Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cycle analysis of Materials and Processes for e-fuels

About the position

We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position in cycle analysis of materials and processes for e-fuels available at the Department of Technology System (ITS).

Preferred starting date as soon as possible, and no later than 1st of September 2026.

The fellowship period is three years. A fourth year may be considered with a workload of 25 % which is devoted to career promoting work, usually in the form of teaching, supervision duties, and/or research assistance. This is dependent
upon the qualification of the applicant and the current needs of the department.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo.

Place of work is the Department of Technology Systems at Kjeller, Lillestrøm.

Project description

The Department of Technology Systems is recruiting a Postdoctoral Fellow with specialisation in life cycle assessment. The successful applicant will work with the sustainability component of the interdisciplinary research project “Renewable
energy-driven recycling of CO2 and H2O to consumer products and e-fuels, (CHCYCLE)”. This is one of the Energy and Environment Convergence Environments, established at the University of Oslo. The primary aim of CH-CYCLE is to
understand how to overcome key technological, environmental and political obstacles to renewable energy-driven recycling of CO2 and H2O to consumer products and fuels. The sustainability component of the project aims to explore
the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) of materials and processes employed for CO2/H2 conversion catalysts. Prior knowledge to the specific issue area is no requirement, but experience with life cycle analysis is a prerequisite.
Three issues will get particular attention. First, identify the most appropriate environmental, economic and societal impact categories to include in the assessment. Second, develop the three models of Environmental (E-LCA), Life
Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social Life cycle (S-LCA) individually, and integrate them into an LCSA framework. Third, evaluate consistencies towards EU and national policies. In addition, the Postdoctoral Fellow is expected to contribute to crossdisciplinary publications.

The project is co-organized between Unni Olsbye, Department of Chemistry, Sabrina Sartory, Department of Technology and Elin Lerum Boasson, Department of Political Science. 

The candidate will be member of the group Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Energy at ITS, which conducts research in several national and EU pro-jects (e.g. HYDROGENi, HySchool, FAIR, SOLAR, AtLAST) addressing key challenges related to, among other, the synthesis and characterization of materials for hydrogen-based stationary applications. The fellow will also collaborate with the Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research (NORSUS).

The research fellow will conduct research on topics such as:

• Develop an environmental-LCA (E-LCA) model on collected data and knowledge available for materials and processes
• Perform S-LCA implemented by specific data collected for materials and processes identified in the project
• LCC (Life cycle costing) will focus on the costs linked to the materials and processes
• Identify the potential environmental, economic and societal impacts of materials and processes in the framework of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment
• Identify risks and benefits within the project and in the Norwegian and European contexts

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

What skills are important in this role?

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Required qualifications:

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in natural science disciplines, engineering in relevant fields or industrial ecology, with a strong emphasis on life cycle analysis. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defence are eligible for appointment
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
• Experience with lifecycle analysis
• Experience with softwares for life cycles analysis, like SimaPro, and with databases as Ecoinvent and Social Hotspot Database

Desired qualifications:

• Experience with Social LCA and LCC will be an advantage
• Good interpersonal and communication skills and show high level of motivation to work as part of an international and multidisciplinary environment
• Candidates with a demonstrated record of high technical achievement and the ability to conduct creative, independent research will be given preference

All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.

What are we looking for in you?

Personal skills:

• High interest in the topic and motivation to conduct impactful research.
• Critical thinking, attitude for teamwork and knowledge sharing, capacity to work independently
• Creativeness and proactiveness
• Ability to write in a structured, clear and concise manner
• Ability to take initiative and come up with new ideas to solve theoretical and practical problems
• Good personal communication skills
• Willingness to travel abroad for short periods of research to collaborative partners

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal skills.

We can offer you

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development
• Committed colleagues in a good working environment
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.  
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities
• Postdoctoral development programmes.
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes
• Salary in position as Postdoctoral Fellow, position code 1352 in salary range NOK 595 000 - 690 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund

We need different perspectives in our work

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues, could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports. More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here. 

We hope you will apply for the position with us.

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records
• A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

If an applicant has applied for and been granted funding for a fulltime research stay abroad while being employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the employment will be prolonged with the equivalent time as the research stay, but for no longer than of twelve months ( thus extending the employment to a maximum of four years).

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o.