Postdoc within development of ammonia synthesis and separation technology

Do you find topics such as green energy, energy transition and carbon-neutral technologies interesting? Are you a freshly graduated PhD student or postdoc who can build setups, enjoys working in a team and would like to help us bring to life an exciting idea?

Do you like to take responsibility and are not afraid of progressing by mistakes? Then you should consider joining us at the P2CHEM group at the Department of Biological & Chemical Engineering (BCE), Aarhus University where we execute several projects related to ammonia, nourish teamwork, and like to learn from errors. Applications are invited for a 2-year postdoc position in the field of ammonia synthesis and separation.  An additional 2-year contract, after the expiry of this one, is possible if all parties involved agree.

Expected start date and duration of employment

This is a 2-year position starting from December 1st 2023 or as soon as possible.

Tasks

The project you will be a part of is granted under EIC Pathfinder Challenge (https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/calls-proposals/eic-pathfinder-challenge-mid-long-term-and-systems-integrated-energy-storage_en), where the objective is to develop a technology that can address both spatial and temporal challenges in renewable energy production. The project aims to deliver a prototype that can store electrical energy as ammonia for a period of one month and that is suitable for decentralized use. The prototype will produce liquid ammonia, separate it in its anhydrous form, and store it physically in a container. The ammonia made by our prototype will also be tested in animal protein production, as a precursor to methionine production.
The tasks of the postdoctoral fellowship include:

• Building & Continuous development of the pressurized setup for continuous assessment of the technology performance.
• Reactor optimization in terms of the composition of the inlet stream as well as full cell electrical potential input.
• Quantification of reaction rates, yields and energy efficiency.
• Synthesis & characterization of catalyst materials (XRD, TGA, BET, SEM-EDX)
• Continuous data collection and visualization, preferably using Python/Matlab or other programming languages that allow for real-time data visualization/analysis.
• Dissemination of results through both academic and non-academic channels.
• Working in a consortium with external partners that will provide specific components.

Qualifications

The applicant should have demonstrated excellence and have a relevant PhD degree in chemical engineering, chemistry or similar. The candidate should be a team worker, preferentially with demonstrated leadership skills (extracurricular activities count). A “no-task-is-to-little for me” attitude, open discussion approach and strong ethics are required for this position. The applicant must have a genuine interest in building and troubleshooting setups. Maybe building setups were not present that much in your PhD/Postdoc project, but you have a driver for designing/engineering apparatuses? Show us some side/home projects you have been doing in your spare time you are proud of.
Specific skills:

• Well acquainted with laboratory & Safety Procedures in a chemical lab and gas handling
• Ready to learn completely new topics little to none covered in the literature.
• Motivated to dive into a new research area to extend your expertise. For example, maybe you have a pure chemical engineering profile, but you are curious to learn electrochemistry, or maybe you are a pure electrochemist who would like to become more of a chemical engineer.
• You tried to make setups and possess knowledge about different fittings and pipping, sensors, data collection from sensors, data noises reduction etc.
• Experience with reactor engineering, reaction kinetics, yields, selectivity and energy efficiency is a bonus.
• Good communication skills & publication experience
• Ability to work in a team – collaboration and/or management skills.
• Ability to work independently and deliver what has been agreed.

About us

Aarhus University, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering (AU-BCE) encompasses more than 200 employees and five educations. The position is embedded in the section for Process & Materials Engineering, where the research focus is almost entirely on development of new sustainable solutions, materials and processes for the green transition. AU-BCE has strong competencies within all these technologies, associated process engineering and covers a large part of the TRL ladder. This includes basic research as well as activities within demonstration and pilot-scale testing of renewable energy technologies. Co-operation with other institutes, companies and universities both in Denmark and internationally is an integrated part of our culture.

What we offer

The department offers:

• a well-developed research infrastructure, laboratories and access to shared equipment
• an exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national, international and industrial collaborators
• a research climate encouraging lively, open and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
• a work environment with close working relationships, networking and social activities
• a workplace characterised by professionalism, equality and a healthy work-life balance.

Place of work

The place of work is Aabogade 40, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments.

Contact information

For further information, please contact: Assoc. Prof.  Emil Drazevic, edrazevic@bce.au.dk, +45 93 50 83 45 and Assoc. Prof. Jacopo Catalano, jcatalano@au.dk, +45 23 35 46 93.

Deadline

Applications must be received no later than September 1, 2023.

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University’s website.

Questions about the position?

Emil Drazevic Associate Professor, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering – Process and Materials Engineeringedrazevic@bce.au.dk

Questions about application and proces?

Nat-Tech Administrative Centre – Nat-Tech HR +4530783166nat-tech.HR.team2@au.dk

APPLY

Deadline: Friday 1 Sep 2023 at 23:59 CEST

Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering – Process and Materials Engineering

Åbogade 408200 Aarhus N

Fixed term full-time position

1 Dec 2023 – 30 Nov 2025