Professor Dr. Bettina Valeska Lotsch Awarded the 2025 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize

We are delighted to congratulate Professor Dr. Bettina Valeska Lotsch, Director of the Nanochemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, on receiving the 2025 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize.
 

This prestigious award, conferred by the German Research Foundation (DFG), is Germany’s most significant research funding prize and comes with up to €2.5 million in funding. It recognizes outstanding scientific achievements and provides laureates with enhanced research opportunities.
Bettina Lotsch has been honored for her groundbreaking work in solid-state chemistry, particularly in the development of innovative materials for sustainable energy applications. Her remarkable achievements include the creation of a new generation of photocatalysts capable of producing hydrogen and reducing CO₂ through light exposure.
One of her most notable contributions is the concept of "dark photocatalysis," which enables time-delayed photocatalysis in the absence of light, paving the way for transformative advancements in energy conversion and storage, such as solar batteries. Additionally, her research on inorganic electrocatalysts and two-dimensional materials for water splitting has garnered global recognition.
After completing her PhD at LMU Munich and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto, Bettina Lotsch returned to Germany as a tenure-track professor at LMU Munich. Since 2017, she has led the Nanochemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, while also serving as an honorary professor at LMU Munich and the University of Stuttgart.
Her work has been celebrated with numerous awards, including an ERC Starting Grant (2014) and the EU-40 Materials Prize (2017). The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize now marks another milestone in her extraordinary scientific career.
We are proud to have Bettina Lotsch at our institute and warmly congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition.