"PhD in Carbon Capture and Conversion in Electrochemical Membrane Reactors"

Join the energy transition at DIFFER! At the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER), we explore cutting-edge solutions for a sustainable future. We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate to join our international team and contribute...

Deadline: 1 Nov ’25. Published on: 18 Sep ’25. Vacancy ID: 3433.

Job Description: The development of integrated CO₂ capture and conversion as a cornerstone of the net-zero transition is driven by ambitious goals and targets set by the European Commission, among others, under the European Green Deal. Achieving these targets is expected to create strong business cases, where carbon is no longer a costly liability but a valuable feedstock for sustainable fuels and chemicals. Based on these ambitions, the market for CO₂ capture and conversion technologies in Europe alone will grow into major opportunity, making it highly attractive for the European manufacturing and chemical industries to invest. However, the technology is not yet fully mature, which creates technical, economic, and scale-up risks during implementation. These uncertainties result in higher-than-expected costs and limit widespread adoption. Breakthrough innovations are therefore needed across the entire value chain—from efficient capture technologies to advanced catalytic processes—to reduce risks and accelerate cost reductions.

HyCARB is a national project in which multiple academic and industrial partners join forces to develop innovative and competitive processes for CO₂ utilization, with a strong focus on producing fuels and materials directly from industrial waste gases and CO₂ using renewable energy and green hydrogen. The aim is to significantly reduce emissions while strengthening the competitive position of the EU chemical sectors in a net-zero world. This PhD position is part of the HyCARB project and will focus on the development and evaluation of advanced catalytic materials and reactor concepts for integrated CO₂ capture and conversion.

About the Group: The work will be carried out in the Catalytic and Electrochemical Processes for Electrochemical Interfaces group at DIFFER, led by Michail (Mihalis) Tsampas. The research work in the group is devoted to electrochemical membrane reactors for solar fuel production and the electrification of the chemical industry. Our work spans the full spectrum from material and component development to the design and operation of laboratory-scale systems, with the overarching goal of developing scalable solutions. We utilize a variety of polymeric and ceramic ion-conducting materials to couple renewable energy-driven processes with applications such as water electrolysis, nitrogen and carbon dioxide fixation.

Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Development and evaluation of gas diffusion electrodes in electrochemical half-cells
• Assembling and characterization of anion exchange membrane electrode assemblies
• Electrochemical characterization of the membrane electrode assemblies
• Physico-structural material characterization (UV-Vis, XRD, XPS, SEM)
• Gas phase analysis of reaction products (GC, QMS, FTIR)
• In situ experiments with IR absorption spectroscopy
• Preparation of scientific papers and conference communications
• Supervision of BSc and MSc students
• Contribution to the scientific and collaborative research environment of involved institutes

Job Requirements: Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related discipline. Practical experience in polymeric membrane fuel cells or electrolysers, electrocatalysis, electrochemistry, or spectroscopy will be regarded as a plus. Strong analytical skills, initiative, and creativity. A genuine curiosity for science and motivation to pursue high-level research. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, international, and multidisciplinary environment with a positive team spirit.

Conditions of Employment: This position is for 1 FTE, will be for a period of 4 years and is graded in pay scale PhD. The position will be based at DIFFER and the working location will be at TU Eindhoven. The gross monthly salary starts with €2968 in the first year and increases to €3801 in the fourth year. The salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.33%.