PhD in Solid-State Batteries: Synthesising and Processing Electrolytes and Studying Material Interfaces

PhD in Solid-State Batteries: Synthesising and Processing Electrolytes and Studying Material Interfaces

Quick Decision

Strong but verify fit. This is a salaried, fully funded doctoral position linking polymer-based solid-state electrolyte materials with electrode processing and scalable battery manufacturing. It is best aligned with an applicant who can show both a qualifying materials/chemistry/engineering degree and research experience in lithium-ion and/or solid-state electrolyte batteries. The official vacancy was live on 4 November 2026 and gives a 15 December 2026 application deadline. A minimum six-month research exchange at Fraunhofer is part of the role. Before preparing a full application, confirm degree and battery-experience eligibility, the correct residence-permit route, and the exchange’s schedule and cost support. (Official Chalmers vacancy)

The vacancy lists a starting salary of SEK 35,725 per month, effective 1 May 2026. The project data describes it as gross, while the employer page itself does not specify gross versus net. Chalmers’ published SEK 14,360–18,360 monthly budget is a student estimate, not a staff take-home budget. Subtracting those endpoints from the stated salary gives SEK 17,365–21,365 before tax and deductions; that arithmetic is not disposable income. (Official vacancy, Chalmers cost estimate)

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

What Is Unsolved and Why It Matters

The advertised research problem is how to develop polymer-based solid-state electrolyte materials while improving the properties, interfaces and manufacturability of solid-state battery components. The role deliberately connects materials synthesis and polymer science to electrode processing, rather than treating material performance and production as separate problems. That creates a useful doctoral question: which material and processing choices can preserve the desired electrochemical and mechanical properties while remaining workable in battery manufacturing? The vacancy does not identify a specific electrolyte chemistry, cell format or performance target, so those should be clarified rather than assumed. (Official Chalmers vacancy)

Recent adjacent literature reinforces why polymer/electrode interfaces matter. A 2026 minireview coauthored by Jinhua Sun discusses how binder architecture, conductivity, adhesion and mechanical behavior can affect electrode degradation and high-loading lithium-ion electrodes. It is useful context for polymer/material-interface reasoning, but it concerns lithium-ion electrode binders and does not establish that this PhD will use conjugated binders or the same chemistry. (Jin et al., EES Batteries)

Work, Methods, and Potential Outputs

The employer describes four connected elements: synthesize polymer-based solid-state electrolytes; engineer materials and study properties and interfaces; develop advanced electrode-processing strategies; and bridge materials research with practical, scalable manufacturing. The candidate will also spend at least six months on a research exchange at Fraunhofer and collaborate with RISE and Swedish industrial partners. The page does not specify which partner leads each work package or how the exchange is supervised. (Official Chalmers vacancy)

Plausible research angles—interpretations rather than promised deliverables—include relating polymer composition and processing conditions to electrolyte properties, examining how interfaces change during electrode processing, and testing whether material/process choices remain robust beyond small laboratory samples. The exact experimental methods, cell design, comparison plan and milestones are not published. The wider Graphene and Functional Material Lab lists glovebox handling, surface coating, battery assembly, more than 200 battery-test channels and binder/electrode adhesion tests. Those are evidence of local capabilities, not a guarantee that the project will use a particular instrument or have unreserved access. (Chalmers lab equipment)

School, Programme and Field Context

Chalmers University of Technology is in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is both the employer and doctoral-study institution for this position. Doctoral candidates join a subject-oriented graduate school; the Materials Science Graduate School includes Mechanical Engineering and focuses on links between material composition, structure, properties, performance and fabrication. The doctorate is awarded in the subject of the graduate school. (Chalmers location, Materials Science Graduate School, Doctoral studies at Chalmers)

For relevant subject strength, Chalmers reports a 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject result of #57 in Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering. Its institutional ranking page also reports EngiRank #7 in Europe and #3 among Nordic technical universities. These are institutional/subject signals; neither ranking measures the battery project or supervisor. The Batteries@Chalmers environment spans materials, cell concepts, component processing, control, monitoring, safety, ageing, recycling and life-cycle analysis, with more than 100 researchers across departments and links to the national COMPEL initiative. (QS subject result, Chalmers ranking summary, Battery research at Chalmers)

The standard doctoral period is four years, combining individual research, courses and teaching; at least half the time is devoted to research. The position is a full-time Chalmers employment. The vacancy says teaching or other duties may account for up to 20% and can extend the appointment to five years. Applicants should confirm the expected duty allocation for this project and how the individual study plan is arranged. (Doctoral studies at Chalmers, Official Chalmers vacancy)

Supervisor and Lab Assessment

The vacancy places the project in the Division of Materials and Manufacture. The division describes work across material design, processing, advanced manufacturing and characterization, with interdisciplinary and industry collaboration. Chalmers’ official profile identifies Jinhua Sun as an associate professor in Materials and Manufacture and lists battery-related projects. This establishes an adjacent research environment, but the vacancy does not state the formal day-to-day supervision split. (Materials and Manufacture, Jinhua Sun profile)

Three recent publications help assess the research context:

• A 2026 EES Batteries minireview on conjugated-polymer binders links molecular/structural design to conductivity, adhesion and electrode stability. It is relevant to polymer/electrode reasoning, but it is not a solid-electrolyte experiment. (Jin et al.)
• A 2024 review/editorial on sustainable battery manufacturing maps digital production, human-centered manufacturing, circular battery life cycles and resilient value chains. It helps explain the importance of scale-up and process design, but it is broad manufacturing analysis rather than this project’s experimental plan. (Johansson et al.)
• A 2023 Chemical Communications feature article reviews graphene electrode structure and surface-chemistry strategies across batteries and supercapacitors. It indicates materials/interface expertise, while remaining a different material system from the advertised polymer electrolyte. (Sun et al.)

