JP Fuel Cells and Hydrogen researcher mobility platform

JP Fuel Cells and Hydrogen researcher mobility platform The Joint Programme (JP) on Fuel Cells and Hydrogen aims to generate and mobilize scientific excellence in Europe on all aspects covered by the JP. Below is a list of positions that are made available by the JP Members for exchange and placement of both young and experienced researchers, aiming to improve their skills and increase their network, serving the cause of improving FCH technologies for a low-carbon Europe.

Promote a research opportunity in your organisation

To promote a research opportunity in your organisation, please prepare the assignment and send it to jari.kiviaho@vtt.fi and secretariat@eera-set.eu.

You should specify:

  • Title of the assignment
  • Description of the assignment (5 sentences max.)
  • Host institution
  • Name and email of the supervisor(s)
  • Duration of the assignment
  • Skills required
  • Target group
  • Available facilities
  • Funding available

All of the JP FCH members can send assignments and any student from a European organisation can apply. If the position is no longer available or has been filled, please let us know in order to remove it from the plateform.

For each of the positions below, get in touch with the contact person provided to apply or for more information on opportunities.

Development of SOEC electrolysis Coordinator: Alfredo Iranzo
(airanzo@us.es )

Description of the assignment: AICIA, a research institution within the School of Engineering at the University of Sevilla is involved in the development of SOEC electrolysers. Two different positions are available:

  1. Experimental characterization of electrodes and electrolytes (mechanical and electrical properties). Experimental characterization of single cells for SOEC.
  2. Thermo-mechanical design of SOEC cells and short stacks. CFD modelling and simulation.

More information:

  • Host institution: AICIA / University of Sevilla
  • Name and email of the supervisor: Alfredo Iranzo, airanzo@us.es
  • Duration of the assignment: 6-12 months
  • Skills required: Material Science for electrochemical systems OR Computational Fluid Dynamics for electrochemical systems OR Mechanical Engineering
  • Target group: PhD students, Post-Doc researchers
  • Available facilities: Lab equipped with test bench for SOFC/SOEC testing, cells and short stacks, and material characterization labs: https://citius.us.es/web/servicios.php?l=en
  • Funding available: Yes

Hydrogen production from biomass & waste gasification: techno-economic assesment of innovative solutions

The researcher will carry out process simulation studies with Aspen PLUS® software. Some unconventional unit operations (gasifier, membrane module) have been already implemented by LRGP in this software.…) If necessary, other unconventional operations may be developed by the chosen candidate.
The final goal is to assess some innovative solutions to produce hydrogen from biomass & waste gasification. These solutions will be compared with conventional technologies. The performance criteria will be energetic (H2 energetic yield, global energetic yield), environmental (fossil CO2 emissions), economic (Net Present Value, H2 cost).

  • Host institution: LERMAB and LRGP, University of Lorraine, Epinal and Nancy, France
  • Supervisor: Yann Rogaume (yann.rogaume@univ-lorraine.fr) and Guillain Mauviel (guillain.mauviel@univ-lorraine.fr)
  • Duration: 18 months
  • Skills required: Chemical engineering, process simulation
  • Target group: M.Sc. or Ph.D. in chemical engineering by beginning date of appointment
  • Available facilities and resources: LERMAB is a lab dedicated to wood valorisation, whereas LRGP is a chemical engineering lab. They are both hosted by Université de Lorraine, which has been recently ranked #48 for Chemical Engineering in the Shanghai Academic Ranking.
  • Funding available: IMPACT project from LUE: ULHyS

Post-doctoral fellow: Operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM-FC) without air humidification system

The objectives of the project are in chronological order:

