Dr. Xu Lu is an assistant professor in the Chemical Engineering program at KAUST, where he directs the interdisciplinary lab Low-carbon Energy Conversion and Storage Lab (LECS), consisting of members from Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Material Science and Chemistry. Dr. Lu joined KAUST in 2021 after a postdoctoral fellowship in the Energy Sciences Institute at Yale University, and with all his degrees from the University of Hong Kong (HKU). The LECS Lab has published original research articles in Nature Catalysis, Nature Communications (3), Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie, ACS Catalysis, Chemical Engineering Journal etc., and generated 3 patents. Dr. Lu is also the founder and chairman of HAdrogen Technology LLC, a KAUST spin-off that develops kilowatt-scale anion exchange membrane electrolyzers for real-field settings. In addition to his research pursuits, Dr. Lu is committed to contributing to the academic community through teaching, mentorship and service, and fostering industry-academia partnerships that translate research findings into practical applications. ​

Professor Lu’s research group focuses on electrochemical upgrading of high-pressure carbon dioxide, air, and water into value-added chemicals. He also develops kilowatt scale solar-to-chemical systems with industrial relevance. Notable industry partners include ACWA Power, ENOWA (NEOM) and Saudi Aramco; projects include electrochemical utilization of wastewater, solar driven kW-scale water electrolysis; low Ir PEM water electrolysis; and high-pressure CO2 valorization.​