Postdoctoral Fellow in Power-Environment friendly HVAC Programs for Giga Battery Manufacturing unit job with NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY – NTNU

About the position

The SES group has a broad activity including battery technology as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) in buildings. The postdoctoral position is part of the NORGIBATF knowledge-building project led by SES in collaboration with the Norwegian battery manufacturing industry (FREYR, BEYONDER, NORSIRK, Nordic Mining and Norsk Hydro). Several Norwegian industries are planning large scale (GWh) battery cell factories to produce batteries for export. This could enable new industries to emerge in Norway. The NORGIBATF project aims to support these industries by developing competence into energy-efficient battery cell production and enable a world-leading research environment within industrial battery production in Norway.

We have a vacancy for a two-year postdoctoral position. The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.

Current battery factories are equipped with a dry room where several important steps of the cell assembly are performed. The relative humidity (RH) in dry rooms should be kept extremely low (< 1% RH) to prevent the humidity to alter the long-term battery performance. Keeping such a low RH is an energy-intensive process that represents a large share of the embodied energy in a battery (up to 40%). Therefore, the research aims at improving the energy efficiency of dry rooms.

Two research activities are targeted:

• The main research activity is based on a system analysis where the hygrothermal dynamics of the dry room and the HVAC system will be investigated together. This will be done using detailed dynamic simulations (eg Modelica or IDA-ICE), calibrated on field measurements, that will serve as virtual experiments. These simulations will enable to derive energy-efficiency measures to improve the design and operation of dry rooms.
• The secondary activity will investigate the ventilation air distribution in the dry room using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calibrated on field measurements. The air distribution should be optimized to keep the RH below the threshold at all locations in the dry room for a minimum airflow rate.

The Head of Department is Professor Terese Løvås. The day-to-day position management is by Associate Professors Laurent Georges and Bjørn Austbø. The NORGIBATF project is managed by Professor Odne Burheim, head of the SES group.

Duties of the position

• Develop a virtual dynamic model of a dry room calibrated on a real test case
• Perform field measurements to support the development of the model
• Analysis of the energy-efficiency of dry rooms to optimize their design and operation
• Analysis of the ventilation airflow distribution in dry rooms

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD
• You must have a professionally relevant background in HVAC engineering or dynamic analysis of industry processes (eg from process, cybernetic or control engineering)
• Proficient user of dynamic simulation tools like Modelica, TRNSYS or IDA ICE
• Excellent written and oral English, TOEFL (minimum 95) or IELTS (minimum 6.5)
• The selected candidate is expected to start the position during spring 2022

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant

Preferred selection criteria

Research or professional experience in one or several of the following domains will be appreciated:

• Documented knowledge/experience of desiccant wheel technology
• Documented knowledge/experience with CFD
• Background in data-driven modeling of systems
• Expertise in data pre- and post-processing tools like Python or MATLAB
• Knowledge of building physics
• Experience with field measurements of indoor environment or energy use in buildings or industrial premises
• Knowledge of the Norwegian language will be considered as an advantage
• Documented experience in scientific writing, typically peer-reviewed journal papers.

Personal characteristics

• Confidence in working independently
• Ability and willingness to work in inter- and transdisciplinary teams
• creativity
• critical thinking
• Excellent communication skills

We offer

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 574 700 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 2 years.

The commitment 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 applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include:

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees.
• Academic works – published or unpublished – that you would like to be considered in the assessment
• Research project description (max. 3 pages including references) explained your view and interest on the research work that needs to be performed during the postdoctoral position
• Name and address of three 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. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

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

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.

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.

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Laurent Georges, telephone +47 73592484, email laurent.georges@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR consultant Renate Fjellheim, e-mail: renate.fjellheim@ntnu.no.

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI).

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number IV – 83/22 when applying.

Application deadline: April 30, 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 30th April 2022
employer NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
scope full time
duration fixed terms
Place of service Glosh eyes