PhD Candidate in Tank and Thermal Insulation Design for Safe and Efficient Liquid Hydrogen Storage

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia.

Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department. You will report to Associate Professor Federico Ustolin.

The supply of energy to European industry, mobility and society must be decarbonized in a timely manner in accordance with the European Green Deal. CO2-free electric power generated from renewable sources, e.g. wind power, solar plants, geothermal energy or tidal power plants, plays a key role in the future energy landscape. Several limitations concerning the storage and long-distance transport of electrical energy can be tackled by chemically converting it in form of hydrogen. Liquefied hydrogen (LH2) is stored close to atmospheric pressure and cryogenic temperature (around -253°C) and allows increasing storage capacity of more than 100% with respect to compressed hydrogen at 70 MPa when the same storage volume is considered. The use of LH2 is particularly attractive when the storage volume is limited, and large amounts of energy are required. However, cryogenic liquefied gas storage at low temperatures is also subject to several operative and safety challenges. Heat inputs lead to vaporization of the LH2 and results in losses through the formation of boil-off gas, that needs to be appropriately managed to avoid tank overpressurization and energy losses. Therefore, an effective thermal insulation is critical for LH2 storage systems.

As PhD Candidate, we want you to support ongoing international research projects on the development of novel thermal insulation concepts for LH2 tanks. You will be collaborating with internationally renowned research institutes and industries. The objective of the proposed PhD research is to improve the safety, energy and cost efficiency of LH2 storage systems, and reduce their construction time by introducing innovative design solutions. Existing technologies may face limitations such as high costs, lengthy construction timelines, and low maintainability and tolerance for failures, making them unsuitable for large-scale applications. You will perform interdisciplinary research by considering different aspects such as materials, process safety, sustainability and circularity, and employ innovative design approaches and modelling techniques such as optimization algorithms. Specifically, your study will involve:

• Thermal Insulation Behaviour: The research will model how thermal insulation behaves within hydrogen systems. The insights will be used to optimize the thermal management of these systems, thereby enhancing their safety and performance.
• Benchmarking of LH2 Tank Systems: The comparison of the thermomechanical performance, safety, circularity, sustainability, and scalability of different types of LH2 insulation concepts and tank systems will be carried out.
• Optimization techniques for design: Advanced optimization algorithms will be employed to model the above-mentioned characteristics of the LH2 tank and its thermal insulation. These algorithms will facilitate predictive analytics, helping to anticipate system failures and associated accidents.

By focusing on these areas, your PhD aims to establish a more robust, scalable, and cost-efficient approach to LH2 storage, thereby addressing the limitations of current technologies. You will have the chance to collect and use first-hand data from industry, and thus liaise with relevant sector companies.

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Participate in the research group RAMS

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

• You must have an academically relevant background within mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, energy engineering or RAMS engineering.
• Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master’s level. Master’s students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master’s degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s Doctoral Programme Engineering
• You must have competence in the topics of thermodynamics and structural analysis for hydrogen systems. This can be proven by the attendance of study courses or other relevant activities, such as a master’s thesis.
• Competence in the topic of risk analysis and safety, both in general and in the specific case of hydrogen systems. This can be proven by the attendance of study courses or other relevant activities, such as a master’s thesis.
• You must have excellent written and oral English language skills

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

If you cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 upon employment, you must complete Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. NTNU will facilitate this.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations for the Universities and Colleges Act (university and colleges regulations) and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

• Foundational competence of optimization algorithms. This can be proven by the attendance of study courses or other relevant activities, such as use of optimization approaches for a master’s thesis project.
• Ability to identify patterns or connections between interdisciplinary domains that are not obviously related, and to identify key or underlying issues in complex modelling cases
• Ability to transfer an idea to others in an understandable and effective way
• Adherence to moral and ethical principles of scientific integrity
• Ability and confidence to self-manage and execute tasks individually
• Manifest drive and determination

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:

• Ability to work independently and in a team
• Excellent communication skills and strong writing capabilities
• Honest and hard working
• Openness to feedback and input from others as well as the ability to collaborate, negotiate and influence others

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• As a public employee, you have favourable benefits as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)

You will be employed as a PhD Candidate at NTNU and will have access to employee benefits and discounts.

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population’s collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality.

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK  536 200,-  per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary.

The employment period is 3 years. If learning Norwegian (level A2 corresponding to at least 15 credits) is to be completed before the end of the employment period, the employment period can be extended by 10 weeks after completed and documented the Norwegian course.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Engineering within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary academic and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control(legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to bein conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates The application must include:

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
• CV
• Copy of Master’s thesis. If you have recently submitted your Master’s thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed Master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Research plan (at least two pages, maximum four)
• Possibly publications or other relevant research work related to hydrogen technologies
• Possibly certificates
• Names and contact information of three relevant referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor’s and Master’s education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU’s social mission).

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Federico Ustolin, e-mail federico.ustolin@ntnu.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant, e-mail: hedda.winnberg@ntnu.no.

Application deadline: 28.02.2025