About

• Position Details
• School of Metallurgy and Materials
• Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
• Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822
• Grade: 7
• Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to March 2028
• Closing date: 24th March 2026
• Background
• The post is a fixed term Research Fellow position funded by the research grant “Recycling and Reuse of EV batteries (ReLiB)” that is provided by the Faraday Institution, the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research and skills development. The Faraday Institution vision is to bring together scientists and industry partners on research projects to reduce battery cost, weight, and volume; to improve performance and reliability (The Faraday Institution - Powering Britain’s Battery Revolution).
• The overall aim of the ReLiB project (ReLiB – Sustainable Management of Lithium-ion Batteries) is to understand the conditions required to ensure the sustainable management of lithium-ion batteries when they reach the end of their useful life in electric vehicles. This will enhance the overall efficiency of the supply chain and ensure that the UK has the facilities required for safe, economic and environmentally sound management of the materials contained in lithium-ion batteries.
• Researchers at the University of Birmingham will be investigating separation technology efficiency, and characterisation of separated lithium ion battery fractions, in addition to closing the loop of these material streams through manufacturing efforts and electrochemical testing.
• To help us achieve our ambitious goal we are looking to recruit a post-doctoral staff member within the Metallurgy and Materials department. The post holder will be investigating relevant safe shredding and sorting techniques, as well as support black mass valorisation efforts and contribute to re-manufacturing recycled Li-ion battery streams produced from the project, on a reel-to-reel scale.
• The successful candidate will be responsible for: safely shredding cells using a bespoke instrumented, stabilised shredder; recording data for LCA including mass and energy balances, energy and resource consumption and emissions; characterising cells and recyclates; separating and purifying recyclates including black mass to improve value and recyclability. The goal is to strive for direct recycling streams targeting materials suitable for relithiation and direct recycling, and effectively benchmark performance of these recycling routes to determine and evaluate processing characteristics on the material streams.
• A truly interdisciplinary project within the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, this post will work closely with other researchers in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy and Materials as well as collaborators at other universities, central facilities such as Diamond Light Source and in industry.
• As part of this role the post holder will work within the Energy Materials Group and contribute to writing future bids; operating within area of specialism. They will analyse and interpret research findings and results; contribute to generating funding; and contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and public understanding of the discipline.
• Role Summary
• Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids
• Operate within area of specialism
• Analyse and interpret research findings and results
• Contribute to generating funding
• Contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team with other battery recycling project researchers within the University of Birmingham and at other partners.
• Main Duties
• Operating a bespoke instrumented shredder for safe cell shredding, to provide collaborators with material, and develop an understanding of the relationship between shredding conditions, safety, and recyclability
• Characterising, separating, and purifying, cells, cell components, and black mass, to improve value and recyclability, aiming for a primary goal of achieving direct recycling, and a secondary goal of black mass valorisation
• Recording data for life cycle analysis (mass/energy balances, resource use, emissions)
• Benchmarking recycling routes for LCA and TEA
• Collaborating with academic and industrial partners to achieve the objectives of the project
• Supporting the day-to-day running of the ReLIB project including contributing to an inclusive working culture
• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Analyse and interpret data
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Person Specification
• Hold a Batchelor degree in a science or engineering discipline relevant to this role
• Hold, or be close to the completion of, a PhD in an area relevant to Li-ion batteries and/or their recycling, such as Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Physics, Mineral processing, etc
• Prior knowledge, experience and achievements in: physical processing of wastes, battery safety, destructive battery testing, sensor interfacing & data acquisition, and materials characterisation through SEM, XRD, XRF, ICP-OES are highly desirable, however training will be given to the right candidate in these areas
• Demonstrably high level of: analytical capability; ability to communicate complex information clearly to a diverse audience; work in an interdisciplinary team; ability to co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• High level analytical capability
• Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.
• Informal enquiries to Rob Sommerville, email: r.sommerville@bham.ac.uk
• Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.
• We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.