Postdoc Position on Identification of monitoring parameters to follow degradation of a solid oxide electrolyser

The Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), presented for the first time by the European Commission in March 2023, considers the production of green hydrogen to be a strategic industry. Hydrogen could account for 20% of the EU’s energy mix by 2050, including 20-50% of energy demand in transport and 5-20% in the industry. Water electrolysis is a promising technology to decrease the worldwide strong reliance on fossil fuels and support the development of a climate-neutral economy. Green hydrogen electrochemically generated with renewable power sources (e.g. solar, wind energy, etc.) is a clean and carbon-neutral energy carrier that can be stored, transported and re-transformed using a fuel cell to electricity with water as only by-product.

A large-scale (GWs) deployment of electrolysers is necessary to fulfil the ambitions of the European Green Deal in the context of the Hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe. Europe’s current target is to reach a maximum annual production capacity of 25 GW for electrolysers by 2025. The European Commission suggests that the EU should deploy a cumulative capacity of 100 GW of electrolysers by 2030 (with a target of 40% of total electrolyser deployment being made in Europe). The current European objective is to produce 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.

There are various electrolysis technologies. The three most prominent of which are: alkaline water electrolysis (AEL), proton exchange membrane electrolysis (PEMEL), and solid oxide electrolysis (SOEL). Each selected technology has its unique characteristics and applications, yet the general chemical reaction is the same for all three.

To allow large-scale deployment, several common challenges remain to be tackled:

i) the limited stack durability and lifetime,

ii) the absence of detection and monitoring tools to predict an optimal, easily adjustable operational parameter space to decrease degradation phenomena driven by the operating conditions,

iii) ensuring reliable operation under fluctuating energy input,

iv) requirements to decrease system costs (in particular the total cost of ownership).

In the “DELYCIOUS” project funded by Horizon Europe and the EU Clean H2 Partnership, Air Liquide, Fraunhofer IWES, Horiba France, Dumarey Softronix, ETA Florence, Stargate Hydrogen, Sivonic, and University of Twente will combine forces to meet these challenges by developing Diagnostic tools for ELectrolYsers that are Cost-efficient, Innovative, Open, Universal and Safe. These diagnostic tools will first be validated at the lab-scale for all three technologies, AEL, PEMEL and SOEL followed by a TRL 6 demonstration of the developed electrolyser management system (EMS) with a 460 kW AEL stack.

Your principal task in the project will be the identification of suitable monitoring parameters to follow degradation of a SOEL lab-scale cell. For this, you will combine physics-based performance modelling of the SOEL cell with long-term (>1000 h) performance testing. Here, appropriate test protocols for the long-term performance tests will also need to be defined. Once the degradation parameters are identified, they will be fed to the condition monitoring scheme at the heart of the EMS. Finally, you will perform the validation of the developed EMS for a lab-scale SOEL cell and, in turn, check the validity of the identified SOEL degradation parameters via the combined experimental and modelling approach.

Requirements:

• You have a PhD in chemical engineering, chemistry, applied physics or a related field.
• You have experience in hands-on electrochemical cell testing via electrochemical characterisation (i-V, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, MS, GC) and analytical techniques (SEM-EDX, XRD, DRIFTS, Raman, XAS).
• You have experience in physics-based modelling of electrolysers.
• A track-record in experimental testing and modelling of high temperature SOEL cells is preferred.
• You have experience coding in C++/Python/Julia.
• You are an excellent team player in an enthusiastic group of scientists and engineers working on a common theme.
• You are creative, like to push boundaries, and are highly motivated to address a major challenge for the low carbon energy and materials transition.
• You are fluent in English and able to collaborate intensively with external parties from academia and industry in regular meetings and work visits.

Salary Benefits:

• A full-time position for two years;
• Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU);
• You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from € 4.020,- to € 5.278,- (salary scale 10) based on education and work experience;
• There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme;
• A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis;
• Free access to sports facilities on campus;
• A family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid).

38 - 40 hours per week

Drienerlolaan 5