An older 2021 study used operando Raman and imaging ellipsometry to observe sodium-ion intercalation in graphene stacks; a second 2021 paper examined electrophoretic coating for structural lithium-ion batteries. These are foundational processing/characterization precedents, not recent solid-state electrolyte results. (Janus graphene study, Structural battery coating study)

Sweden’s public battery research programme prioritizes new materials and chemistries, resource-efficient manufacturing, reuse/recycling and links between academia and industry. A Swedish Energy Agency-commissioned competence report describes broader value-chain skill needs. This supports field relevance, not a hiring guarantee or a project-specific career outcome. (Sustainable Battery Value Chain, Battery research in Sweden, Competence-needs report)

Funding, Application, and Living Cost

The official page states that the appointment is fully funded from the start, fixed-term for four years, and may extend to five if teaching or other duties are included up to 20%. The starting salary is SEK 35,725/month, valid from 1 May 2026. The project data describes it as gross; the employer page does not state net pay or provide a tax estimate. The salary should therefore not be compared with living costs as if it were take-home income. (Official Chalmers vacancy)

Chalmers’ student-facing monthly budget is SEK 14,360–18,360. It includes student-specific items and is not an employee forecast. The simple gross-minus-budget difference of SEK 17,365–21,365 excludes tax, deductions, housing deposits, relocation, insurance and any extra costs during the Fraunhofer exchange. Use it only as an arithmetic comparison; request a payroll estimate and exchange-cost policy. (Chalmers cost estimate)

International applicants should resolve immigration timing early. Chalmers requires a valid residence permit by the study start date and warns that admission may be withdrawn otherwise. The Swedish Migration Agency describes the doctoral-study permit route and 2026 maintenance rules; because this is salaried doctoral employment, confirm which category and documents apply to the individual case. (Official Chalmers vacancy, Swedish Migration Agency)

Applications must be in English as PDF files and include a CV, personal letter, bachelor’s thesis and, if available, master’s thesis, plus transcripts. The page says references will be requested after interview and incomplete applications or email submissions will not be considered. The official deadline is 15 December 2026. Other recruitment information gives 23:59 Europe/Stockholm, but the employer information available confirms only the date; verify the application portal cutoff. (Official Chalmers vacancy)

Applicant Fit and Preparation

Mandatory: a 120-credit master’s degree or 60-credit magister degree in materials science, chemical engineering, materials mechanics, polymer chemistry, materials chemistry, physics or production engineering; strong written and spoken English; and experience in lithium-ion and/or solid-state electrolyte batteries. For education earned outside Sweden, the advert accepts a four-year bachelor’s degree. The individual equivalence decision remains to be confirmed. (Official Chalmers vacancy)

Preferred: experience with solid-state electrolytes, lithium-ion batteries, electrode processing, battery manufacturing or battery-binder development. These strengthen an application but are not listed as separate mandatory items. (Official Chalmers vacancy)

Suggested preparation: describe the applicant’s specific battery contribution, methods used, electrochemical/material characterization experience and how prior work connects material properties to processability. Chalmers offers a separate battery-processing elective, but the vacancy does not make that course a requirement. (Battery-processing course)

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before Applying

• Ask whether the degree and documented battery experience meet the mandatory conditions.
• Confirm which residence-permit category applies to paid doctoral employment and the latest date by which the permit must be presented.
• Confirm the 15 December 2026 submission cutoff and whether documents need any additional translation or formalization.

At Interview

• Which polymer electrolyte chemistry, cell format, material characterization methods and benchmark comparisons are planned?
• Who provides daily supervision at Chalmers and Fraunhofer, and how will the six-month exchange be scheduled?
• Which listed lab facilities can the project use, and how are travel, housing and insurance during the exchange handled?

Before Accepting

• Obtain the expected teaching/other-duty fraction, employment schedule and salary progression in writing.
• Request an HR estimate of net monthly pay and clarify whether exchange or relocation expenses are covered.
• Confirm the individual study plan, degree subject and any project-specific milestones.

Evidence and Sources

Project, application, school and training

• Chalmers official vacancy
• Chalmers doctoral studies: employment, duration and study structure
• Materials Science Graduate School
• Chalmers location in Gothenburg, Sweden
• Battery processing elective

School, group, facilities and publications

• Materials and Manufacture Division
• Batteries@Chalmers research environment
• Jinhua Sun research profile
• Graphene and Functional Material Lab equipment
• QS 2026 Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing subject result
• Chalmers ranking summary
• 2026 polymer-binder minireview
• 2024 sustainable battery manufacturing review
• 2023 graphene electrode feature article
• 2021 Janus graphene battery study
• 2021 structural-battery electrode-coating study
• Chalmers PFAS-free binder project

Funding, living cost, immigration and field context

• Chalmers cost-of-living estimate
• Swedish Migration Agency doctoral-study permit information
• Swedish Energy Agency: Sustainable Battery Value Chain
• Swedish Energy Agency battery research overview
• Battery-value-chain competence-needs report