Meet H2FUTURE Associate Professor Satu Ojala: “It is exciting to make new discoveries in the field of solar hydrogen that will have long-ranging impacts on the environment and the wellbeing of humans”

Satu Ojala 's academic journey began in 1995 when she joined the University of Oulu as a fresh Process Engineering student. By 1999, she had become a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Technology. Over the years, she has held various positions, including doctoral researcher, special researcher, and academy research fellow. Her career also includes two years at the University of Poitiers in France and five years at VTT in the Optical Instrumentation team.

Joining the H2FUTURE research programme at the University of Oulu was a natural step on her research career working with solar hydrogen catalysis.

"H2FUTURE is an exciting community focusing on hydrogen production and use. Forming an own research team in catalysis was a natural continuation of my previous work and it was enabled by the H2FUTURE position."

Satu's main research activities in H2FUTURE focus on developing technologies for solar hydrogen production and use. She finds working with hydrogen and sustainable energy technologies particularly exciting because it offers a chance to show enthusiasm for the field and a personal perspective on its future.

"It is very exciting to make new discoveries in the field that will have long-ranging impacts on the environment and the wellbeing of humans," she shares.

Research activities like using carbon dioxide as another reactant can directly have a positive impact on the environment, improve human health and well-being in an economic way

Ojala´s vision for a more sustainable future involves developing sustainable and clean ways for hydrogen production and use.

"In the utilization side, we are focusing, for example, on using carbon dioxide as another reactant. These activities will directly have a positive impact on the environment, improve human health and well-being, and hopefully in an economic way," Ojala explains.

In her new position, Ojala aims to demonstrate a new technology for solar hydrogen production.

"I hope that our ideas will be successful and we are able to bring the new technology into practice," she says.

Outside of her research, Ojala dives into her music hobbies and chemistry in another, creative way: baking all kinds of cakes.

Ojala emphasizes that the road to discoveries is often found by not following the most obvious path – and encourages also young women to take on technical studies

Ojala's research group within H2FUTURE is set to continue working on the development of novel technologies, catalytic and photocatalytic materials. Long-term vision for her team is to delve deeper into understanding the phenomena behind catalytic actions.

"This we will do by integrating novel in situ and operando technologies into the research work," she explains.

Collaboration between academia and industry is crucial for advancing hydrogen research. Ojala emphasizes the importance of gaining insights from both sides to address current problems and developments.

"Finding the common meeting points will create value for both sides. In hydrogen research, it is essential for the industry to benefit from fresh research outcomes and enable the practical and rapid implementation of results”, she says.

Still in the year 2025, the proportion of women in the fields of technology and natural sciences is small. Ojala wants to encourage more young women to consider and take on studies in the technical field too.

“Studying technology and science opens a wide range of meaningful career opportunities for women - from research and development to education and leadership positions.”

For early-career researchers interested in hydrogen research, Ojala advises being curious about their work, and exploring new viewpoints.

"This actually works for all – be curious about the work you do, search new viewpoints outside your own research area, don’t follow the most obvious path in your work, ask questions also from yourself, and read a lot!" she recommends.