The seeds of EU-CONCERT were planted in a series of early discussions among
Prof. Núeria Lopez (Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, Spain),
Prof. Marc Koper (University of Leiden, The Netherlands),
Prof. Max García-Melchor (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland),
Prof. Hannes Jónsson (University of Iceland, Iceland), and
Prof. Giancarlo Cicero (Politecnico di Torino, Italy).
Their shared vision was clear: to tackle the complexity of electrode-electrolyte interfaces by bringing together scientists with complementary expertise in computational modelling of solid surfaces and solid-liquid interfaces.
This vision gained momentum during the Lorentz Workshop on Atomistic Modelling of Solid-Liquid Interfaces in Electrocatalysis, held in Leiden from 8–12 January 2024. The workshop gathered leading experts from across Europe and beyond, providing a focused forum to identify major scientific challenges, from developing advanced constant-potential methodologies to improving solvent and electrolyte modelling, and strengthening benchmarking against experiments.
Through expert presentations, lively discussions, and participant surveys, a strong consensus emerged: meaningful progress in this field requires a coordinated and collaborative European community, not fragmented individual efforts.
This collective realization laid the foundation for a broader initiative that ultimately evolved into EU-CONCERT – a COST Action dedicated to uniting and strengthening the electrocatalysis community while advancing the modelling of electrified interfaces far beyond the current state of the art.
A new chapter for European electrocatalysis has begun, and the best is yet to come… ⚡🌍
