PhD student Techno-Economic Analysis and environmental life-cycle analysis of green hydrogen production and use for sustainable aviation fuel

1 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Hasselt University

Department

Centre for Environmental Sciences

Research Field

Engineering » Chemical engineering
Economics » Applied economics
Technology » Energy technology

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Belgium

Application Deadline

17 Feb 2024 - 10:00 (Europe/Amsterdam)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

40

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The position is positioned within the Research Group Environmental Economics of U Hasselt’s Centre for Environmental Sciences . The group is an internal leader in technology evaluation for sustainability aviation fuels, in particular with regard to its economic and environmental viability, and its embedment in international climate regulation. It is involved in several large-scale research projects funded by the European Union and the US Federal Aviation Administration and holds a leadership position in the Fuels Task Group of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. It is the only university outside of North America that is part of ASCENT, the Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and the Environment.

The goal of the PhD project is to extend the group’s modelling and analysis capabilities in the area of synthetic drop-in aviation fuel derived from green hydrogen. There will be close collaboration with researchers from U Hasselt’s Institute for Material Science (IMO) through a grant provided by the University of Hasselt. You will be embedded in an existing ecosystem of collaborators such as for example, researchers from Energyville, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Politecnico di Torino. Your supervisor will be Professor Robert Malina .

You will develop and conduct process simulations, and environmental and economic analyses for green hydrogen production from solar-driven water splitting, and for its subsequent conversion into sustainable aviation fuel using waste carbon or carbon from direct air capture. You will build upon an existing in-house process model for the hydrogen generation process in Aspen Plus and will extend it with regard to analytical depth and system boundary to cover the full technology pathway to produce sustainable aviation fuel. Cost analyses and environmental impact analysis for the system will be conducted by means of an environmental techno-economic analysis. Environmental impacts will be estimated for the lifecycle of hydrogen production and use by coupling the data from process simulations with state-of-the art lifecycle assessment tools such as SimaPro.

During your PhD, you will receive scientific and career training from U Hasselt’s Doctoral Schools . Besides doing research, you might also have a limited teaching commitment on the order of 2 hours per week throughout your PhD.

You will be appointed and paid as a PhD student and receive a doctoral grant for four years on the condition of a positive evaluation after 2 years.

Interested? Please reach out to [email protected] with your (1) CV, (2) a motivation letter and (3) a writing sample of your own work.

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering » Chemical engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Economics » Applied economics

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Technology » Energy technology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

* You have obtained a degree as master in engineering or master in business economics, or equivalent, or you will obtain such a degree by the end of September 2024.

* You are able to start on 01/09/2024 at the latest (earlier start dates can be negotiated).

* Your command of English (IELTS>=7 or equivalent) is excellent.

* You have experience in the design and modelling of chemical processes in simulators such as Aspen HYSIS or ASPEN Plus. 

* You have experience in techno-economic analysis or environmental life-cycle analysis.

* You have excellent grades.

* You have experience with data collection, quantitative research methods and the matching software.

* You are interested in or passionate about research on the sustainability of innovative clean technologies.

* You have good communication skills and are a team player.

* Experience in multi-disciplinary (research) project work is a plus.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Centre for Environmental Sciences

Country

Belgium

City

Hasselt

Postal Code

3550

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

Website

http://www.uhasselt.be/cmk

STATUS: EXPIRED