Materials Research Associate/Fellow

Investigating Hydrogen Storage For A Renewable Energy System

University of Nottingham - Faculty of Engineering, Division of Energy & Sustainability, Energy Technologies Research Institute

£24,370 - £35,788 per annum, depending on skills and experience (£27,428, minimum salary with relevant PhD). Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance.

Applications are invited for the above post within the Energy and Sustainability Research Division, to investigate the optimisation of a metal hydride based energy store for a renewable energy system being developed for a village in India. This project is part of a UK-India collaboration to help bridge the urban rural divide, involving 3 UK partners and 3 Indian partners. The project aims to install a novel renewable energy system in a village in India. The system will include concentrated PV and an anaerobic digester for the energy generation, plus an energy store will be required to supply power to meet demand at periods when there is little or no solar resource.

The successful candidate will undertake a challenging project investigating the optimum performance of the hydrogen system. A prototype metal hydride store will be made and demonstrated within the UK, integrating the system into an energy microgrid. This will validate the store design but also provide valuable data on the optimum integration of the full scale system that the Indian partners will be delivering. The research will involve a combination of materials development, studying low cost processing routes for producing catalyzed metal hydrides, delivery of a prototype store and integration of the store with an electrolyzer for hydrogen generation and an ICE genset for power generation. The project will also offer the candidate the opportunity to work in India for periods during the project. Duties will also include liaison with partners in the project, preparation and presentation of reports at regular intervals, and the development of academic publications and presentations for the dissemination of results to a wider audience.

Candidates must hold or be about to obtain a PhD, or equivalent, in an appropriate field (for example materials engineering/science, chemical engineering, physical science). They must also have sound expertise relevant to one or more of the following areas: metals processing, hydrogen storage, testing of energy storage materials. Good research methodology, communication skills and the ability to work in a team are essential.

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of three years.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Professor Gavin Walker tel: 0115 951 3752 or email:gavin.walker@nottingham.ac.uk. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.

For more details and/or to apply on-line please access:http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/Jobs/CurrentVacancies/ref/ENG05989. If you are unable to apply on-line please contact the Human Resources Department, tel: 0115 846 6172. Please quote ref. ENG/05989. Closing date: 11 November 2011.

For all our vacancies and more about working at the University of Nottingham see: http://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/.