Postdoc in Prospective Life Cyle Impacts of Circular photovoltaics

Short introduction

Will you develop our next generation environmental impact assessment to make PV circular and more sustainable? Are you an expert in LCA modelling, and you want to make the energy transition more sustainable? You know current end of life approaches don’t capture future impacts? And you have an affinity to work with technology developers, but also an eye for social context? Then come and join Technology, Innovation Society (TIS) group to develop new LCA and MFA based impact assessment method and support regional PV developers to make their products more circular and sustainable!

Job Description

As a postdoc at the Technology, Innovation Society Group at TU/e, you will develop and apply methods to fairly assess the environmental impacts of circular (and integrated) PV applications. The postdoc position is part of the Interreg project PV RESILIENCE. The aim of this project is to develop new technologies for locally produced, and circular solar electricity products while taking into account the needs of user, society and a circular economy.

Life cycle assessment is a widely accepted tool to assess and compare the environmental impacts of products and prospective LCA for emerging technologies is gaining traction at least in the academic world. However, methods are still lacking to suitably assess the environmental profile of circular PV, as current approaches rely on state of the art processes and assumptions or ignore end of life and secondary life cycles in general. Current methods also ignore quality demand of the materials and future alternatives or applications. In this job, you will combine prospective LCA with material flow modelling to develop scenarios and methods that can better guide technology development. These methods will be applied to the innovations developed by partners within the PV RESILIENCE projects. You will work closely together with the technology developers in companies and knowledge institutes the project to support their development process while also publishing in scientific journals on new methodological insights.

The Technology, Innovation, and Society group at Eindhoven University of Technology straddles natural science, social science and humanities disciplines and provides a stimulating and collaborative environment. The TIS group is part of the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences (IE&IS). Research at TIS concerns how humans and societies bring about technological change, and how technological innovations change society. With ~25 tenured staff and a large group of postdocs and PhD candidates, researchers in the TIS group try to bridge the engineering and social sciences in a systems perspective on sustainability transitions. The TIS staff teaches in the BSc program 'Sustainable Innovation', the MSc programs ‘Sustainable Energy Technologies’ and 'Innovation Management’, and in university-wide programs for engineers.

Job Requirements

• Motivated researcher, with a PhD in Environmental Science, Industrial Ecology, or a comparable domain. Well-motivated applications from candidates with a background in solar technology and proven affinity with sustainability and teaching will also be considered.
• Experience with prospective life cycle assessment and/or material flow analysis/dynamics stock flow modelling.
• Basic technical understanding and enjoying working with technology developers.
• Knowledge of or affinity with PV technology and circularity.
• Ability to conduct high quality academic research, reflected in demonstratable outputs.
• A team player who enjoys coaching PhD and Master's students and working in a dynamic, interdisciplinary team.
• A proven ability to manage complex projects to completion on schedule.
• Excellent (written and verbal) proficiency in English, good communication and leadership skills.
• Basic understanding of Dutch (written and oral) is an advantage.

Conditions of Employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• 80%/Full-time employment for 3 years.
• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 10 (min. € 3,546 max. € 5,538).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs on general skills, didactics and topics related to research and valorization.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs. 
• A TU/e Postdoc Association that helps you to build a stronger and broader academic and personal network, and offers tailored support, training and workshops.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility, if applicable) and a compensation for moving expenses.

Information and application

About us

Eindhoven University of Technology is an internationally top-ranking university in the Netherlands that combines scientific curiosity with a hands-on attitude. Our spirit of collaboration translates into an open culture and a top-five position in collaborating with advanced industries. Fundamental knowledge enables us to design solutions for the highly complex problems of today and tomorrow.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager dr Mara Hauck (m.hauck@tue.nl).

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact HR Services (hrservices.ieis@tue.nl).

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application

We invite you to submit a complete application using the apply-button. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of two references.
• A digital copy or access information for your PhD Thesis (or published parts).

We look forward to receiving your application before September 21th. First round interviews will be scheduled Monday 29th of September (online).