From her office on the fifth floor of Inffeldgasse 25 B, Vanja Subotić enjoys a marvellous view over the city. “In October, I will have been in Styria for 18 years – half of my life,” she says. “This is where I developed into a researcher.” Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Subotić began studying electrical engineering at TU Graz in 2007 and has remained loyal to our university ever since. Today, she heads the fuel cell research group at the Institute of Thermal Engineering, focusing on high-temperature fuel cells that operate at temperatures of 600 °Celsius and above.
Fuel cells convert the chemical energy of a fuel – for example hydrogen – very efficiently into electrical energy and can also be used to generate heat. Conversely, fuel cells can produce green hydrogen from water through electrolysis or extract fuels from industrial waste gases. In this way, they make a valuable contribution to the sustainable production of electricity and heat and to protecting our climate.
Longer life for fuel cells
“This technology is comparatively new and we can actively help develop it. I want to extend the service life of fuel cells and use them efficiently,” says Subotić, describing her personal motivation. Her research group has made several first-time world discoveries. For example, the team carried out research on new methods for online monitoring in order to recognise at an early stage when the condition of a fuel cell deteriorates.
Among other awards, Subotić was honoured for her achievements in 2019 with the Josef Krainer Promotion Prize from “Steirisches Gedenkwerk”, and she won the Appreciation Award in March 2024. Her expertise is also recognised internationally; the researcher is a member of a high-calibre EU panel of 15 experts as part of an initiative for clean hydrogen.
Laboratory as a source of knowledge
At the heart of Subotić’s work are laboratory tests, which often run for several months: “Here we can test different types of fuel cells from different manufacturers, which will provide us with new findings.” A visit to the laboratory is also an essential part of teaching: “I like it when courses are interactive. That’s why the students do a lot of group work or we go to the lab together.” Subotić holds a visiting professorship at Kyushu University in Japan, where she is also coordinator for internationalisation at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Economic Sciences.
To balance out her intensive working day, Vanja Subotić plays the guitar, dances, cycles or reads. Whether in her free time or at TU Graz – the main thing is that nothing stands still, emphasises the researcher: “It’s important to me that I always have goals so that I can continue to develop. I enjoy gaining new experiences and learning from them.”
