University of Birmingham – School of Metallurgy and Materials
Location:
Birmingham
Salary:
£36,636 to £46,049
Hours:
Full Time
Contract Type:
Fixed-Term/Contract
Placed On:
13th February 2026
Closes:
8th March 2026
Salary: Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822
Contract Type: Fixed Term contract up to March 2028
Background
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).
Role Summary
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 (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) 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.
Main Duties
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 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
Person Specification
An undergraduate degree in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science or related subject, and a PhD (or close to completion (post-viva) in an area relevant to materials synthesis and scale-up, recycling or cell manufacture,
High level analytical capability
Ability to communicate complex information clearly
Prior knowledge, experience and achievements in battery materials and their recovery from spent batteries, re-manufacture and processing, electrode manufacture and electrochemical testing protocols for batteries is highly desirable. However, training will be given to the right candidate in these areas
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
