Postdoctoral Fellow in Metal Hydride Systems Development

Background

The HySA Systems Integration & Technology Validation Competence Centre, HySA Systems, co-hosted by the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry (SAIAMC), and directed by Prof Sivakumar Pasupathi, is one of three National Competence Centres that were initiated by the Department of Science and Technology’s National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies (HFCT) Flagship Project, also known as Hydrogen South Africa or HySA.

HySA Systems, a Systems Integration and Technology Validation Competence Centre on HFCT was established in 2007 at the SAIAMC at the University of the Western Cape. The main objective with HySA Systems is to (i) develop HFC components, systems and prototypes, perform technology validation and system integration of (ii) fuel cell mobile applications, and (iii) metal hydride-based hydrogen storage, compression and refuelling systems, and (iv) develop liquid cooled fuel cell stack for heavy duty mobile applications.  

HySA Systems is an industry, technology and product development-oriented Competence Centre, which has demonstrated on many occasions its ability to develop, build, commission and validate prototype systems. 

Scope of Work

The Postdoctoral Fellow for metal hydride (MH) systems development will be involved in the development, integration and testing of MH systems for hydrogen storage, compression and dispensing, principally in the fuel cell vehicle (FCV) programmes. Initially the scope of the work will focus on the development of the MH-based low-pressure hydrogen storage systems for special FCVs (forklifts), as well as low-pressure systems (dispensing pressure up to 150 bar) for their refuelling. 

Desired skills and experience

• To hold PhD degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related fields (e.g. Thermal Engineering);
• Basic knowledge in hydrogen storage materials (focus on metallic hydrides) and their applications;
• Communication with team members and subcontractors;
• Initiative and high level of motivation in problem solving;
• Experience in specialized software for numerical simulations (e.g. Mathlab and/or Comsol), data acquisition (LabView), and design drawing (e.g. Autocad and/or Solid Works).

Tasks

The specific tasks will include development of metal hydride hydrogen storage systems, hydrogen compressors and hydrogen refuelling stations for utility vehicle applications.

Responsibilities

The postdoctoral fellow will normally be working in a team consisting of Technicians, Engineers, and Scientists. The fellow will work under the leadership of the HySA Systems Key Programme Manager (Dr Mykhaylo Lototskyy). The fellow will work closely with international experts in the field and will also be expected to co-supervise MSc/PhD students at HySA Systems. The successful candidate will be strongly encouraged to (i) publish patents and papers in high impact factor journals and disseminate her/his results at national/international conferences, events, workshops etc and (ii) develop, commission and validate novel state-of-the-art MH-based Products (from concept, drawings, construction and prototyping). 

Workplace

She/he will primarily be based at the world-class and well-equipped HySA Systems R&D Laboratories (located next to the new Life Science Building at UWC). Her/his direct manager will be Dr Mykhaylo Lototskyy.

Contract Period

In return HySA Systems will offer an exceptional internationally competitive salary (tax FREE). A minimum contract period of 1 year is recommended for this position which is available immediately.

How to Apply: Please email your full CV (inc. a list of publications) together with a covering letter (incl. list of achievements, success etc) to Dr M Lototskyy, via the above ‘Apply’ button.

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