PhD position in Thermal control and fault prognosis for Li-ion batteries

This PhD position gives a unique possibility to reach specialist competence in Automatic Control as well as in battery research, two fields with very strong job markets also in the foreseeable future. The project involves both theoretical in-depth work as well as application oriented and experimental work, with collaboration with specialists at the involved companies. Perhaps most important, though, is that the project may lead to enormous reductions of transport emissions and savings of natural resources. As a PhD student you will be academically and pedagogically trained to teach and enter a strong international research environment and network.

Information about the position
The position is with the Automatic Control group in the division of Systems and Control. Aiming for sustainable solutions, the group is involved in many research projects on energy savings using automatic control methods. In general the projects are carried out in collaboration with other research groups, institutes and industry.

The interest and use of battery based electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, are steadily increasing and they are gradually replacing the traditional combustion engine based vehicles due to environmental concern and legislation. However, the power batteries are plagued by potential risks of thermal runaway, which is often associated with fire and even explosion. The traffic accidents induced by thermal runaway have turned out to be catastrophic to the vehicle, passengers, and surrounding life and property. Meanwhile, thermal dynamics heavily impact battery performance and degradation. Accordingly, there is a global urgency to develop battery management technologies that regulate battery temperature for the best performance and long lifetime, and at the same time efficiently deal with any thermal safety issues.

This project aims at achieving the best battery performance and prolonged lifetime by on road monitoring and active manipulation of the actual behaviours inside the battery, by exploring the use of detailed thermal models and vehicle fleet data, and by the optimal design of cooling and preheating systems. The potential output of this project is a wholistic thermal control system to significantly improve the cost benefit of vehicle battery systems.

The project is a collaboration with the companies VOLVO GROUP and SCANIA. The position is for four years of PhD studies extended up to five years to accomodate teaching performed at the department.

Major responsibilities
Your major responsibility is to pursue research in line with the project, publish and present scientific articles and take part in discussions. You will also be expected to participate in teaching activities in the field of Automatic Control.
The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 per cent of working hours.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

Qualifications
MSc degree, preferably in control, signal processing, applied mathematics or power electronics. Fluent in written and spoken English. Previous experience of battery research is a merit.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Our offer to you
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the dynamic city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20210080 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as pdf-files, as below:

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, eg. TOEFL test results.

Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. The files may be compressed (zipped).

Application deadline: 18 March, 2021

For questions, please contact:
A/Prof. Changfu Zou, E2 Department, changfu@chalmers.se, +46 31 772 3392
Prof. Torsten Wik, E2 Department, tw@chalmers.se, +46 31 772 5146

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***