PhD Candidate in Hydrometallurgy and Recycling of Batteries - NTNU (Frist 11.12.24)

Arbeidsgiver: NTNU
Stillingstittel: PhD Candidate in Hydrometallurgy and Recycling of Batteries
Frist: 11.12.24
Ansettelsesform: Fulltidsjobb
Sted: Trondheim
Link til annonse: HER

Om stillingen:
 

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

This PhD is a part of the FME Battery - Centre for next generation and improved circular sustainable battery technology value chain. This is a large national centre gathering a wide range of research and industry partners in Norway who are focused on batteries. More information about FME battery can be found at the centre’s website. 

This position will be hosted by the Particle Engineering Centre at the Department of Chemical Engineering. The Department has strategic efforts within sustainable hydrometallurgy and application of chemical engineering to extract and recycle valuable elements from secondary sources including electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The department is a part of the Gemini Centre – HYPROS (Hydrochemical Processing Technology in the Circular Economy) which is a model for strategic interaction between parallel professions at NTNU, SINTEF and the University of Oslo. 

The focus of this PhD position will be on hydrometallurgical recovery of valuable materials including graphite from end-of-life Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) and the “black mass” produced by battery disassembly and shredding at industrial recycling plants. The project aims to understand how pre-treatment of the black mass impacts the hydrometallurgical processing downstream. Processes will be primarily developed for black mass obtained from batteries with nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cathode chemistry including high Ni but may also address other battery chemistries (e.g. lithium iron phosphate, LFP) emerging in recycling feeds. With a major focus in optimizing a chosen hydrometallurgical route, efforts will be concerted on how differently pre-treated black masses will influence recoveries and quality of the final products obtained. An important aspect of the project will be detailed characterization of the black mass, both metals and organic contents, before and after treatment, as well as all resulting process streams and final products. The project will centre on one or more hydrometallurgical unit operations, in which the candidate will be able to specialize during the PhD Project. 

Your immediate leader is Particle Engineering Centre Manager.

Om arbeidsgiveren:
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.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. 

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.