Background
Sonya Calnan is a Professor for Energy Engineering at Loughborough University since July 2024. Her research is focused on low carbon energy and fuel conversion systems involving hydrogen and its derivatives. She has a broad background in the development and long-term testing of electro- (thermo-) chemical reactors, catalyst synthesis and characterisation as well as multiscale-multi-physics computing to aid rapid prototyping.
She previously led a research group at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Germany, where she acted as PI or co-Investigator on several German-national and international projects in the same field, funded by the European Commission (Horizon 2020), the Helmholtz Association and the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF).
Sonya received her PhD from the then Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Loughborough in 2009. She also holds a Masters in Business Administration from Leicester University, a Master of Science in Renewable Energy Systems (Aachen University of Applied Science) and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (Makerere University Uganda).
Main research interests
Sonya’s research is aimed at accelerating the adaptation of novel energy-fuel conversion processes for commercialisation by experimentation and modelling of a pre-pilot scale systems that mimicking real world operation. Her main research covers the development of non-platinum group catalysts as well as electrolysers, fuel cells, electrochemical pumps, thermochemical reactors and related units. The afore-mentioned systems are then adapted to efficiently drive a variety of energy conversion processes including solar driven electrolysis for hydrogen production, synthesis and/or oxidation of zero carbon fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, and synthetic low carbon fuels.
Current teaching responsibilities
WSC805 Energy Vectors for Transport