Steffen Hardt obtained his PhD in Chemistry from Ruhr-University Bochum for investigating how polymer environments protect highly sensitive bioelectrocatalysts from oxidative damage. In 2022 he was granted a Gateway Fellowship joining the group of Marc Koper, where he studied the beneficial influence of protic polymer coatings on the hydrogen evolution reaction. After an one-year stay at the Research Center Juelich, Steffen returned to Leiden on a MSCA-fellowship to deepen the understanding on how polymer-coatings modulate local pH-values during electrochemical reactions.