"Electrochemical processes are essential in the transition of our fossil fuel based economy to an economy that is based on renewable electricity."

Thijs de Groot is an associate professor in the field of electrochemical process technology. He conducts research into the production of green hydrogen by means of water electrolysis, with a particular focus on alkaline and anion-exchange membrane electrolysis. His research focuses on increasing the productivity and flexibility of these electrolyzers, looking at improving cell design, the effects of bubbles and supersaturation, the transport of ions and gases and the use of advanced electrochemical techniques such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

Thijs de Groot has worked in the electrochemical industry for over 15 years and therefore has a good understanding of the challenges involved in developing and scaling up electrochemical processes.

Thijs de Groot studied Chemical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) where he obtained his master's degree cum laude in 2002. From 2003-2007 he performed PhD research at TU/e (Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis) and Leiden University (Leiden Institute of Chemistry). In 2007 he obtained his doctorate with his thesis 'Electrochemistry of immobilized hemes and heme proteins' under supervision of Prof. Marc Koper. In 2007 he started working at AkzoNobel, first in Research, Development & Innovation (Arnhem, The Netherlands). In 2011 he moved to the Industrial Chemicals division, now Nobian. He joined HyCC in 2022 when it was split off from Nobian. In 2016 he was appointed part-time Assistant Professor in electrochemical engineering at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, research group Sustainable Process Engineering. In 2022 he was promoted to associate professor. As of July 2023 Thijs works full time at the university.