PhD or Postdoc Position Air Cleaning for Fuel Cells in Aviation: Experiments and Modelling

This project is part of a large European consortium lead by Airbus that will develop a fuel cells based system to allow for CO2-emission free aviation.

The aviation sector accounts for 2% of the worldwide energy-related CO2 emissions. To meet the climate goals, aviation need to be decarbonized as well. One of the ways to decarbonize the aviation sector is by using a fuel cell propulsion system based on hydrogen energy. However, fuel cell systems are very sensitive to impurities and applications in aircrafts require contaminant-free air streams to prevent degradation of the fuel cell stack. For the hydrogen inlet stream this is relatively easy to control via the choice of fuel. However, the needed inlet air may, especially on the tarmac of the airport contains several impurities from exhaust gases from other airplanes, which can degrade the fuel cell stack. Therefore, it is very important to develop an efficient, light-weight, and low footprint air cleaning unit to remove such contaminants.

Depending on your expertise you will design and optimise the air filtration unit for the fuel cell system as a PhD candidate or a postdoctoral researcher within the context of this larger European project lead by Airbus. For this, you will perform a detailed modelling study, complimented by selected experiments, to design the filtration process. The filtration process can be modeled with specialized software like Aspen Adsorption or our in-house code Ruptura, while breakthrough and loading experiments can be run in our labs. In the project, we will actively collaborate with other consortium partners of the European project. (it's probably nice to name a few of the main partners like Airbus and Liebherr). The modelling and design part of the project will take place in the Department of Process and Energy (faculty of 3ME, under the guidance of Asst. Prof. Mahinder Ramdin) and the experimental part in the department of Chemical Engineering (faculty of Applied Sciences, under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Monique A. van der Veen).

The succesful candidate has the following qualifications:

• An MSc (for the PhD position) or a PhD (for the Postdoc position) in a relevant subject, such as applied physics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering or a similar field.
• Profound knowledge of chemical engineering fundamentals, including fluid flow, mass and heat transfer, and gas adsorption phenomena.
• Demonstrated expertise in process modeling and/or experiments for gas adsorption processes.
• Good collaboration and communication skills.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements .

For the PhD:

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € € 2.770,00 per month in the first year to € 3.539,00 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements .

For the Postdoc:

TU Delft offers Postdoc-candidates a 2-year contract, with a possibility for extension. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, salary range (based on scale 10) from € 3.226,00 - € 5.090,00 per month gross).

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values  and we actively engage  to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

From chip to ship. From machine to human being. From idea to solution. Driven by a deep-rooted desire to understand our environment and discover its underlying mechanisms, research and education at the 3mE faculty focusses on fundamental understanding, design, production including application and product improvement, materials, processes and (mechanical) systems.

3mE is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. It’s a large faculty but also versatile, so we can often make unique connections by combining different disciplines. This is reflected in 3mE’s outstanding, state-of-the-art education, which trains students to become responsible and socially engaged engineers and scientists. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and to the development of prosperity and well-being. That is what unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education and (inter)national cooperation.

Click here  to go to the website of the Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering. Do you want to experience working at our faculty? These videos  will introduce you to some of our researchers and their work.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Mahinder Ramdin [email protected] or Dr. ir. Monique van der Veen [email protected] .

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before 14 January 2024 via the application button and upload:

• Motivation letter.
• Detailed CV.
• Copies of your BSc and MSc degrees and transcripts.
• For the Postdoc position: copy of your PhD degree and transcript.
• Two names of references.

Notes:

• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.

For more information about the application procedure, please contact Linda Starrenburg [email protected] .