Humboldt-Fellow at HZB-Institute for Solar Fuels: Alexander R. Uhl

Alexander R. Uhl, UBC Okanagan School of Engineering in Kelowna, Canada, aims to develop with Roel van de Krol from the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels an efficient and inexpensive photoelectrolyser for producing hydrogen using sunlight. His stay is being funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Dr. Alexander R. Uhl from the UBC Okanagan School of Engineering in Kelowna, Canada, has been collaborating with Roel van de Krol on a joint research project since 2023. As a Humboldt Fellow, he will now be able to continue this project at HZB over the next ten months.

‘HZB has earned an international reputation in the field of solar fuels and catalysis, and I am looking forward to deepening our collaboration,’ he says. They aim to develop a photoelectrolysis device with light-sensitive photoelectrodes that uses sunlight to split water molecules into their components and produce green hydrogen. ‘Our goal is to develop a robust, scalable, and cost-effective solution based on low-cost and abundant materials,’ says Uhl. 

Alexander R. Uhl earned his doctorate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and conducted research at universities in Canada, USA, Sweden, and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). Since 2019 he is a professor at the Okanagan School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada. His achievements include developing printed solar cells, tandem cells, and photoelectrochemical cells.