PhD within Modelling, Optimization and Control of Electrolyzer Systems

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You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

The Department of Chemical Engineering has a vacancy for a PhD Candidate within the field of Process Systems Engineering. The earliest start date for the position will be agreed on with the candidate.

The appointment has a duration of 3 years with the possibility of a further 1 year extension with 25% teaching duties in agreement with the department.

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.  

The Project

This PhD project is part of a large-scale center for environmentally friendly Energy (HYDROGENi https://www.sintef.no/en/projects/2022/fme-hydrogeni  ). While there is a large activity worldwide to research the material and the chemistry of electrolyzer equipment, much less research is done on how to operate large-scale systems of electrolyzers that are integrated in other value chains.

The research activity of this project is to a) develop scalable models that can be used to study optimal operation of large electrolyzer systems in an environment with fluctuating energy availability and hydrogen demand, and b) applying these models to determine simple operation strategies that enable (near) optimal operation of all times, also when the operation condition changes.

Your immediate leader is your supervisor.

• Development and programming of control oriented models for optimal operation of large-scale electrolyzer systems
• Analysis of optimal operation of electrolyzer systems under dynamically varying conditions
• Development of suitable operation strategies that enable safe and economical operation

• You must have a professionally relevant background in Process Systems Engineering
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program Chemical Engineering (https://www.ntnu.edu/chemeng )
• Experience in the following:
  • Process modelling
  • Process Control
  • Programming (e.g. Matlab, Julia, Python)

• You must have good written and oral English skills

The appointment is to be made in accordance with  Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant  

• Experience with numerical optimization algorithms
• Willingness to take take part in teaching activities of the department

(Skriv inn 3-5 personlige egenskaper. Se kompetansebeskrivelser i punkt 1.1.2 i prosessbeskrivelsen )

• High level of personal responsibility and initiative
• Willingness to work independently as well as part of a team
• Systematic and goal-oriented way of working

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 501 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years with the possibility of a further 1 year extension with 25% teaching duties in agreement with the department.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Chemical Engineering (https://www.ntnu.edu/chemeng ) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants , and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English (ta stilling til dette)

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include: 

• Motivation letter (Max 1 A4-page)
• CV and certificates
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation . You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Johannes Jäschke, email [email protected]

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Advisor Nina Sandberg, e-mail: [email protected]

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 07.10.2022

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The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Chemical Engineering 

We take chemistry from laboratory scale to industrial production. This demands a wide range of knowledge, from molecular processes and nanotechnology to building and operation of large processing plants. We educate graduates for some of Norway's most important industries. The Department of Chemical Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.