Group Lead · Swansea University
Dr Rui Tan
Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering and Principal Investigator
I lead S²AVE Lab at Swansea University, where we develop solid-state and lithium- and sodium-metal batteries, redox flow batteries, emerging aqueous chemistries and intelligent battery diagnostics. We combine materials design, interface and ion-transport engineering, cell engineering and data-driven methods to improve energy density, safety, lifetime and scalability.
We established S²AVE Lab in 2024. The group now includes 10 PhD students and one postdoctoral researcher. I have published more than 100 papers, including in Nature, Nature Materials and Nature Chemical Engineering.
Academic Appointments
- 2024–present · Senior Lecturer and CAPTURE Principal Investigator, Swansea University
- 2023–2024 · Assistant Professor, WMG, University of Warwick
- 2021–2023 · Research Associate, Imperial College London
Education
- 2021 · PhD in Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London
- 2017 · MSc in Advanced Materials and Mechanics, Peking University
- 2014 · BEng in New Energy Materials and Devices, Central South University
Selected Honours
- 2026 · Wiley China Excellent Author Program
- 2024 · Excellent Young Editorial Board Member, Battery Energy
- 2023 · Stephanie L Kwolek Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry (team award)
- 2021 · Townend Prize, Imperial College London
Patents
- All-solid-state battery (CN104993139B)
- Electrode (CN106145083B)
- High-energy redox flow battery (GB2613617.6, application submitted)
Funding
- 2026–2028Safe, High-Energy Sodium-Ion Batteries Using Ultra-Thin Solid-State Gel Polymer Electrolytes (SAFE-Na)
- 2026–2030Microporous Membranes for Stable and Low-Cost Iron–Sulfur Flow Batteries
- 2026Microporous Membranes for Stable and Low-Cost Iron–Sulfur Flow Batteries
- 2026–2027Multifunctional Structural Sodium-Ion Battery for Aerospace Applications
- 2025–2026Harnessing Wastewater for High-Energy Redox Flow Batteries
- 2025Integrated RDE–GDE Electrochemical Testing System for Catalysis and Battery Research
- 2025–2029Novel Polymeric Membranes for High-Energy and Safe Batteries
- 2025–2029Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Energy Storage
- 2025Biochar-Assisted Water Electrolysis for Low-Carbon Hydrogen
- 2025Carbon Dot-Hybridised Microalgae Bio-Photovoltaic Systems
- 2025Cycling Waste Materials for Energy Storage
- 2024Revolutionary High-Energy Batteries: Eliminating the Need for Traditional Separators
- 2024Dry Coating Machine for Battery Electrode Manufacturing
- 2024Solar-Energy Harvesting, Conversion and Storage Using Photonic Redox Flow Batteries
- 2023–2024Thin and Lightweight Current Collectors for Lithium-Ion Batteries
- 2023Synthesis of Membrane Materials for High Selectivity (SynHiSel)
- 2021–2023Design and Nanoengineering of Microporous Membranes for Energy Storage (NanoMMES)
- 2017–2021Advanced Membrane Separators for Flow, Lithium-Ion and Solid-State Batteries
Teaching and Supervision
At Swansea University, I teach across the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
- Chemistry · Methods of Analysis and Detection (CH-008), Chemical Practice (CH-127), Further Physical Chemistry (CH237), Chemistry Project (CH-344) and MChem Research Project (CH-409).
- Chemical Engineering · Fundamentals of Engineering Design (EG000) and Thermodynamics of Process Design (EG210).
I developed hands-on electrochemistry practicals and integrated pilot-plant demonstrations into thermodynamics teaching. My supervision spans membranes, catalysts, battery interfaces, diagnostics and techno-economic analysis.
I completed a PGCert in Higher Education at Swansea and was awarded Fellowship of Advance HE (FHEA) in November 2026.
Selected Talks
2025 · Invited talks at ICGC (Qingdao), STRIKE (Swansea), ICFMCE and RAMS (London), covering battery safety, cycling performance and electrolyte membranes.
2024 · “Membranes for long-life and safe energy storage systems”, Advances in Chemical and Applied Sciences for Sustainable Development (RSC, India).
2023 · “Ion-conductive metal–organic framework membranes for lithium metal batteries”, 16th International Conference on Materials Chemistry (MC16, Dublin).
Academic Service
- Conference organisation · Co-organiser of the 2nd STRIKE Symposium and scientific committee member for Energy Storage and Sustainable Circularity.
- Guest editor · Microstructures, Battery Energy, Batteries and Scientific Reports, including the Smart Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage collection.
- Editorial roles · Academic Associate Editor for IEEE Chain. Editorial Board Member for Discover Electrochemistry, Journal of Environmental Chemistry and Safety and Scientific Reports. Early Career Editorial Board Member for Nano-Micro Letters, Energy Materials, Rare Metals and Battery Energy.
- Professional memberships · Royal Society of Chemistry (since 2018), European Membrane Society (since 2023) and The Electrochemical Society (Early Career Member since 2023).
- Peer and grant review · More than 140 manuscript reviews, including for Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, ACS Energy Letters, Nano Energy and PNAS. Reviewer for Faraday Institution and UKRI grant proposals. ORCID profile.
- Mentoring · Windsor Fellowship mentor through Destination STEMM, the John Lyons programme with the Royal Society (since 2025).