The PhD candidate will spend first part of her/his PhD at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in Ispra (Italy). The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service, which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to EU policy.
The candidate will join the Sustainable Resources Directorate, located at the JRC site in Ispra, Italy. For more information about the JRC, please consult https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en; https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.html#menu1; http://rmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu
The PhD candidate will then be employed for 2 years at KU Leuven (University of Leuven, Belgium), within the research group “sustainability assessments of materials and circular economy” (SAM). The SAM team consists of 20 highly motivate researchers who develop and implement integrated methodologies and new indicators to evaluate and model circular economy and resource efficiency, and to assess the (environmental, social and economic) life cycle impact of materials, products and circular economy business models from a systems perspective in order to strengthen the circular economy. Our research is highly inter- and transdisciplinary and we collaborate intensively with companies, NGO’s and governmental administrations, with a strong science-policy interaction, e.g. coordinating the Flemish policy research centre Circular Economy (https://ce-center.vlaanderen-circulair.be/en ).
The position is promoted by Prof. Karel Van Acker (Faculty of Engineering Science, Department Materials Engineering and Faculty of Economics and Business, Centre for Economics and Corporate Sustainability). The research work will be carried out within the KU Leuven materials engineering department in Leuven. The job will include collaboration and information exchange with researchers from different disciplines, industry and policy makers.
For more information, see: https://www.mtm.kuleuven.be/english/research/semper/sustainability-assessments-of-material-life-cycles; https://www.kuleuven.be/english/kuleuven/index.html
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Project
We are looking for an outstanding PhD candidate to work in the context of a Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Agreement between KU Leuven and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC). This research aims to respond to main research questions, as:
- How to best capture impacts of (critical and biobased) raw materials in Life cycle Assessment (LCA)?
- How to include the environmental dimension (including circularity) into the criticality assessment of raw materials?
- How to assess the environmental, economic impacts and criticality of CRM-embedded value chain of products (including biomaterials)?
The supply of (critical) raw materials is high on the agenda of the EC. It is important to include criticality into sustainability assessments, and to develop a broader view on critical raw materials including their environmental sustainability and the possibilities of (biobased) alternatives. Moreover, the EC launched the EU Bioeconomy strategy , with the purpose, among the others, of reducing the “dependence on non-renewable, unsustainable resources". It is acknowledged a strong interdependency among CRMs and bioeconomy as: some CRMs (as phosphorous) are fundamental for agricultural processes; many CRMs enters in the supply chain for biomaterials production; and overall materials derived from biotechnologies may become possible substitutes for CRMs applications .
Currently criticality of raw materials is assessed considering the risk of value chain disruption vs economic impacts, but it lacks of an assessment of the environmental dimension. This gap is also due to the lack of detailed information concerning life cycle impacts of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), and their role in the value chain of CRM-embedded products. This included on how to consider circularity of CRMs.
Various EU projects (including CE-RISE) have explored issues as related to the availability, comparability and traceability of environmental data about CRM-related value chain, as key challenges in tracing their impacts in CRM-embedded products. This PhD research aims at progressing in such aspect, by:
• Developing value chain-specific Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of critical raw materials and CRM-embedded products
The analysis will focus on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the EU Environmental Footprint (EF) methods. The candidate will conduct a systematic review of information available on CRMs and their relevance and variability in products value chains, in order to construct value chain-specific Life Cycle Inventories (LCI). The analysis will be initially sufficiently broad, in terms of materials and products investigated, and it will be successively tailored to some relevant CRMs and key products containing them (as e.g. related to novel, strategic and renewable technologies, biotechnologies and/or biomaterials production processes). Successively life cycle impacts of products will be assessed (based on the different EF impact categories, and including biodiversity loss), and exploring methodological aspects as: allocation problems and circularity for CRM; application of prospective LCA (to identify key technological development parameters), and; regionalization of the inventories (for more precise impact assessment). The research will explore optimal strategies for collecting specific LCI data and transmitting such information across the value chain and different operators (e.g. via Digital Product Passport).
