PhD Candidate in Environmental Sustainability Analysis

About the position

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.  

IndEcol is a well-established interdisciplinary group in the field of environmental sustainability analysis, with scientists contributing to IPCC and IPBES reports, UNEP/SETAC Life-Cycle Initiatives, and publications featured in high-ranked international journals. 

Reducing the carbon intensity of the energy, transport and industrial sector requires innovative solutions and massive climate change mitigation efforts. Hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels (e.g., e-fuels, methanol, ammonia) are expected to play a substantial role in the applications that are more challenging to be electrified, such as some segments of the transport sector (liquid fuels for heavy trucks, long-distance aviation and deep-sea shipping) and of the industry sector (cement production or metallurgy). However, their environmental sustainability implications and dependance on local conditions and settings of the value chain are still little understood, as well as their possible synergies with existing industrial processes and systems. The environmental effects depend on the original source of H2 (and CO2, when synthetic fuels are produced), conversion technology, type of storage or distribution, background socio-economic system, and application of H2. More research is also needed to advance life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies to embed socio-economic dynamics and consolidate indicators to measure contributions of the energy transition towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This PhD project is intended to investigate these aspects and identify positive and negative side-effects of deploying an H2-based economy in Norway, with an identification of the win-win technological solutions from an environmental perspective. The research will be framed around the activities of the new FME HydrogenI, which include collaboration with national and international research groups, public authorities and industries.

Your immediate leader is Prof. Francesco Cherubini. 

Duties of the position

• Life-cycle assessment of H2-based fuels and technologies for climate change mitigation in the transport, energy, and industry sectors
• Data processing, compilation of datasets, and integration of primary data, emission inventories, and impact assessment models
• Publishing in peer-reviewed journals
• Presentation of results at international conferences

Required selection criteria

• You must have a educationally relevant background in environmental sustainability analysis
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master’s level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master’s degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed 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 program .

The appointment is to be made in accordance with  Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant  

Preferred selection criteria

• Previous experience with LCA or other relevant environmental sustainability analysis tools applied to transport, energy or technological systems is an advantage
• Good programming skills in one or several languages (e.g., Python, Matlab)
• Good understanding of fundamentals in mathematics and physics
• Good written and oral English and Norwegian language skills

Personal characteristics

• Strongly motivated to advance our and his own current knowledge on the topic of this position.
• Strong analytical capabilities
• Be a good team player while also being able to work independently
• Open to interact in a multidisciplinary and multi-cultural environment
• Soft skills

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 501 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Industrial Ecology  (https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phindok ) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants , and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not completed the master’s degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master’s thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master’s thesis. If you recently have 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.
• In addition to the cover letter, candidates are required to submit a one-page sketch on how they plan to use their scientific background and research ambitions to address the research challenges of this position.
• Provide two reference letters, and the name and contact details of three referees.
• If you have publications or other relevant research work.

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. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself 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 reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Prof. Francesco Cherubini, telephone: +47 735 98 942, email: francesco.cherubini@ntnu.no , and Dr. Marcos Djun Barbosa Watanabe, email: marcos.d.b.watanabe@ntnu.no . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Mathilde Smith-Nilsen, e-mail: mathilde.smith-nilsen@ntnu.no .

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 01.11.2022

NTNU – knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Energy and Process Engineering

We conduct research and teaching covering the entire energy chain, from resources to the end-user. We look at how energy is produced and used by humans and machines in a sustainable way with regard to health, climate change and the resource base. The Department of Energy and Process Engineering  is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 1st November 2022
Employer NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Gløshaugen