  1. Understand the self-humidifying mechanism of PEM-FC operating under no external humidification: observation and characterization using segmented cells, modeling and determination of the stability region in terms of temperature, pressure, gas flow and average current density.
  2. Improve the self-humidification by geometry design of the diffusion layers and the feed channels whilst avoiding penalizing excessively the transport of oxygen.
  3. Test new materials that are more hydrophilic and better protonic conductors with low humidity. The type of carbon will be tweaked to optimize the performances, with the use of nanocarbons such as nanotubes or graphene. Also, grafting of functional groups can be performed to modify the hydrophobicity and/or the ability to conduct protons. Characterization will be performed using routinely TEM and TGA/mass spectrometry.
  4. Investigate the impact of dry operation on the durability of optimized membrane-electrode assemblies.
  • Host institution: LEMTA and IJL, University of Lorraine, Nancy France
  • Supervisor: Gaël Maranzana (Gael.Maranzana@univ-lorraine.fr)
  • Duration: 18 months
  • Skills required: Electrochemistry, transport phenomenon, material science
  • Target group: Post-doc (PhD)
  • Available facilities and resources: Fuel Cell laboratory (instrumented cells & test bench), Carbon Materials Laboratory (characterization & synthesis of catalysts)
  • Funding available: IMPACT project from LUE: ULHyS

3-year PhD position with grant on Accelerated testing and lifetime prediction of Solid Oxide Cells

  • Host institution: ENEA (Italian National Agency for New technologies, energy and sustainable economic development), Rome, Italy
  • Supervisor: Stephen McPhail (stephen.mcphail@enea.it)
  • Duration: 3 years starting 1st January 2020
  • Skills required: Master in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry or Material Science. Knowledge of fuel cell and electrolyser electrochemistry
  • Target group: Students with a master degree, enthusiastic and curious researchers
  • Available facilities and resources: Fully equipped fuel cell laboratory and materials characterization equipment, a young team of 6 researchers and 4 technicians
  • Funding available: 3-year grant co-financed by ENEA and the University of Le Marche 

    Application procedure is online and currently open: deadline 26 September 2019.

  • The position to apply for is in Industrial Engineering, Energy Engineering.
  •  For direction on how to register and apply, you can consult the following documents:
     

    Online_Application_Guide.35.cycle
    Registration_Guide_esse3

Research Fellow (Postdoc) – Water electrolysis/fuel cell catalysts

Description about the assignments: 

  • To explore the methods allowing for large scale synthesis of atomically dispersed platinum group metal (PGM) and/or non-PGM catalysts;
  • To perform physicochemical characterization and electrocatalytic tests of prepared catalysts;
  • To collaborate with other partners in MEA fabrication and testing in PEM electrolyzers/fuel cells;
  • To report experimental progress regularly and to publish the project results in scientific journals;
  • Be responsible for other lab maintenance/management/supervision tasks assigned by supervisor.
  • Host institution: International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal
  • Supervisor: Lifeng Liu, lifeng.liu@inl.int
  • Duration: 30 months (expected to start in Jan/Feb 2021)
  • Skills required:
    • PhD Degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Electrochemistry, Physical Chemistry, Solid State Physics, or any other relevant field.
    • Have R&D experience in water electrolysis/fuel cell catalysts for at least 2 years but no more than 10 years after PhD;
    • Have several important publications in high-impact journals in the field or have one or more patents filed/granted on electrocatalysis;
    • Have hands-on experience in the synthesis and electrocatalytic performance of atomically dispersed catalysts;
    • Have hands-on experience in one or several of the following topics will be positively evaluated: noble metal nanoparticle synthesis, synthesis and design of metal organic frameworks (MOFs), upscale synthesis of nanomaterials (kilogram scale), membrane electrode assembly (MEA) fabrication, fabrication and design of water electrolyzers (stacks), DFT calculations;
    • Strong motivation to work, both independently and as part of a team in an interdisciplinary environment;
    • Good communication skills;
    • “Hands-on” approach combined with a high commitment in respecting working deadlines;
    • Self-motivated and self-disciplinary.
  • Target group: Post doc
  • Available facilities and resources: autoclave reactors, electrospinning/electrospray machine, atomic layer deposition system, 16-channel potentiostat/galvanostat, rotating ring-disk electrode, tube furnace, single-cell electrolyzer, access to different materials characterization facilities such as TGA/DSC, BET, XRD, XPS, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, and AFM.
  • Funding available: “Baterias 2030” project funded by the National Innovation Agency of Portugal.

Contact

Jari Kiviaho JP FCH Coordinator
VTT