Energy Storage: Fully Funded SURES PhD Scholarship in the development of polymer electrolytes f[...]

Swansea University; Swansea; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000

Job description

Organisation/Company: Swansea University

Department: Central Research

Field: Other

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions: PhD Positions

Country: United Kingdom

Application Deadline: 5 May 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/London)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 35

Offer Starting Date: 1 Oct 2025

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

Offer Description

Swansea University is pleased to offer fully-funded Swansea University Research Excellence Scholarships (SURES) for full-time doctoral students to its seventh cohort, commencing in October 2025.

Each SURES scholarship includes tuition fees and a stipend – reviewed annually at the UKRI standard rate and a £1,000 annual training allowance to support immersive training experiences, conference attendance, engagement with industry and international collaborative opportunities.

Each scholarship is offered for a maximum period of three years; SURES students are expected to submit their theses within this timescale.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) power portable electronics, electric vehicles (EVs), and grid storage. The large adoption and production of LIBs pose severe constraints on their resources (mainly Li, Co, and Ni) and, as a result, raise their cost. High-energy, sustainable, and safe alternative energy storage systems are required to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles and support intermittent energy sources. Alternative battery technologies like sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) would replace LIBs in grid storage applications, but their energy density is not significant enough to be considered for EVs. Furthermore, the safety of SIBs is a big concern, similar to LIBs. Battery development with new chemistries is urgently needed, and these could be viable alternatives to LIBs in terms of energy and power density.

Rechargeable fluoride-ion batteries (FIBs) were introduced and pioneered in this direction. However, fluoride-ion conducting liquid and polymer electrolytes are vital to developing high-performing FIBs. Therefore, developing fluoride-ion conducting polymer electrolytes is necessary for FIBs' advancement. With this studentship, we aim to develop novel and advanced polymer electrolytes for FIBs.

If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with a score of at least 6.5 in each individual component) or equivalent that is recognised by Swansea University.

Additional Information

This scholarship includes an annual stipend at the UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26).

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates for PhD must have attained, or must be expected to attain, a first-class UK undergraduate degree (or equivalent international qualification), or an upper second-class UK undergraduate degree and a Distinction in a UK master’s degree (or international equivalent).

• Where applicants have multiple master’s degrees, a distinction must be held in the degree that is most relevant to the intended PhD study.
• If you are currently studying for a master’s level qualification with an expected award date that is later than 01/10/2025, you should hold a minimum of an upper-second-class (2:1) honours degree.
• You should be able to demonstrate a pass with a minimum grade average of at least 70% for your part-one master’s degree modules (the taught aspect of your master’s course rather than a research-focused dissertation) and submit your dissertation by no later than 30/09/2025.

Applicants must be able to begin their course of study in October 2025. As a cohort-based programme, deferral to an alternative enrolment window within the academic year or to another academic year is not permissible.

Selection Process

Please see our website for more information.