Associate Professor Dr. Plamen Nikolov, Director of the “Academician Evgeni Budevski” Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems (IEES-BAS) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, has been elected as the 33rd member of the prestigious international scientific Alpha-Beta Society. The news was announced on 15 September during this year’s European Lead Battery Conference (ELBC’2026) in Vienna.
Membership of the Alpha-Beta Society is strictly limited and is expanded by only one new member per year. Members of the society are internationally recognised scientists and specialists who have made an exceptional contribution to the development of science and technology relating to lead-acid batteries. With the election of Assoc. Prof. Nikolov, the number of representatives of the Bulgarian school of electrochemistry of lead-acid batteries in the society has risen to four, with Acad. Detchko Pavlov (1989), Dr. Boris Monahov (2019) and Dr. Geno Papazov (2020) from IEES-BAS.
Assoc. Prof. Nikolov is a student of Acad. Detchko Pavlov – one of Bulgaria’s most distinguished scientists in the field of electrochemistry, who in 1967 laid the foundations for a research programme on lead-acid batteries at BAS which over the years had developed into an internationally recognised school of electrochemistry specialising in lead-acid batteries.
Assoc. Prof. Nikolov’s scientific research focuses on the fundamental and applied aspects of electrochemical processes in lead-acid batteries. His work on the processes at the negative electrode and on improving the operational characteristics of batteries through the use of carbon additives in the electrode’s active material has made a significant contribution. In recent years, he has been actively working on the development of energy storage solutions, including vanadium redox flow batteries.
In an interview with Batteries International journal, Assoc. Prof. Plamen Nikolov says:
“This is not only professional recognition but also a very personal and emotional moment for me. It is a true privilege to join such an exceptional group of colleagues who have contributed so much to the development of science and technology in the field of lead-acid batteries. I feel that every member of the community has, in some way, been a mentor to me on my scientific journey – through their work, ideas, achievements and lasting contribution to the development of this field of science. This makes the recognition even more meaningful to me.”
Photo: Batteries International
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The Alpha-Beta Society was founded in 1989 by David Rand (CSIRO, Australia) and Dr. Ernst Voss (Varta, Germany) with the aim of promoting the exchange of ideas and collaboration amongst leading scientists in the field of lead-acid batteries.
