Researcher or post-doctoral fellow on Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis of Magnetocaloric Cooling Systems W/M

Employeur

The university of Bordeaux is a great dynamic and responsible university that cares about the well-being of its staff. Joining us means working in a privileged environment within a particularly diverse and open professional community, benefiting from welcome and inclusion schemes, training and internal mobility. It means participating in an academic, scientific and human adventure. It means committing to meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

Join the Institute of Molecular Sciences (ISM)!

The Institute of Molecular Sciences was created on 1 January 2007. It comprises 130 permanent staff and nearly 150 doctoral and post-doctoral students divided into 10 research groups, with scientific skills: theoretical chemistry and modeling, organic synthesis, spectroscopy, analytical chemistry, molecular recognition, environmental chemistry.

As part of the RawMaterials program funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), we are recruiting a Researcher or a Post-Doctoral Fellow (W/M) whose work will focus on Life Cycle Analysis and Techno-economic Analysis of magnetocaloric cooling systems.

This position is part of the "Magnetic cooling to optimize refrigeration sustainably" project – SMARTer. The latter aims to develop and scale magnetocaloric cooling systems for commercial applications, offering a refrigerant-free and energy-efficient alternative to traditional gas compression technologies.

The objective is to replace the critical material gadolinium by new durable magnetocaloric materials, combining high performance, better durability and reduction of supply risks.

Votre mission

Your mission will be to develop and apply advanced methodologies for modeling sustainability and costs, in collaboration with leading European partners from the academic and industrial world.

·       Develop an LCA framework in compliance with ISO 14040/14044 standards, defining system boundaries, functional units, and relevant impact categories (e.g., Global Warming Potential – GWP, Acidification Potential – AP, Eutrophication Potential – EP)

·       Integrate and apply a Geopolitical Supply Risk Potential (GSRP) indicator to assess material criticality and supply security, as well as a Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) as a performance parameter

·       Collect and harmonize Life Cycle Inventory data from project partners, scientific literature, and databases (e.g., ecoinvent)

·       Perform full-scale LCAs of magnetocaloric materials and refrigeration systems, including production, use, and end-of-life phases

·       Quantify key environmental metrics such as GWP, CED, Material Circularity, and GSRP

·       Identify opportunities for waste valorization, recycling, and circular economy integration

·       Conduct LCC analyses covering raw materials, processing, manufacturing, operation, and end-of-life stages

·       Compare techno-economic performance with conventional vapor-compression cooling technologies

·       Perform sensitivity analyses and scenario modelling across production scales and business models (e.g., internal vs. outsourced manufacturing)

·       Identify key cost and sustainability drivers and propose optimization strategies to enhance energy efficiency and reduce environmental impacts

·       Contribute to commercialization strategy development in collaboration with consortium partners

·       Contribute to Project management: monitor progress of tasks and deliverables, organize meetings and events with partners, preparation of deliverables, financial monitoring, support of annual reporting and drafting of new project proposals

·       Participate in educational activities, including supervision of PhD and Master students and teaching for students at the University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux INP or professionals

The + of this position:

-        A full-time postdoctoral position within an international and interdisciplinary consortium

-        A collaboration with industrial leaders and research institutions across Europe

-        Access to advanced research infrastructure and professional development opportunities in a stimulating research environment at Université de Bordeaux, a world-class center for sustainability and materials science

Vos atouts / Vos talents

Holder of a PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Process or Environmental Engineering, Industrial Ecology, Chemical Engineering, Sustainability Science, Economics, or a related field, you have  a demonstrated experience with Life Cycle Assessment following ISO 14040/14044.

·       Proficiency with LCA software such as SimaPro, GaBi, OpenLCA or Brightway2

·       Experience or strong interest in techno-economic assessment, LCC, or cost modelling.

·       Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to work independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary context

·       Pleasure to get involved in the development of the research group on life cycle approaches for chemical products and materials with the possibility to contribute to the supervision of students

·       Willingness to contribute to the organization of project meetings and other type of events

·       Strong written and verbal communication skills in English (knowledge of French is an advantage)

 Do you recognize yourself? Apply!

More information:

You will work within the "CyVi" group of the Institute of Molecular Sciences of the University of Bordeaux and will be involved in the Work Package "Life Cycle Assessment and Economic Feasibility", which evaluates the environmental and economic performance of the technology in order to guide its commercialization and ensure its sustainability throughout the value chain.

Based in Talence, Gironde - FRANCE – access by tramway line B (stop « Peixtotto ») buses, bike. The laboratory is near the city-centre of Bordeaux and about 60 Km of the Atlantic coasts.

NB: the position is based in a laboratory in the Restrictive Zone, which requires an investigation prior to hiring, which can take up to 8 weeks.

16-month fixed-term contract

Gross monthly salary: from 2750€ to 4400€ according to the salary grid and experience

What we offer:

A training course adapted to support your job taking-up and your professional development

Up to 50 days of annual leave from the first year (in proportion to the arrival date)

Remote work possible depending on the organization of the service

Participation in complementary social protection and access to social action mechanisms

75% coverage of the public transport subscription in Gironde

Sustainable mobility package for home trips–work

Access to a staff parking

Leisure, sport and culture offers for all staff

Recruitment process: Applications are reviewed as they arrive.

Candidates selected for an interview will be contacted by the Recruitment Officer for a first pre-qualification phone conversation. An interview with the supervisor will then be organised by videoconference.

Interested applicants should send a CV, brief statement of qualifications and basis for interest in the position (2 pages max), a list of your relevant publications, and the email addresses of 2 appropriate references.