Job Opportunities
Post Doc Positions
Post Doc Positions
Postdoc – Modelling and simulation of atomic, nanostructure, phases transition and surface characteristics of graphitic biomass-derived biocarbon (biochar) produced at high temperature
Expected hire date: 01/09/2026 or 01/10/2026
Entity/Direction/Service: RAPSODEE Center – CNRS Joint Research Unit 5302 (UMR 5302)
The ERC project aims at evaluating the storage capacity of innovative biocarbon composites, a sustainable family of advanced biomass-based carbon materials to store energy in various environments as opposed to most of the current solutions relaying on fossil fuel-based or on non-sustainable materials. This should translate into remarkable CO2 emissions reduction and energy savings. The work will be carried out in an international environment with regular visits to partners laboratories in France, the USA and in India.
Ongoing studies are focused on the selection of biomass feedstocks, their characterisation, their pyrolysis and graphitization to produce biocarbon composites as well as on their thermophysical and thermoelectrical properties and storage performances.
This postdoc project aims at elucidating the fundamental mechanisms governing the thermal transformation of biocarbon into graphitic carbon. Focus will be on the atomic- and nanoscale understanding of thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena during the formation of biomass-derived carbon materials. This includes phase nucleation and growth; dissolution, diffusion and precipitation of species; phase separation; evolution of carbon structural ordering during heat treatment; mechanical properties such as phase stability, degree of interstitial diffusion of atoms, surfaces/sites energy and conductivity.
The candidate is expected to employ and develop advanced simulation techniques, including but not limited to Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations; Molecular Dynamics (MD), including reactive force fields (e.g., ReaxFF); Monte Carlo methods (e.g., kinetic Monte Carlo, thermodynamic sampling). Experience with machine learning in materials science, such as Machine learning interatomic potentials; Data-driven modelling of materials properties; familiarity with multiscale modelling approaches would be much appreciated.
• Application deadline: May 29, 2026
• Required documents: CV, cover letter, and 1 or 2 recommendation letters
• More information and application here: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/431721
PhD POSITIONS
PhD POSITION
PhD – Investigating energy storage performances of graphitic biomass-derived biocarbon (biochar) and multiscale characterization.
Expected hire date: 01/09/2026 or 01/10/2026
Entity/Direction/Service: RAPSODEE Center – CNRS Joint Research Unit 5302 (UMR 5302)
This work is part of an ERC (European Research Council) Advanced Grant project. The ERC is a European funding organisation that supports groundbreaking research projects through very competitive grants, as part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.
The ERC project aims at evaluating the storage capacity of innovative biocarbon composites, a sustainable family of advanced biomass-based carbon materials to store energy in various environments, as opposed to most of the current solutions relying on fossil fuel-based or non-sustainable materials. This should translate into remarkable CO2 emissions reduction and energy savings. The work will be carried out in an international environment with regular visits to partners’ laboratories in France and the USA.
Current studies are focused on the selection of biomass feedstocks, their characterisation, and on pyrolysis and graphitization to produce biocarbon composites. As part of this ERC work and in parallel with other ongoing studies in our research group, this PhD work will be dedicated to the understanding and the implementation of energy storage in various conditions (technology, temperature, atmosphere…). The composite’s optimal geometric dimensions and shape, the storage cycle, the energy balance, the mechanical resistance, the corrosion kinetics, and thermodynamics will be investigated.
The PhD work will focus on biocarbon multi-scale (micro, nano, and atomic) chemical, mechanical, and structural transformations during the storage cycle. It is expected to probe the changes in biocarbon nanostructure, aromaticity, crystalline graphitic domains, and investigate how this evolution is impacted by the storage cycle. Raman spectroscopy (RAMAN), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), among other complementary techniques, will be used to this end. The study should investigate the relation between carbon structure, thermomechanical stability, and conductivity of the biocarbon and the impact of these properties on storage performances.
Environmental indicators, namely energy consumption and CO2 emissions, will be determined and compared to those of reference and commercial materials
• Application deadline: May 29, 2026
• Required documents: CV, cover letter, and 1 or 2 recommendation letters
• More information and application here: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/431736
PhD – High temperature kinetic and thermodynamic behaviour of graphitic biomass-based biocarbon (biochar). Application in energy storage.
Expected hire date: 01/09/2026 or 01/10/2026
Entity/Direction/Service: RAPSODEE Center – CNRS Joint Research Unit 5302 (UMR 5302)
This work is part of an ERC (European Research Council) Advanced Grant project. The ERC is a European funding organisation that supports groundbreaking research projects through very competitive grants, as part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.
The ERC project aims at evaluating the storage capacity of innovative biocarbon composites, a sustainable family of advanced biomass-based carbon materials to store energy in various environments, as opposed to most of the current solutions relying on fossil fuel-based or non-sustainable materials. This should translate into remarkable CO2 emissions reduction and energy savings. The work will be carried out in an international environment with regular visits to partners’ laboratories in France, India, and the USA.
Current studies are focused on the selection of biomass feedstocks, their characterisation, and on pyrolysis and graphitization to produce biocarbon composites as well as their use for energy storage in various configurations and environments.
As part of this ERC work and in parallel with other ongoing studies in our research group, this PhD work will be focused on the measurement and calculation of thermodynamic and kinetic data. Insight into the kinetic and thermodynamic behaviour, namely dissolution-precipitation, grain nucleation, growth, and stability of the biocarbon-based composite during their formation, will be determined in constructing a multi-component phase diagram, among other approaches. The data obtained from the experiment will be compared to that from modelling. This approach should enable the optimization of the thermophysical and chemical properties of the biocarbon and fine-tune the experimental and numerical procedures.
• Application deadline: May 29, 2026
• Required documents: CV, cover letter, and 1 or 2 recommendation letters
• More information and application here: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/431735
Internship
There are currently no Internship opportunities available.