Hydrogen Storage in Liquid Organic Carriers for a Hydrogen Economy

The Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Bath is inviting applications for the following fully-funded PhD project.

This advert will close when a suitable candidate is identified. Early application is therefore encouraged.

Project Background

We are seeking an enthusiastic PhD candidate to develop new technologies for hydrogen storage – a critical challenge that is holding back the adoption of a green hydrogen economy. You will work at the interface of Catalytic Chemistry and Reaction Engineering within a globally important research hub for hydrogen (the UK-HyRES Hub for Research Challenges in Hydrogen and Alternative Liquid Fuels https://www.ukhyres.ac.uk/about/) and in partnership with Johnson Matthey.

The adoption of hydrogen as a renewable energy carrier is a key strategic goal of the UK’s transition to a low carbon transport system. However, the challenge of H2 storage is a barrier to adoption on a large scale. Catalytic hydrogenation/dehydrogenation could allow H2 to be reversibly stored/stripped from organic molecules which act as liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). These have the potential to solve the hydrogen storage problem in the short term and to deliver hydrogen on demand through catalytic dehydrogenation reactions; however, a greater understanding of the catalysts required to break C-H/O-H bonds and the design of on-board hydrogen delivery reaction systems is needed.

This project will seek to develop new understanding of catalysts used for efficient hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of a range of potential liquid organic hydrogen carriers. A more detailed understanding of the catalytic materials (nanoparticle size, morphology and composition) and kinetics and reaction pathways will lead to significant reduction in precious metal content compared to the current catalyst solutions.

You will develop concepts for LOHC storage and delivery systems for applications such as hydrogen fuelled vehicles and use engineering modelling techniques to evaluate the concept performance. This is expected to lead to the identification of commercial scale applications of this technology. LOHCs are extremely promising for applications such as the automotive sector, but there is a lack of evidence that demonstrates their effectiveness and this is holding back transition to larger scale deployment. This project is intended to produce the evidence that will help us transition to a greener future.

The studentship is part of the UK HyRES Hub and you will join a wider community of researchers and industrialists dedicated to realising a low carbon hydrogen economy. Association with the hub brings opportunities for sharing of knowledge, networking and support that will enrich the student experience. You will have access to industrial expertise, networking opportunities and access to specialist characterisation facilities at Johnson Matthey.

You can expect to develop a range of new skills and experience including nano-particle catalyst synthesis by various methods, catalytic testing in high pressure systems and chromatography techniques to develop kinetic and mechanistic studies. You will have access to advanced catalyst characterisation by SEM/TEM, XRD and solid-state spectroscopic techniques (UV-Vis/IR). You will learn catalyst, reaction and systems engineering techniques and gain an appreciation of green technology at a process systems level.

Candidate Requirements

Applicants should hold, or expect to receive, a First Class or high Upper Second Class Honours degree (or the equivalent). A master’s level qualification would also be advantageous.

Non-UK applicants must meet our English language entry requirement.

Enquiries and Applications

Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Dr Alf Hill – [email protected]

Formal applications should be made via the University of Bath’s online application form for a PhD in Chemical Engineering.

You must select ‘University of Bath LURS’ from the dropdown menu in the ‘Funding your studies’ section of the application form and provide the supervisor’s name and project title in the ‘Your PhD project’ section. Failure to complete these steps will result in a delay to the processing of your application and may cause you to miss the deadline.

More information about applying for a PhD at Bath may be found on our website.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We value a diverse research environment and aim to be an inclusive university, where difference is celebrated and respected. We welcome and encourage applications from under-represented groups.

If you have circumstances that you feel we should be aware of that have affected your educational attainment, then please feel free to tell us about it in your application form. The best way to do this is a short paragraph at the end of your personal statement.

Project keywords: Hydrogen, hydrogen storage, LOHC, net zero, catalysis, nanotechnology, energy, green chemistry, sustainability.