Internal Research Fellow (PostDoc) in Battery Energy Storage

Job Expired

Noordwijk, Netherlands

Full Time

21 days ago

Job description

Internal Research Fellowship Opportunity in the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. For this purpose, we welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

The Internal Research Fellow will be based in the Energy Storage Section, Power Systems, EMC and Space Environment Division, Electrical Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.

This post is classified F2 on the Coordinated Organisations’ salary scale.

Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Our team and mission

The Energy Storage Section provides functional support to ESA projects and carries out technological research and development (R&D) in the field of energy storage for space applications, typically primary and secondary batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors and nuclear power systems.

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: https://www.esa.int/

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

As a Research Fellow, you will spearhead the development of advanced techniques for assessing the health and performance of batteries for space applications. Using your expertise in high-precision coulometry (HPC), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and other relevant methodologies, you will contribute to battery diagnostics in different phases of the cell and battery development, from technology definition to end of life in orbit.

In particular, your research activities will be to:

perform a literature survey and market analysis of the terrestrial applications of battery performance and health assessment techniques;
forecast and validate new cell technologies, batches and models for future missions. As long-term testing for new cells is time-consuming and costly, novel approaches are required to obtain robust and reliable degradation assessments within months, not years. For this purpose, high-precision coulometry will be used in combination with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to assess early-life degradation and provide a qualitative estimate of capacity fade forecasts of very long-term cycling (10-15 year missions);
analyse in-orbit performances and assess ageing with respect to performance predictions using existing correlated models;
provide qualitative assessments on in-orbit mission extensions or terminations, including the passivation phase;
lead research on passivation for the appropriate management of the battery pack at end of mission to prevent the risk of satellites breaking up due to the stored energy in the power subsystem, in line with the new space debris mitigation requirements. For this purpose, the newly acquired abuse test chamber facility in the ESA Space Power Laboratory at ESTEC will be used for the real-life application of novel methods and protocols;
devise, set up, perform and assess commercial cell disassembly for post-mortem investigations, and reassemble the harvested electrode materials into half coin cells to obtain electromotive force curves that, when used in combination with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, will result in data exploitable by multiscale models. Any other means of improving these models would also be desirable;
support cell qualification of payloads during the destructive physical analysis (DPA) of cells/batteries phase and analyse the related results.

Technical competencies

Knowledge relevant to the field of research

Research/publication record

Ability to conduct research autonomously

Breadth of exposure coming from past and/or current research/activities

Ability to gather and share relevant information

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

Education

You should have recently completed or be close to completing a PhD in chemical engineering, chemistry or material sciences with a focus on lithium-ion batteries, batteries or related technologies.
Preference will be given to applications submitted by candidates who have received their PhD within the past five years.

Additional requirements

You should also have:

experience in the space sector or battery industry
familiarity with battery cycling hardware and software, as well as in subsequent data analysis and interpretations
experience with data analysis and simulation tools such as Python and MATLAB
experience in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
experience in setting up high-precision coulometry tests
experience in the disassembly/reassembly of cells
experience in any spectroscopy (such as XRD, XPS) techniques
experience in any imaging (such as optical microscopy or X-ray computed spectroscopy) techniques
general interest in space and space research

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

Other information

For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.

For further information on the Internal Research Fellowship Programme please visit: Internal Research Fellowship

The Agency may require applicants to undergo selection tests.

In addition to your CV and your motivation letter, please add your proposal of no more than 5 pages outlining your proposed research in the "additional documents" field of the "application information" section.

At the Agency we value diversity and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us at contact.human.resources@esa.int.

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Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus as European Cooperating States (ECS).

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to candidates from under-represented Member States*.

In accordance with the European Space Agency’s security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.