PhD in Electrocatalyst Development for Electrolyzers

at  Universit du Luxembourg

The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character.
The Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) at the University of Luxembourg contributes multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences and Medicine.
Through its dual mission of teaching and research, the FSTM seeks to generate and disseminate knowledge and train new generations of responsible citizens in order to better understand, explain and advance society and environment we live in.

Electrical energy storage in the form of hydrogen is gaining momentum with the increasing penetration of renewable energy across the globe. One of the many possible ways of generating hydrogen from renewable is by the electrolysis. The research and development of both acidic and alkaline electrolyzers is one of the frontier areas of research today and the performance improvement (reduction in overpotentials at both the electrodes), durability, and reliability of the system is therefore very important. Paul Wurth Chair at the university of Luxembourg is actively engaged in green hydrogen and is immensely interested in the the development of electrolyzers to produce hydrogen for a variety of applications including fuel cells and various chemical and steel industries. The group has also a strong background in membranes science and technology. Currently, the Chair has a PhD position available for highly motivated, self-driven, and interested candidates in the area of electrolysers.

Your role as a PhD researcher includes the following:

• Setting up a state-of-the-art laboratory for the development of electrolyzers
• Development of components of the electrolyzers including catalysts for both anode and the cathode (both the electrodes)
• Conducting electrochemical and physical characterization of the device and its components towards performance improvement and stability
• Development and demonstration of a laboratory-scale electrolyzer
• Conducting performance improvement and durability tests of the electrolyzers etc.
• In addition to publishing papers and filing patents, the candidate is also expected to train Masters’ and undergraduate students