• Conducting economic and criticality assessments for CRM-embedded products
Using the constructed value-chain specific LCIs, a screening techno-economic analysis (TEA) will be performed to assess the overall economic viability (e.g. via net present value) of the value chain, and to identify hot spots of the value chain for cost reduction. Relevant criticality indicators will be developed for their integration in the environmental impact assessment of CRM-embedded products. Moreover, interdependencies between CRMs and biobased materials and biotechnologies will be explored.
• Integrating environmental, economic and criticality assessment framework for CRM-embedded products
Each of the identified environmental, economic and criticality criteria will be used as a basis to construct an integrated environmental, economic and criticality assessment framework for CRM-embedded products via the use of a multi-criteria decision analysis methodology. This research might also contribute to strengthen the assessment of the impacts related to use of resources and (critical and biobased) materials in LCA and EF.
Profile
- You should have a strong interest in life cycle assessment (LCA) and Environmental Footprint (EF) methods, and in the analysis of material flows in product’s value chain;
- You should have a MSc degree in either Engineering (Engineering Science or Bioscience Engineering), Material Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology or another relevant related field, ideally with proven skills in producing scientific output (publications) and you have obtained your degree with at least cum laude as a grade (or equivalent in other EU degree systems).
- You should have already experience in LCA/EF as applied to material flows (and possibly, to critical raw materials) and/or conducted to specific value chains (such as, for example, EV batteries, renewable energy plants, construction materials or biomaterials);
- You should be comfortable with collecting and combining data and elaborating them via different methods and across varying spatial scales;
- You should have a strong interest in the European Union project and the interface between science and policy development;
- You should be a team player, taking initiative in the research, and having a strong interest and motivation to pursue academic and applied research;
- You should be willing to spend 2 years at JRC in Ispra and 2 years at the KU Leuven;
- You should have good communication and presentation skills and an excellent proficiency in English (as the language for the PhD thesis).
Offer
We offer a 24 months position at JRC and a 24 months position at KU Leuven.
Candidates, prior to the start of the employment contract:
– Shall have the nationality of a Member State of the EU or a country associated to the Research Framework Programmes or being resident in a EU Member State since at least five years and
– be enrolled in a PhD programme with an Higher Education Institution (HEI), in this case the KU Leuven.
Candidates who have been already enrolled in the doctoral study program with the HEI for fewer than 12 months can also be considered eligible.
The candidate will start at JRC in Ispra (Italy), possibly in September 2025 and be employed by a Grantholder contract (Cat. 20, indicative gross annual salary, 40.966,56 €) in accordance with Grantholder rules and the applicable Vademecum (See https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/working-with-us/jobs/temporary-positions/grantholders/contract-and-working-conditions ). Further information can be found at: https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2014-08/jrc_grantholder_rules.pdf
The JRC cultivates a workplace based on respect for other people and the environment. The JRC embraces non-discriminatory practices and equality of opportunity. In case of equal merit, preference will be given to the gender in minority.
The 24 months at KU Leuven will follow right after the 24 months at JRC without interruption and is subject to the working conditions of PhD scholarship holders as stated in:
https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/en/phd/phd-information#working-conditions
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Karel Van Acker, tel.: +32 16 32 12 71, mail: karel.vanacker@kuleuven.be.
Interested applicants should upload the following documents:
- Updated CV, with details of your education and professional experiences;
- Motivation letter;
- Transcript of followed courses + grades
- Names and phone numbers of two referees (potentially to be contacted by the selection panel);
- English language certificate (IELTS or TOEFL) or equivalent ;
- (Optional, as an advantage) A copy of a publication (e.g. a scientific paper, master thesis, a technical or academic report, a paper from an university class);
We will consider applications submitted before 30 April 2025. Interviews will likely take place in the following weeks. The exact date will follow.
The selection will be made in two phases, first by KU Leuven and afterwards by JRC (in agreement with the University).
KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
