Research Fellow in Metal Recovery

Organisation/Company UNIVERSITY OF SURREY Research Field Biological sciences Chemistry Engineering Chemistry Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 23 Sep 2026 - 00:00 (UTC) Country United Kingdom Type of Contract Other Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

The University of Surrey is a global community of ideas and people, dedicated to life-changing education and research.

We are ambitious and have a bold vision of what we want to achieve - shaping ourselves into one of the best universities in the world, which we are achieving through the talents and endeavour of every employee.

Our culture empowers people to achieve this aim and to collectively, and individually, make a real difference.

The role

We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated researcher to join ReLiFE (Recovery of Lithium from end-of-LiFE EV batteries), an EPSRC-funded project developing a new bioelectrochemical technology for the selective recovery of lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to research at the interface of bioelectrochemical systems, electrochemical engineering, resource recovery and sustainable battery recycling.

The project aims to translate a laboratory-validated lithium recovery process into a continuous-flow prototype and demonstrate its performance using real battery waste streams. Based within the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and the School of Biosciences at the University of Surrey, you will lead the experimental programme for the development and testing of the bioelectrochemical lithium recovery system. You will work closely with the academic research team and industrial partners across the battery recycling value chain, providing an opportunity to undertake applied research with a clear pathway towards commercial deployment.

In this role, you will design, build and operate laboratory and continuous-flow bioelectrochemical systems, investigate and optimise key operating parameters affecting lithium recovery, and evaluate process performance and stability using heterogeneous real-world battery waste feed stocks. You will undertake electrochemical and analytical characterisation, quantify lithium recovery and product purity, and contribute to demonstrating the production of high-purity lithium compounds suitable for reuse within the battery value chain.

You will also support prototype scale-up and integration, analyse and interpret experimental datasets, and work with the wider project team to generate the technical data required for techno-economic and life-cycle assessment.

You will contribute to project reports, research publications, conference presentations and engagement with industrial partners, and will play an important role in translating the ReLiFE technology from laboratory research towards an industrially relevant prototype and future commercial deployment.

About you

You will hold, or be close to completing, a PhD in Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Biotechnology, Electrochemistry, or a related discipline.

You should have hands-on experimental experience with bioelectrochemical or electrochemical systems, including the design, operation and troubleshooting of laboratory-scale reactors. Experience in lithium recovery, battery recycling, continuous-flow systems, electrochemical characterisation or analytical techniques would be advantageous.

You should be able to work independently, analyse and interpret experimental data, and communicate effectively within a multidisciplinary academic and industrial team.

The position is fixed term until June 2027.