Doctoral student in circular battery materials: LFP from recovered phosphorus

Chalmers University of Technology; Göteborgs kommun; On-site; SEK 339,000 - 458,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee benefits

Dynamic working environment

Job summary

Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg seeks a Doctoral student to investigate converting recycled phosphorus from municipal wastewater into battery-grade LFP. You will work under Daniel Weber in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, collaborating with the hydrometallurgy group on experimental design and analysis.

The four-year program includes hands-on synthesis, characterization, and testing of LFP materials, with potential international collaborations and industrial

Qualifications

• Master's degree (120 or 60 credits) in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Metallurgy or closely related field.
• Strong written and verbal communication in English.
• Hands-on experience from a materials chemistry lab, including inorganic powder synthesis or hydrometallurgical processing.

Responsibilities

• Synthesize LFP cathode materials from waste-derived phosphorus and reagents.
• Purify and characterize phosphorus feedstocks using hydrometallurgical methods and quantify impurities.
• Characterize material structure and morphology using XRD, particle size analysis, electron microscopy and thermal analysis.
• Assemble and test half and full coin cells and relate performance to material properties.
• Collaborate with industry partners and participate in advisory board activities.

Skills

English proficiency

Lab experience

Experimental planning

Collaboration skills

Analytical mindset

Education

Master's degree in Chemistry/Engineering

Tools

XRF/ICP/TOC/CHNS

Powder XRD/Rietveld

MATLAB/Python

Job description

For Questions, Please Contact

Daniel Weber

Can a battery cathode be made from phosphorus recovered from municipal wastewater? Join us at Chalmers University of Technology to investigate how recovered phosphorus can be converted into battery‑grade lithium iron phosphate (LFP), working hands‑on along the entire chain from waste‑derived powder to tested battery cells.

About Us

You will join Daniel Weber’s research group at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, with co‑supervision from Martina Petranikova’s hydrometallurgy group within the same department. You will work alongside doctoral students and postdocs with experience from previous research projects, providing a collaborative environment for developing your experimental skills.

Our research facilities include furnaces with various atmospheres, stirred tank reactors and a spray dryer for precursor synthesis, an Ar glovebox, PXRD (housed at Chalmers Materials Analysis Laboratory), TGA‑DSC, Raman and IR spectroscopy, ICP and XRF, a laser diffraction particle size analyzer, and a battery assembly line with cell testing equipment.

Large‑format pouch cells of the most promising materials will be built and tested in collaboration with a partner university in Germany. Through the project's industrial advisory board and potential research stay, you will have opportunities to engage directly with industrial partners and gain insight into how your research results can be applied in practice.

About The Research Project

The PHOS4CELL project investigates whether phosphorus recovered from municipal wastewater can be converted into battery‑grade lithium iron phosphate (LFP). You will study how impurities in recovered phosphorus affect battery capacity and cycle life, which contaminants can be tolerated and which must be removed. By synthesizing, characterizing and testing LFP from different phosphorus sources, you will explore how recycled materials can contribute to a more sustainable battery value chain.

The four‑year project is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency within the program Sustainable battery value chain (Hållbar batterivärdekedja). It brings together researchers from Chalmers, Polestar and industrial partners across the LFP value chain. The project may also include a research stay at a European LFP cathode producer.

Who We Are Looking For

• To qualify as a Doctoral student, you must have a Master's degree (masterexamen) of 120 credits or a Master's degree (magisterexamen) of 60 credits* in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Metallurgy or a closely related field.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Documented hands‑on experience from a materials chemistry laboratory, including inorganic powder synthesis, and/or hydrometallurgical processing of materials.
• Ability to independently plan and conduct laboratory experiments, identify and resolve experimental problems, and maintain accurate and systematic documentation of results.
• Good communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to work with researchers and engineers from different disciplines and industrial partners.
• A curious and analytical approach to experimental research, with a willingness to investigate and understand unexpected results.

The Following Experience Will Strengthen Your Application

• Solid‑state or wet‑chemical synthesis of inorganic functional materials, particularly phosphates, iron compounds or battery cathode materials.
• Experience with reduction of Fe(III) under hydrogen or carbothermal conditions.
• Powder X‑ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement (e.g. TOPAS, GSAS‑II or FullProf), including quantitative phase analysis.
• Experience controlling particle size and morphology through precipitation, milling, spray drying or similar methods.
• Proficiency in Swedish, as the project involves regular interaction with Swedish industrial partners.
• Experience working with or for industry, or in research projects involving industrial partners.
• Familiarity with Matlab, Python or similar programming languages for data analysis and visualization, and with statistical or data‑driven experimental design.

What You Will Do

• Synthesize LFP cathode materials from waste‑derived phosphorus and commercial reference reagents, incl. calcination, milling, reduction under hydrogen or carbothermal conditions, and carbon coating.
• Purify and characterize secondary phosphorus feedstocks and intermediates using hydrometallurgical methods, in collaboration with the Petranikova group, and quantify impurities using techniques such as XRF, ICP, TOC and CHNS analysis.
• Characterize material structure, composition and morphology using powder X‑ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement, particle size analysis, electron microscopy and thermal analysis.
• Investigate particle engineering through precipitation and spray drying to achieve particle sizes and tap densities relevant to industrial applications.
• Assemble and test half and full coin cells, and relate their electrochemical performance to material composition, impurity profiles and particle properties.
• Take courses at an advanced level within the relevant graduate school at Chalmers. Read more about our graduate schools.
• Develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing.
• The position generally also includes teaching at Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 percent of working hours.
• Collaborate with industrial partners through advisory board meetings, sample exchanges and discussions of technical specifications, with the possibility of an industrial research stay.
• Publish research results in peer‑reviewed journals, present findings at national and international conferences, and contribute to the supervision of bachelor's and master's students.

Contract terms

• The Doctoral student positions are fully funded from start.
• The position is a fixed‑term appointment of four years, with the possibility to teach up to 20%, which extends the position up to five years.
• A starting salary of 35,725 SEK per month (valid from May 1, 2026).
• Doctoral studies require physical presence throughout the entire study period. A valid residence permit must be presented by the study start date; otherwise the admission may be withdrawn.

What We Offer

• As a Doctoral student at Chalmers, you are an employee and enjoy all employee benefits. Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.
• A dynamic and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg.
• Read more about Sweden's generous parental leave, subsidized day care, free schools, healthcare etc. at Move To Gothenburg.

Chalmers is dedicated to improving gender balance and actively works with equality projects, such as the GENIE Initiative for gender equality and excellence.

If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses to help you settle in.

Find more general information about doctoral studies at Chalmers here.

For Questions, Please Contact

Daniel Weber

Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

[e-mail]

Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international level. The university has 3100 employees and 10,000 students, and offers education in engineering, science, shipping and architecture.With scientific excellence as a basis, Chalmers promotes knowledge and technical solutions for a sustainable world. Through global commitment and entrepreneurship, we foster an innovative spirit, in close collaboration with wider society.

Chalmers was founded in 1829 and has the same motto today as it did then: Avancez – forward.