Applications are invited for a temporary post of a Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1 within UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.
Competition: 018264
Green hydrogen and biomethane are expected to play key roles in achieving Ireland’s net-zero carbon target by 2050. According to the Climate Action Plan 2023, Ireland is determined to establish 2 GW green hydrogen and 5.7 TWh biomethane capacity by 2030. Green hydrogen can be produced by using excess renewable energy from wind and solar power generators (9 GW onshore wind, 8 GW solar, and 7 GW offshore wind by 2030). However, several barriers need to be overcome for hydrogen to fully utilize its benefits as it is difficult to store, transport and use. To address these, it can be converted to methane, a gas which is fully compatible with the existing infrastructure, e.g. natural gas grid. Hydrogen-to-biomethane processes employ microorganisms (hydrogenotrophic archaea) to convert H2 and CO2 to CH4. The proposed project seeks novel methods to overcome the bottlenecks of hydrogen-to-biomethane process such as poor gas-liquid mass transfer and low hydrogen bioconversion efficiency. This will be achieved by engineering metal cofactors to increase the rates of enzymatic biological processes and optimizing the method of gas delivery. This will eventually assist the development of an efficient and sustainable hydrogen-to-biomethane system which can play an important role as a transition technology on the road to net-zero emissions and hydrogen future.**
Fixed Salary: €44,847 per annum
Closing date: 12:00 noon (local Irish time) on the 27th of February 2025.
Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time of 12:00 noon (Local Irish Time) on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD are unable to accept late applications.
UCD do not require assistance from Recruitment Agencies. Any CV's submitted by Recruitment Agencies will be returned.
The PD1 position is intended for early stage researchers, either just after completion of a PhD or for someone entering a new area for the first time. If you have already completed your PD1 stage in UCD or will soon complete a PD1, or you are an external applicant whose total Postdoctoral experience, inclusive of the duration of the advertised post, would exceed 4 years, you should not apply and should refer to PD2 posts instead.
Prior to application, further information (including application procedure) should be obtained from the Work at UCD website:
https://www.ucd.ie/workatucd/jobs/
