Alon Lidor, Ph.D

Alon is a postdoctoral associate and a Marie-Curie Fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at ETH Zürich, working in the group of Prof. Aldo Steinfeld (the Professorship of Renewable Energy Carriers). He has completed his BSc in Mechanical Engineering at Ben-Gurion University at 2011, and his MSc and PhD at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering in the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology in 2013 and 2017 respectively, both under the supervision of Prof. Eran Sher and Distinguished Prof. Daniel Weihs. Alon past research included studying novel propulsion systems for micro aerial vehicles, in which he developed a novel phase-change-material engine, and investigating the three-branched explosion limits of hydrogen-oxygen mixtures using an alternative approach based on advanced thermodynamic methods. Since 2018 he is researching the field of solar-driven thermochemical processes, first in the DLR (German Aerospace Center) Institute of Solar Research, and since 2019 in his current position at ETH Zürich. His research focus is on solar redox (reduction-oxidation) cycles for water and carbon dioxide splitting, producing syngas which is further processed into renewable fuels. Alon is currently working on developing novel methods for high temperature heat recovery in solar reactors. He has been awarded the Dr. Arie Hillel Prize for excellence in PhD studies, the DLR-DAAD Research Fellowship and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Individual Fellowship. He is living in Zürich with his wife, and in his free time enjoys exploring Switzerland’s outdoors through hiking and climbing.