"Research Fellow (Battery Recycling)"

University of Birmingham - School of Metallurgy and Materials

Location:	Birmingham
Salary:	£36,636 to £46,049
Hours:	Full Time
Contract Type:	Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On:	13th February 2026
Closes:	8th March 2026
Job Ref:	106986

Salary: Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Contract Type: Fixed Term contract up to March 2028

Background

The post is a fixed term (2 year) Research Fellow position funded by the ReLiB (Recycling and Reuse of Lithium-ion Batteries) research grant, provided by the Faraday Institution, the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research and skills development. The Faraday Institution vision is to bring together scientists and industry partners on research projects to reduce battery cost, weight, and volume; to improve performance and reliability (The Faraday Institution - Powering Britain’s Battery Revolution).

Role Summary

• Work within the ReLIB projects and contribute to writing bids
• Operate within area of specialism
• Analyse and interpret research findings and results
• Contribute to generating funding
• Contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar
• Materials synthesis and reconditioning of reclaimed materials
• Electrode formulation and coatings
• Manufacturing test cells (pouch format) on pilot plant scale, using materials produced from project partners, and effectively benchmark performance of these recycling routes to determine and evaluate processing characteristics on the material streams.

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Analyse and interpret data
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration

Person Specification

• An undergraduate degree in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science or related subject, and a PhD (or close to completion (post-viva) in an area relevant to materials synthesis and scale-up, recycling or cell manufacture,
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Prior knowledge, experience and achievements in battery materials and their recovery from spent batteries, re-manufacture and processing, electrode manufacture and electrochemical testing protocols for batteries is highly desirable. However, training will be given to the right candidate in these areas
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project

Informal enquiries to Emma Kendrick, email: e.kendrick@bham.ac.uk

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working