As a Flemish, internationally recognized research center, VITO aims to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. Optimization of industrial processes, a shift to alternative resources, improved functionality, less waste, lower costs and increased efficiencies: these are the challenges industry and society are facing nowadays.

The Electrochemical Excellence Centre at VITO develops electro conversion processes for the electrification of the industry, utilizing green electricity to produce chemical building blocks and e-fuels or to upcycle critical resources. The focus of the team is to invent new pathways and bring these innovations to the market. 

To strengthen our team and accelerate the transition to more sustainable metal value chains, we are looking for a postdoc colleague with experience in (multiphysics) electrochemical engineering modelling, a solid background in chemical engineering, and a compelling interest in electrochemical processes and metal recovery (waste upcycling to functional materials). A strong affinity for industrial R&D is a plus.

For this equal opportunity position:

• You will develop computational models that describe and predict the recovery of metals with electrochemical methods
• You will take responsibility for delivering high-quality and timely results in order to achieve set performance targets, according to the planning of industrially-relevant European projects
• You will analyze and synthesize results from various sources in order to benchmark our processes and products
• You will have an active role in literature survey, keeping up to date with relevant articles and patents in the field
• You prepare reports and presentations for project meetings
• You publish research results in international, peer-reviewed journals in collaboration with other colleagues and you present your research results in relevant conferences
• You will work in an international team and context

• PhD in electrochemical engineering or equivalent with strong modeling component
• Experience with fluid dynamics (or mass transport phenomena in general)
• A good understanding of the fundamentals of (electro)chemical reactions (thermodynamics, kinetics)
• Practical experience in setting up multi-physical models for reactor design

You should:

• have excellent mathematical skills
• be able to identify key process bottlenecks, i.e. to pinpoint the essence of why process work (or don’t yet)
• be independent to troubleshoot and corroborate the correctness of the models developed
• have experience with model based engineering approaches and solvers, e.g. MATLAB or COMSOL
• have a strong affinity with scaling analysis, dimensional analysis and upscaling fundamentals

Contact persons: Jan Vaes (jan.vaes@vito.be) or Xochitl Dominguez (xoch@vito.be)

Offer

• A competitive salary with a range of benefits including allowances, insurances, and a modular vacation package
• A team of nice colleagues, experts in their fields, who will guide, support and interact with you
• Innovation is our asset, so it goes without saying that we offer our employees the opportunity to follow additional training courses and stay up to date in their field of expertise
  
• You will be part of an organization with an international reputation, known for its advanced technological research and scientific consultancy