The 2025 Global Energy Prize laureate in the Non-Traditional Energy category for innovations in the field of catalyst development, which significantly improve the profitability, durability and performance of fuel cells
Professor, Materials Science & Engineering, University of California Los Angeles
Prof. Huang has received her B. S. in Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China. After that, she moved to the US, where she graduated from Harvard University as a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry. For the past 20 years, she has been working at UCLA, where she is now a Professor of both Chemistry and Biochemistry and Materials Science & Engineering. Prof. Huang is also a Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Prof. Huang’s pioneering research has fundamentally transformed the design and performance of PGM-based electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), a critical and limiting process in PEMFCs. Her innovations bridge a major gap in clean energy technology by achieving an unprecedented balance between high catalytic activity, long-term durability, and low PGM loading. She has 26 patents, over 247 publications, and several book chapters. Prof. Huang has received ENI Award, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Faraday Horizon Prize, International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI) Premier Award, and the number of other honours. She is a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, Kavli Fellow, Distinguished Panel Speaker of Beckman Symposium, and Vebleo Fellow. For the past 10 years, she co-organised and chaired over 10 international conferences.