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News 05 October 2026 - Stuttgart, Germany

IWCB 2026 Young Scientist Best Poster Presentation Awards


At the 5th International Workshop on Carnot Batteries (IWCB 2026) in Stuttgart, Germany, the EERA Joint Programme on Energy Storage (JP ES) celebrated breakthrough contributions from early-career scientists by hosting the Young Scientist Best Poster Presentation Awards.

Co-hosted by JP ES Sub-programme 3 (SP3 Thermal Energy Storage) and the University of Stuttgart, IWCB 2026 brought together energy researchers and system engineers to explore long-duration thermal storage solutions.

To spotlight the next generation of energy storage innovators, the workshop evaluation panel selected two PhD researchers for their outstanding poster delivery and technical rigor:

First Place Award (€250) German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Matias Francisco Pezo Pérez

“Geometric Optimization of Latent Heat Energy Storage for Carnot Batteries based on Multiscale Simulation”

Research Focus: Applied multiscale modeling techniques to optimize the internal geometry of phase-change materials, addressing core heat-transfer bottlenecks in utility-scale thermal storage systems.

Second Place Award (€150) Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER)

Youngbok Lee

“Development of High-Temperature Sensible-Latent Heat Combined Thermal Energy Storage System for Carnot Battery”

Research Focus: Designed a novel hybrid thermal storage configuration combining sensible and latent media to maximize thermal efficiency and cycling capacity during high-temperature operations.

Empowering Early-Career Researchers

Recognizing young scientists is a core priority across the EERA JP ES network. By partnering with international symposiums like IWCB 2026, JP ES SP3 continues to support emerging talent, foster cross-institutional collaboration, and accelerate scalable energy storage research across Europe and partner institutes worldwide.

Event Recap & Gallery: Official photos and event recordings from IWCB 2026 will be published shortly in our media gallery.