Előd Gyenge

Elod Gyenge

Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
The University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada

Elod Gyenge is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
at The University of British Columbia. He obtained his degree in Chemical Engineering
from Babeș–Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca in 1990, followed by a Master’s degree
(1996) and a PhD degree (2001) from The University of British Columbia.

Academic and Professional Career

Between 2000 and 2002, he served as Senior Consultant in the Chemical and
Electrochemical Processes Division at British Columbia Research Inc. in Vancouver.

From April 2002 to June 2007, he was an Assistant Professor at The University of
British Columbia. Between 2007 and 2012, he served as Department Head and
Full Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

In July 2012, he was appointed Professor at The University of British Columbia,
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. In parallel, he became
Research Theme Leader at the Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC),
focusing on electrochemical processes.

In 2016, he held a special appointed professorship at the Faculty of Engineering,
Osaka University.

Research and Innovation Activities

Professor Gyenge is the author or co-author of approximately
104 peer-reviewed journal publications.
He holds 7 patents protected in 54 countries.
He has supervised 20 PhD dissertations and
21 Master’s theses.

He is the Co-Founder and President of Agora Energy Technologies Ltd.

His research expertise includes electrochemical engineering, applied electrocatalysis,
PEM fuel cells, batteries, electrolysis, and the development of sustainable
chemical processes.

Major industrial and research projects include:

magnesium–air battery development (MagPower Inc.)
lead–acid battery technologies (Power Technology Inc.)
zinc electrodeposition processes
sodium chlorate production technologies

Awards and Honors

Keeling Curve Award (2021) – for outstanding contributions
to carbon dioxide capture and utilization
Award for a climate change mitigation project based on the invention and
development of the CO₂ redox flow battery,
developed at Agora Energy Technologies, a startup co-founded by Professor Gyenge
Elisabeth and Leslie Gould Distinguished Professor (2007–2014)
Award from the UBC Faculty of Applied Science and the Department of Chemical and
Biological Engineering for innovative teaching achievements
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship (2009)
– for outstanding research achievements in the field of PEM fuel cells

Research Highlights Since 2020

Invention and development of a novel redox flow battery for large-scale
energy storage: the CO₂ redox flow battery

US10854906B2 (2020), US20210399328A1 (2024),
Journal of Power Sources 495 (2021) 229752,
ACS Applied Energy Materials 7 (2024) 8851,
ACS Omega 10 (2025) 1493,
Communications Chemistry (Nature Publishing Group) 3 (2020) 155

Investigation of various manganese dioxide (MnO₂) materials and
gas-diffusion electrodes for rechargeable metal–air batteries,
focusing on bifunctional electrocatalysis of the oxygen reduction and
oxygen evolution reactions (ORR/OER):

Small 19 (2023) 2204585,
ChemElectroChem 11 (2024) e202300558.3,
ACS Energy & Fuels 37 (2023) 19278

Electrocatalytic hydrodeoxygenation and the conversion of lignin-related compounds
and bio-oils into value-added products using mixed-suspension electrocatalytic
reactors and paired electrosynthesis:

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 9 (2021) 13164,
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 12 (2024) 18466,
Journal of Applied Electrochemistry 51 (2021) 51

Novel electrode materials and reactor configurations for electrosynthesis and
electrolysis applications, including the production of hydrogen, ammonia,
and hydrogen peroxide:

Journal of The Electrochemical Society 171 (2024) 094502,
Energy & Environmental Science 15 (2022) 2259,
Chemical Engineering Journal 494 (2024) 152854