PhD Position on Operando characterisation of Solid Oxide and Protonic Ceramic Electrolysis Cells

High-Temperature Solid Oxide Electrolysers (SOEC) and Protonic Ceramic Electrolysers (PCEC) are promising technologies with the potential to reduce the electrical energy consumption by 30% compared to conventional low temperature electrolysers. The elevated operating temperatures, typically above 450°C, also allow for synergies with industrial production processes (e.g. steel, ammonia, etc.) where waste heat or steam is available. However, the high degradation rates during operation, particularly under intermittent loads, remain a barrier for accelerated scale-up and deployment of these technologies. Thus, more than ever, it is vital to get in-operando information of cell behaviour beyond the usual electrochemical performance measurements, to better understand the various degradation modes and propose design and control strategies to mitigate them.

As part of the ~50 Mio€ ‘HyPRO’ project, the largest ever R&D project on green hydrogen in the Netherlands bringing together 58 partners from research and industry, we are looking for a PhD candidate to develop and execute in-operando SOEC and PCEC characterisation studies. The candidate will design and construct a new cell testing setup, building off existing setups in our lab, that will allow single cell testing at high temperatures (450-1000 oC) and pressurized conditions (1-10 bar) while providing optical access, e.g. via a quartz/sapphire window, to the cell. Aside from standard current-voltage and EIS measurements, the setup should facilitate IR imaging and vibrational spectroscopy (e.g. Raman) to monitor in (close to) real-time thermal and compositional variations across the cell, including local anomalies such as hot spots, and cracks. Combined with pre- and post-mortem microstructural (FIB-SEM, XCT) and compositional (EDX, XRD, XPS) characterisation, these operando studies will help correlate operating parameters, i.e. applied current/potential, feed composition and flow rates, and temperature ramp rates and fluctuations, to cell degradation indicators, such as changes in electrode composition, triple phase boundary length, charge conductivity, etc. Powered by this understanding, the candidate will then be responsible for proposing cell design and control strategies (steam and air/power/thermal) to reduce cell degradation, especially under intermittent operation, and verify them over stability tests = 2000 h.

Requirements:

• You have a master’s degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, applied physics, or a related field.
• You have experience and/or a strong interest in electrochemistry, transport phenomena, and reactor design and control.
• You have experience and/or a strong interest in hands-on design and construction of novel experimental test setups.
• You have experience and/or strong interest in electrochemical characterisation techniques (i-V, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, MS, GC) and analytical techniques (IR, Raman, SEM-EDX, XRD).
• 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 4 years;
• Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU);
• A gross monthly salary of € 2.901,-per month;
• 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

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