Postdoc position in electric vehicle battery modelling

The Department of Chemistry - Ångström conducts research and education in the chemistry field. The department has more than 270 employees and has a turnover of 300 million SEK. At the department's six programs, we conduct very successful research of a high international standard. We have a large number of externally funded research projects, often with international cooperation and we see continued good growth in our subject area. The department has education assignments in engineering programs and master's programs. More information is available on our website. (https://kemi.uu.se/angstrom/?languageId=1).

The Department of Chemistry – Ångström Laboratory has for many years hosted an environment focused on research and development of materials and their applications within the energy storage area: the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre. We develop novel electrode and electrolyte materials, characterize them, evaluate and improve them with respect to battery performance, and study fundamental chemical processes and properties using both experimental and computational techniques. The research is, as such, both fundamental and applied.

Work duties
The project concerns modelling of electric vechiles, both passenger cars and heavy duty vehicles, and the interconnection between battery ageing, pack design and the vehicle system. The load on the electric vechile battery pack and the design of the battery pack will affect its ageing, which in turn depends on cell chemistry, cell placement in the pack, cooling, etc. The project aim is to model battery ageing from realistic user scenarios and pack design, coupled to system level model of the vehicle. The research will be carried out in collaboration with vehicle manufacturers and Linköping University, within the framework of the Swedish Electromobility Centre.

The main duties involved in a post-doctoral position is to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to no more than 20% of working hours. Supervision of master thesis and PhD students may be involved. Collaboration with other universities and industry will be necessary for the project. The research will primarily involve physical modelling of Li-ion batteries through finite element methods and electric-electrochemical modelling of vehicle batteries.

 Requirements
PhD degree in chemistry, physics, materials science or engineering, or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree in these disciplines. The degree needs to be obtained by the time of the decision of employment. Those who have obtained a PhD degree three years prior to the application deadline are primarily considered for the employment. The starting point of the three-year frame period is the application deadline. Due to special circumstances, the degree may have been obtained earlier. The three-year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.

The assessment of applications is based primarily on the applicant's ability to conduct independent research based on scientific skill. Greater importance is attached to the quality of individual scientific work, than to the amount of publications.

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

The applicant shall be well familiar with modelling techniques and software in multiphysics and/or battery modelling (Ansys, Comsol, PyBaMM or similar), or alternatively with electric modelling techniques for batteries. The applicant should be fluent in written and spoken English.

 Desirable qualifications
Experiences in battery technology, especially Li-ion batteries, will be beneficial. Programming skills and experience of working with and analyzing large models and datasets will be useful.

 About the employment
The employment is a temporary position of 2 years according to central collective agreement.  Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 1 January 2025 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

 For further information about the position, please contact: Prof. Daniel Brandell, +46-18-4713709, Daniel.Brandell@kemi.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 31 October 2024, UFV-PA 2024/3251.

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