Rate My Professor Annukka Santasalo-Aarnio

Annukka Santasalo-Aarnio serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Energy and Mechanical Engineering at Aalto University School of Engineering. She is also listed as Professor (Associate Professor) in Energy Conversion and Systems and leads the Energy Storage research team. Her research group develops innovations for the conversion and storage of electrical, thermal, and chemical energy in sustainable ways, with a focus on energy storage concepts integrated into large energy systems. Key areas include hydrogen and power-to-X as energy vectors, heat storage solutions and materials, energy recovery from batteries prior to recycling, and circular design of energy devices. She heads projects such as Power to X AIcon, an Academy of Finland initiative using machine learning for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol; Hyper-sphere for processing end-of-life batteries to recover energy and metals; EU project HySelect on SO2 depolarized electrolysis for low-cost hydrogen production; and large-scale hydrogen storage systems under the Profi 7 hydrogen deal. Additional efforts cover thermochemical storage materials like sorption salts, cold-crystallization materials such as sugar alcohols for heat storage, and materials for thermal regulation in transportation.

Santasalo-Aarnio earned her Doctoral degree in Engineering and Technology from Aalto University on December 20, 2012, Licentiate degree from Aalto University on February 2, 2010, and Master's degree in Engineering and Technology from Helsinki University of Technology on January 30, 2007. She has produced 88 research outputs, including 63 journal articles, 11 conference proceedings, and 5 reviews. Notable publications are 'A corrosion study of lithium-ion batteries during NaCl electrochemical discharge: mechanistic origins and Zn-based mitigation strategies' (2026, Sustainable Energy and Fuels), 'Assessment of phase change materials for thermal energy storage in battery systems for heavy-duty vehicle applications' (2026, Energy Conversion and Management), 'Benzene in hydrogen fuel: Effects on PEMFC performance and relevance to fuel quality standards' (2026, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy), 'Green hydrogen production for oil refining – Finnish case' (2023), and 'High energy density long-term thermochemical energy storage composite based on salt and wood-derived activated biochar' (2026). She is Principal Investigator on projects like SpentBatt4e-GAS (2026-2028) and THERMAMAZE (2024-2028), contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 14. Awards include Educational action of the year 2017 and the 2020 School of Engineering Award for Achievements in Teaching for challenge-based education with industry impact. She has given invited talks, conference presentations, and appeared in media on battery recycling.