrolyzers, redox flow batteries, and potentially other electrochemical flow technologies. They conduct mechanistic studies on electrocatalytic processes and investigate ion transport mechanisms.

Chalmers University: Applied Chemistry

Dr. Mathilde Luneau is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology. Her research centers on electrocatalysis and thermocatalysis for sustainable reactions. Employing a multidisciplinary approach that includes nanomaterials synthesis, kinetic evaluation, and advanced characterization, her group aims to establish principles for designing more efficient catalytic materials.

Dr. Luneau’s group will provide expertise in electrocatalysis, catalyst development, and operando spectroscopy. She specializes in hydrogen fuel cell technologies, which are applicable to both future themes within WIRA-SET and current topics such as redox flow batteries and PEM electrolyzers.