Professor Rachel Huang at EPFL’s School of Basic Sciences awarded ERC Starting Grant; could close Europe's battery production loop.

Professor Rachel Huang at EPFL’s School of Basic Sciences awarded ERC Starting Grant; could close Europe’s battery production loop.

An ERC Starting Grant to EPFL’s School of Basic Sciences - EPFL

An ERC Starting Grant to EPFL’s School of Basic Sciences

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Professor Rachel Huang at EPFL’s School of Basic Sciences has been awarded a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC).

The ERC Starting Grants are a highly prestigious funding scheme managed by the European Research Council (ERC) designed for active early-career researchers with a promising scientific track record who want to pursue long-term, groundbreaking, and high-risk frontier research projects in Europe. Each grant covers up to €1.5 million per project for a maximum of 5 years (with the possibility of up to an additional €1 million to €2 million for specific startup equipment or global relocation).

The ERC has announced the Starting Grant awardees from the 2026 round of applications. Four projects have been awarded at EPFL, one of which is from Professor Rachel Huang at the School of Basic Sciences.

MemTran aims to develop transition metal selective membranes for battery recycling. Existing membranes can separate ions of different sizes and charges. However, transition metal ions have similar sizes and charges in solution, so existing membranes fall short in their separation.

MemTran aims to break this ground by designing polymer membranes with tethered, selective ligands. On selectivity, the project will study ligand–ion interactions at new interaction energy ranges. On permeability, it aims to design polymers with coupled ligand-ion interact and polymer dynamics. On stability, it will design interfaces to ensure polymer stability with acidic mineral leachate.

“Europe wants to build its batteries from recycled material, but the separation step is still the bottleneck,” says Huang. “If we can make a membrane do that work, recycling becomes cleaner, and far easier to scale. Success of MemTran may enable us to close the loop on battery production in Europe.”

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The ERC Starting Grants are a highly prestigious funding scheme managed by the European Research Council (ERC) designed for active early-career researchers with a promising scientific track record who want to pursue long-term, groundbreaking, and high-risk frontier research projects in Europe. Each grant covers up to €1.5 million per project for a maximum of 5 years (with the possibility of up to an additional €1 million to €2 million for specific startup equipment or global relocation). The ERC has announced the Starting Grant awardees from the 2026 round of applications. Four projects have been awarded at EPFL, one of which is from Professor Rachel Huang at the School of Basic Sciences. ERC announcement Project: MemTran MemTran aims to develop transition metal selective membranes for battery recycling. Existing membranes can separate ions of different sizes and charges. However, transition metal ions have similar sizes and charges in solution, so existing membranes fall short in their separation. MemTran aims to break this ground by designing polymer membranes with tethered, selective ligands. On selectivity, the project will study ligand–ion interactions at new interaction energy ranges. On permeability, it aims to design polymers with coupled ligand-ion interact and polymer dynamics. On stability, it will design interfaces to ensure polymer stability with acidic mineral leachate. “Europe wants to build its batteries from recycled material, but the separation step is still the bottleneck,” says Huang. “If we can make a membrane do that work, recycling becomes cleaner, and far easier to scale. Success of MemTran may enable us to close the loop on battery production in Europe.”