Research Fellow; Battery Recycling - School of Metallurgy and Materials Grade 7

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: 8th March 2026

The post is a fixed term (2 year) Research Fellow position funded by the ReLiB (Recycling and Reuse of Lithium-ion Batteries) research grant, 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 is to understand the conditions required to ensure the sustainable management of lithium-ion batteries at 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 postholder will 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 remanufacturing cells (pouch format) on pilot plant scale, using materials produced from project partners, and effectively benchmarking the 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 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.

• Work within the ReLIB 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 and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar
• Materials synthesis and reconditioning of reclaimed materials
• Electrode formulation and coatings
• Manufacturing test cells (pouch format) on pilot plant scale, using materials produced from project partners, and effectively benchmark performance of these recycling routes to determine and evaluate processing characteristics on the material streams.
• 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.

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• 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…