In 2010 he became group leader at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung, and headed the research in Electrocatalysis in the department of Prof. Stratmann. In 2015 he was appointed as Professor for Electrocatalysis at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg and director of the newly founded Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg of the FZ Jülich, which is currently in its ramp-up phase considering staff and building.