Empa

PhD student to address material-energy feedbacks in transition modelling

St. Gallen, Zwitserland

Unspecified

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Materials science and technology are our passion. With our cutting-edge research, Empa's around 1,100 employees make essential contributions to the well-being of society for a future worth living. Empa is a research institution of the ETH Domain.

Stabilizing the climate requires an urgent transition to renewable energy systems, inducing a large increase in material demand. Additionally, the ongoing digitalization of our societies competes for similar materials, increasing the pressure on global supply chains. The availability and accessibility of secondary raw materials, as well as the implementation of circular strategies such as reuse or refurbishment, can help to reduce supply bottlenecks and thus accelerate the transition.

In this context, our Technology and Society Laboratory (TSL) is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to develop a method explicitly considering material-energy feedback loops in transition scenarios. TSL is dedicated to creating and transferring knowledge supporting the transformation to a sustainable society within planetary boundaries by analyzing and evaluating novel materials and technologies from a circularity, life cycle impacts and safety perspective and by providing guidance for designing more sustainable materials, technologies and systems

PhD student to address material-energy feedbacks in transition modelling

Your tasks

Develop a dynamic model of the feedback between energy and material systems with a particular focus on secondary raw material supply and circular strategies, such as reuse or refurbishment
Develop and model possible future secondary raw material supply strategies for the green and digital transition, such as increased secondary raw material supply, better sorting abilities, material efficiency or refurbishment options
Analyze life cycle impacts of prospective recycling routes
Test system-wide effects of these strategies in the dynamic model
Contribute to the implementation of circular strategies as part of a European project

Your profile

MSc in environmental engineering, industrial ecology or similar
Experience in modelling and evaluating energy and material flows of society, for example with material flow analysis or life cycle assessment
Familiarity with model building, data science and programming or willingness to learn
Excellent communication and collaboration skills

Our offer
We offer a stimulating academic environment in a laboratory with nearly 50 scientists dedicated to sustainability transformations. The ideal starting date is 1 November 2024 with a planned duration of 4 years. The working place will be St. Gallen and the PhD candidate will be enrolled at Leiden University (NL), Dr. José Mogollón.

We live a culture of inclusion and respect. We welcome all people who are interested in innovative, sustainable and meaningful activities - that's what counts.

We look forward to receiving your complete online application including a letter of motivation, CV, certificates, diplomas and contact details of two reference persons. Please submit these exclusively via our job portal. Applications by e-mail and by post will not be considered.