Sustainable energy technologies. The "Walet Van Schalkwijk Award" goes to vito Di Noto

The Electrochemical Society – ECS, the most authoritative international scientific society in the field of electrochemistry, materials science and energy technologies, has awarded Vito Di Noto, professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padua, the Energy Technology Division Walter van Schalkwijk Award in Sustainable Energy Technology.

The award will be presented at the 250th ECS Meeting, to be held in October in Calgary, Canada, where the lecturer will be invited to give a lecture on the activities carried out in the field of electrochemical energy storage and conversion.

The announcement was published by the Electrochemical Society among the Spring 2026 Award Winners, together with other honours conferred on leading figures in the international electrochemistry and solid-state science community.

The recognition, established by the ECS Energy Technology Division, honours scientists, academics and innovators who have made original, innovative and transformative contributions to the development of sustainable energy technologies, with particular reference to devices, materials and processes for the production, conversion, storage and responsible use of energy. ECS underlines that the award is intended for contributions capable of significantly influencing the future of research and development in the sustainable energy sector.

Di Noto is the first Italian and the first European to receive this award. He was a pioneer and founder of the Paduan school of electrochemical energy storage and conversion. The recognition confirms the leading role of this Paduan school in the field of electrochemistry, functional materials and advanced energy technologies, and places the University of Padua among the most authoritative international points of reference in a strategic sector for the energy transition.

During his career, Di Noto has been one of the pioneers and has made a decisive contribution to the development of innovative electrochemical materials and systems for batteries, fuel cells, electrolysers, ionic membranes, polymer electrolytes and hybrid materials for energy conversion and storage. His scientific activity stands out for its ability to combine fundamental research, molecular design of materials, advanced characterisation and device development, with a strongly interdisciplinary approach focused on technological and industrial impact.
The award particularly recognises a scientific vision that, for many decades, has anticipated in Padua issues that are now central to international research: material sustainability, moving beyond conventional energy technologies, the development of safer, more efficient and longer-lasting electrochemical devices, the reduction of environmental impact and the rational use of resources. In this sense, the ECS recognition rewards not only a scientific career of the highest prestige, but also the school he founded, which has contributed and continues to contribute to defining new perspectives
in the field of sustainable energy.

“The awarding of the Walter van Schalkwijk Award to Prof. Vito Di Noto is a source of great pride for the Department of Industrial Engineering and for the entire Italian chemical and electrochemical community,” comments the director of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padua, Fabrizio Dughiero, “and testifies to the quality, continuity and international impact of the research developed in Padua in the field of sustainable energy technologies, and represents recognition of the very highest standing for the Italian contribution to the global energy transition.”