Recent Projects

EU 2020 SURFIT; EU 2020, Innovation pathways, strategies and policies for the Low-Carbon Transition in Europe; Strategic Research Council, Creative adaptation to wicked socio-environmental disruptions; Nordic Flagship, Flexibility for Variable Renewable Energy Integration in the Nordic Energy System; Academy of Finland, A novel single component fuel cell based on engineered nanocomposites, Decentralizing Finland’s energy regime: The triggers & dynamics of transition. China-Finland collaboration.

Research interest in future and multidisciplinary energy issues: energy transition, smart urban energy, nanoenergy.

Keywords: Large-scale renewable schemes; nano in solar & fuel cells; distributed & urban systems; flexibility; modelling; innovation strategies; market penetration & diffusion; policy effectiveness & impact

EU:Co-Chair EU WG on Systemic issues with the energy transition towards carbon neutrality (2020-21). Chair of Advisory Group of Energy of the European Commission (2002-06). European Academies Science Advisory Council’s Energy Panel (Chair 2013-17, member 2009-19). Steering committee member European Platform of Universities in Energy Research (2009-) & FP7/UNI_SET (2015-18), Euro-CASE Energy Platform (2013-). Advisory roles to European Commission, Co-chair/Vice-Chair of E.C. Call Evaluations, EU Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint-Undertaking, European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT 2013, 16-17), ESFRI (2007-08). Core Expert Group for SET-Plan European Energy Education and Training Initiative (2011-14).

Business:Board Member of Ahlstrom Capital Cleantech Management Ltd. (2010-2019), Fortum Foundation (2013-2018), Gasum Foundation (2004-18), Uniscience Ltd (1997-8). Founder Solpros (1994-). Senior Advisor Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA (2015-16). Member of DeTao Masters Academy (2015-). Co-founder (with Dr. X. Zhou) China-Finland Cleantech Business Platform (2017-). Co-founder (with Prof. B. Zhu, BGRIMM Ltd., 2017-) China-EU Open Joint @Lab on Adv. Fuel Cells (中欧燃料电池联合开放实验室合作协议). China-EU New Energy Science Park (共建中欧新能源科技园战略合作框架协议书, Qixia, 2019). Economic development advisor, Nanjing-Qixia District Local Government, 2019-  

National/Nordic: Vice-Chair, Finnish Climate Panel (2019-2023), Team Lead for Nordic Council of Ministers, Prime Ministers’ Initiative on Excellence in Research and Innovation on Energy, Environment and Climate (2008); Member of specialists Finnish Gov. foresight report on long-term climate and energy policy (2007-09).  Member of advisory board Finnish Gov. Strategic Programme for Environmental Operations (2011-15), Finnish Gov. Cleantech Str.Programme (2012-15), TEKES Foresight (2006), TEKES Climtech (2000-02). Chair of Science Council of Strategic Centre for Science, Technology & Innovation of Finnish Energy and Environment Cluster (2011-15). Co-chair of Finnish-Russian S&T cooperation on new energies (1996-2000) and Senior Officials energy efficiency group of Baltic Sea Region Cooperation (2004-05).

International R&D:IAB of National Center of Excellence at King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum and Materials/Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia (2011-13). Steering committee member of Research Council of Norway Energy Programme (2000-08), European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, Energy (2007-11), Scientific Adv. Board of Austrian Arsenal Research Centre (2005-08), Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados Energia Spain (2007-11), Swedish Fuel Cell Programme (STEM 2002-5). Executive Committee of IEA solar R&D programmes (1987-2004), vice-chair (1989-93). 

Academic/NGO: Member of Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (2018-), Swedish Engineering Academy in Finland (1998-). Member of advisory board Finland Futures Research Centre (2011-15), John Hopkins University ISEP (2017-). Board member Helsinki Institute of Physics (1999-06), Finnish Physical Society (1997-99), International Solar Energy Society (1996-99), Swedish Engineering Academy in Finland (2008-13), Finnish Solar Energy Society (1980-84); chairman (1984-85), WWF Finland vice-chair (2004-10) & board of trustees (2000-05).International Council for Thermal Energy Storage, chairman (1994-97); IEEE Technical Committee on Intelligent Green Production Systems, member (2006-);European Renewable Energy Research Centers EEIG, member (1995-2016).

Research/Prg. Evaluations: Participated in 80 international evaluations, 20 countries (1992-). Austria (BMNT), Belgium (VITO), Canada (NRC, ORF), Denmark (Energistyrelsen, IRF, H.C. Ørsted, DFF), Estonia (ERC, Enterprise Estonia), Finland (Ministry of Trade and Industry), France (ANR), Germany, Hong Kong (RGC), Ireland (SFI), Israel (ISF), Kazakhstan (Ministry of Education and Science), Norway (Research Council of Norway, VISTA), Portugal (FCT), Saudi-Arabia (Ministry of Higher Education), Singapore (Agency for STR), Sweden (STEM, Formas, NUTEK), Switzerland (Federal Office of Energy), USA (NSF), IEA, European Commission (many: FP4-FP7, EIT/KIC, JU FCH, Horizon 2020, FET-Flagship, FET, Era-Net, Erasmus+, EU Future Batteries, ICT), foundations.

Academic evaluations: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Sweden, Turkey, UK

Journals:Founding Co-Editor Global Challenges (Wiley, 2015-6, Exc. Adv. Committee 2017-); Co-Editor-in-Chief Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment (Wiley, 2010-); Editor-Europe Energy Research (Wiley, 2004-2018); Associate Editor Nano Energy (Elsevier, 2014-5), Solar Energy (2001-5); Editorial board Applied Energy (Elsevier), Energy Sci.& Eng.(Wiley), Int. J. Low-Carbon Technologies (Oxford Univ. Press), Energies (MDPI), SCI (MDPI), Future Cities & Environment (Oxford). Guest Editor of several special issues. Reviewer of 44 journals.

Awards: Jiangsu Friendship Award and Medal 2020 (China), Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 101 (2019)440-452 selected as paper of the month at Riga Technical University (May 2019). World Society of Sustainable Energy Technologies Innovation Award 2018 (Power Generation Technologies, with Prof. B. Zhu), Jinling Friendship Award (Nanjing, China) 2016, Finnish Solar Industry Life-Work Award 2016, Poster Recognition Award (Nanoenergy 2017, Espoo; with M. Lin and group), Best Paper Award (World Society of Sustainable Energy Technologies, Geneva, 2014; with J. Lindgren), Finnish Nature League Award, 2014, Fortum Prize 2008, Lyceum Award of Pori City, 2006, Finnish Nature Conservation Society's Prize in 2004, ISES Löf-Duffie Award 1991, Imatran Voima Foundation 1987. Knight, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland 2007.

Conferences: Chairman (10), session chair (40), international committee (60), invited talks (86).General Chairman of Nano Energy Conference (2014-).

Finnish, Swedish, German, English, Chinese (beginner)

Janne Halme, Kati Miettunen, Imran Asghar, Ghufran Hashmi, Kerttu Aitola, Jani Mikkola, Seppo Peltola, Petri Konttinen, Mikko Mikkola, Sanna-Liisa Sihto-Nissilä, Ying Ma, Jinping Wang