Prof. Dr. Peter Wasserscheid honored for pioneering work in chemical hydrogen storage

For his contributions to hydrogen technologies, Prof. Dr. Peter Wasserscheid, Chair of Chemical Reaction Engineering at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Director of the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy and the Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy, has been awarded the 2026 Archimedes Science Award.

The Archimedes Science Award 2026 honors an internationally leading researcher in the field of hydrogen technologies who has made pioneering achievements in chemical hydrogen storage. In particular, he has laid essential groundwork for the safe and cost-effective handling of hydrogen within the existing fuel infrastructure. Capturing the essence of the Archimedes Science Award, his research creates a powerful leverage for advancing sustainable solutions in energy transformation.

Viable applications for climate protection

The award is endowed with a €50,000 prize and has been presented annually since 2025 at the international conference “Building Bridges,” organized by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf in close coordination with the Saxon State Chancellery.

“This award is truly a great honor, and I am over the moon to have received it. My deepest gratitude goes to everyone who has contributed to this success and who, over the past 20 years, has shared my passion for this important cause and continues to do so: developing innovative hydrogen technologies through new fundamental insights and translating them into economically viable applications for the benefit of climate protection,” says Prof. Peter Wasserscheid, recipient of the 2026 Archimedes Science Award.

The decision to award Prof. Wasserscheid was made by a high-caliber jury: Its members include the heads of the four major German non-university research organizations – Helmholtz Association, Max Planck Society, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Leibniz Association – as well as the President of the German Rectors’ Conference. Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger, Rector of TU Dresden, and Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf.

Background on Prof. Peter Wasserscheid

Professor Peter Wasserscheid is a pioneer in the field of chemical hydrogen storage who has made a decisive contribution to the development of new hydrogen storage cycles, optimized catalyst materials, efficient reactor concepts and convincing process innovations. Of particular importance are his contributions to research into and application of liquid organic hydrogen carriers, which allow the safe and cost-effective handling of hydrogen in the existing fuel infrastructure. As an important vanguard and driving force, Professor Wasserscheid also promotes the rapid transfer of scientific findings into practice in the Rhenish mining area. Coal-fired power generation in Europe’s largest lignite mining region will end in 2030. As founding director of the Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy at Forschungszentrum Jülich and speaker for the Helmholtz Hydrogen Cluster HC-H2, he is committed to establishing hydrogen technologies as a new economic mainstay in the region.

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