PhD-position | The role of using biomass in the chemical industry for reaching climate neutrali[...]

Cluster of Excellence Circular Bioengineering

Organisation/Company: Cluster of Excellence Circular Bioengineering

Research Field: Environmental science > Natural resources management, Chemistry, Economics > Applied economics, Environmental science > Ecology

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions: PhD Positions

Country: Austria

Application Deadline: 30 Jun 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Vienna)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Part-time

Hours Per Week: 30

Offer Starting Date: 1 Sep 2025

Funding: Not funded by an EU programme

Research Infrastructure Staff Position: No

Offer Description

Background:

Currently, biomass replaces fossil fuels mainly in the energy sector, but less so in the chemical industry. Alternatives to biomass are available in energy, but biomass may be crucial for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the chemical sector. State-of-the-art modelling approaches for climate neutrality scenarios often do not consider the chemical sector.

Research Objectives:

• Determine the potential of biomass to replace fossil fuels in the chemical industry to reduce greenhouse gases.
• Identify sectors where biomass use is most cost-effective for CO2 emission reductions.
• Estimate the biomass, fossil fuel, and carbon price points at which biomass use becomes economically viable in the chemical sector.
• Assess which Circular Bioengineering products have the highest potential for emission reduction.

Methods:

Expand the energy system model pypsa-eur by including conversion technologies in the chemical industry and demand for various biomass uses, such as materials, energy, food, feed, and chemicals. Integrate this with the model from the second, Post-Doc project to develop comprehensive climate neutrality scenarios for the European Union.