KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has grown to become one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. We are Sweden’s largest technical research and learning institution and home to students, researchers and faculty from around the world. Our research and education covers a wide area including natural sciences and all branches of engineering, as well as in architecture, industrial management, urban planning, history and philosophy.
Activities at the School of Industrial Engineering and Management cover the Engineering, Technological and Economic knowledge necessary to be able to develop new products, material and production processes in a sustainable fashion as concerns Technical management, Financial Profitability and the Environment. One precondition for innovation and enterprise is the study and application of basic physical and chemical phenomena as well as the integration of new, often multidisciplinary technologies, methods and tools. Core knowledge areas include Energy Technology, Industrial Design and Innovation, Product and Production Development, Materials Development, Micro and Nano Technology as well as Industrial Economics, Organisation and Management.
The Department of Energy Technology focuses on research and teaching with the goal of contributing to sustainable energy systems. The department has four divisions with research areas with both technical and multidisciplinary character.
Research topics include turbomachinery, aeroelasticity, thermal energy storage, fuel cell technology, combustion of biomass, heat pump technology, heating and ventilation technology, indoor climate, heat transfer, energy and climate studies, market analyses and evaluation of sustainability, modeling of energy systems in buildings and city districts, and modeling of resource flows at national and regional levels.
Research traditions are based in mechanical engineering with links to chemistry, materials science, physics, regional planning, and economics.
The department’s personnel and students come from all over the world and contribute to an extremely international environment.
Job description
Unit of Heat and Power Technology is a part of the Department of Energy. The main research areas are concentrated around themes such as polygeneration and energy storage, biofuels and thermochemical conversion, fuel cells, concentrated solar power, and turbomachinery. The unit currently employs around 50 employees, and has a significant responsibility to the leading large-scale national and EU projects. Within the unit, the group for Concentrated Solar Power, which is relatively new and includes 5 people, has a focus on concentrated solar power and high-temperature storage. The group participates in several EU and national projects and has significant industrial contacts. The research focuses on experimental component development for solar power plants especially effective solar receiver and thermal storage under high temperatures.
In this Ph.D. position, you will belong to the group of concentrated solar power and work within the project Efficient Thermal Storage Systems for Competitive Stirling CSP Plants. The project aims to develop, test and verify the effective thermal storage for Stirling engine-based power production driven by concentrated solar CSP. With an adequate thermal storage, this type of power plants may produce cost-effective solar electricity under $ 100 / MWh, around the clock and thus act as a base load and load balancing source into the grid. In order for Stirling engine-based CSP to be competitive with traditional CSP steam turbine systems with thermal storage, the need of new storage concepts that can store heat over 800 ° C for up to 15 hours and therefore achieving an annual availability of over 80% are required.
You will, together with your team, work in this project to develop such storage concept for Stirling engines while meeting the industrial requirements of life length and product cost. The work includes modeling, design, experimental testing and verification of the thermal store. Necessary components and systems are developed and tested in KTH solar laboratory and are industrialized by the Sterling company Cleanenergy AB.
Qualifications
To qualify for the position, you are required to have a M.Sc. degree within Concentrated Solar Power, Mechanical Engineering or Energy Technology. You should therefore have good knowledge of heat transfer, mechanical design and analysis, thermodynamics and measurement technology. Your knowledge of English, both spoken and written, is fluent. Skills in CAD tools for design and drawings are considered to be beneficial.
To be suitable as a Ph.D. student in this position, it is required that you have a genuine interest to carry out experimental work in applied research and development. You are self-driven and have a good structure in your work. The position also requires you to have good communication, interpersonal and collaboration skills as you will be part of a team.
In addition to traditional academic qualifications, relevant work experience is seen as an advantage.
Trade union representatives
You will find contact information to trade union representatives at KTH:s webpage.
Application
Log into KTH’s recruitment system in order to apply to this position. You are the main responsible to ensure that your application is complete according to the ad.
Your complete application must be received at KTH no later than the last day of application, midnight CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).
Others
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Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.
Type of employment: Temporary position longer than 6 months
Contract type: Full time
First day of employment: According to agreement
Salary: Monthly salary according to KTH´s Ph.D. student salary agreement
Number of positions: 1
Working hours: 100%
City: Stockholm
County: Stockholms län
Country: Sweden
Reference number: M-2017-0207
Contact:
- Björn Laumert, Associate Professor, +46 8 790 74 89
- Maya Salame, HR Officer , +46 8 790 76 53
