PD position on: “Paired Electrolytic Valorization of Biomass-Derived Acids and Sugars”

Are you passionate about electrochemical engineering, paired electrolysis, circular chemistry and biomass valorization?

We offer a challenging PD position in our group on “Paired Electrolytic Valorization of Biomass-Derived Acids and Sugars”.

You will:

• Carry out research in a large, multi-partner research program targeting electrochemical routes for biomass valorization.
• Focus on paired electrolysis, coupling anodic oxidation of carboxylic acids with cathodic reduction of biomass-derived sugars to maximize energy and atom efficiency.
• Develop scalable, industrially relevant electrochemical processes for bio-based chemicals, monomers, and polymer building blocks.

The world needs to accelerate in transitioning toward green, sustainable and circular chemical production methods. This also applies to production of fine chemicals and specialties. Our national research program addresses challenges such current high costs, operational stability, selectivity, scalability, sensitivity to impurities and feed variabilities as well as supply disruptions and market volatilities associated to green chemical processes. We will develop processes and electrification strategies to help industries and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) quickly adapt production processes to changing markets and conditions, while reducing costs and environmental impact.

Your research project at the University of Twente (UT)
aims to:

• Develop, fabricate, and optimise electrode materials and reactor concepts for the electrochemical reduction of pyrolytic sugars (e.g. glucose, fructose).
• Control process selectivity and efficiency by tuning local pH, current density, mass transport, and electrode architecture.
• Perform and analyse paired electrolysis experiments, coupling sugar reduction with water oxidation or carboxylic acid oxidation.
• Contribute to system-level understanding of energy efficiency, and scalability of paired electrochemical processes.

Key Collaborations and Industrial Interface

• BTG Biomass Technology Group: pyrolytic sugar feeds, small-scale electrolysis testing
• Nobian: electrochemical scale-up, process design, industrial engineering
• TNO & Chaincraft: system integration, biomass-to-chemicals value chains

Skills and competences you will develop

• Advanced electrochemical research skills, including reactor development.
• Electrode and process optimisation expertise.
• Experience with biomass-derived, and application-oriented electrochemical conversion.
• Strong exposure to scale-up and industrial research.
• Proven consortium and leadership skills, working in a multidisciplinary, international research environment.

Business Developer Deeptech

Wat ga je doen?

Je werkt in het hart van innovatie. Jouw missie: het scouten van kansrijk onderzoek en dit transformeren naar impactvolle businesscases.

• Scouting & Screening: Je trekt de universiteit in om innovatieve deeptech (zoals fotonica, quantum en nanotechnologie) met marktpotentie te identificeren.
• Begeleiding: Je coacht onderzoekers en uitvinders bij het creëren van maatschappelijke impact en het verkennen van de commerciële route.
• Netwerken: Je vertegenwoordigt het KTO in het nationale Thematische Technology Transfer (TTT) programma Deeptech.
• Samenwerken: Jij bent de spil in een krachtig ecosysteem. Je schakelt moeiteloos tussen collega-business developers, het IP-team, juristen, de holding van de universiteit en Novel-T. Hoewel je autonoom werkt aan je eigen doelstellingen, ben je de drijvende kracht binnen multidisciplinaire teams waar expertise en ondernemerschap samenkomen.
• Marktanalyse: Je creëert een 'pull-effect' door continu op de hoogte te blijven van marktvragen en deze te koppelen aan Twents onderzoek.

Postdoc Position in Integrated HTA for Sustainability & Workforce Challenges

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher with a strong quantitative background to work across two strategically connected research projects, addressing some of the most pressing challenges in contemporary Health Technology Assessment (HTA): labour scarcity in healthcare and sustainable healthcare decision-making.

Project 1: Sustainable Cardiac Care – A Forward-Looking HTA Framework
This project develops an integrated, future-oriented HTA framework to evaluate the sustainability of two clinically equivalent procedures for low-complexity multi-vessel coronary artery disease: coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous coronary intervention.

The project combines Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), Discrete-Event Simulation (DES), and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate clinical, economic, environmental, organizational, and patient-centred outcomes across full patient journeys. Results will inform national decision-making and provide a transferable framework for broader healthcare applications.

Project 2: Better cost estimates for scarce human resources in HTA using the production possibilities frontier
The shortage of qualified personnel already is an issue in Dutch healthcare, and this will only increase in the future. Hence, healthcare innovations need to be evaluated for their impact on use of scarce human resources. In principle, existing methods for cost-effectiveness analysis can do this, but the incorporated costs do not reflect labour scarcity due to labour market failures. In this project, we investigate methods for better estimation of labour costs, reflecting scarcity, by further developing methods from data envelopment analysis. We aim to develop a new method that can be applied in economic evaluations to enhance more efficient use of scarce resources, leading to lower waiting times and/or better care. We will apply the new methodology to two case studies, in mental health and pharmacy care.

Postdoc position in Numerical Analysis

We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated postdoc candidate to join as soon as possible the Mathematics of Computational Science (MACS) group within the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Twente. You will work under the supervision of Dr. Gregor Gantner on a project dedicated to advancing the field of adaptive methods for time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs). The position is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) via the Vidi research project Optimal adaptive spacetime boundary and finite element methods.

The project focuses on the design, numerical analysis, and implementation of novel numerical algorithms to efficiently solve parabolic PDEs such as the heat equation. More precisely, you shall investigate space-time finite element methods (FEM) and space-time boundary element methods (BEM), which both discretize the PDE as a whole, treating time as yet another dimension. In particular, this allows for fully flexible local mesh refinement in the space-time cylinder. You will develop suitable a-posteriori computable estimators for the discretization error to adaptively steer the mesh refinement and mathematically prove that the resulting algorithms converge optimally with respect to the number of mesh elements. You will further implement and thereby validate the theoretical results through numerical experiments.

You will conduct your research in a collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary environment that values both academic excellence and open exchange of ideas. The MACS group offers a stimulating atmosphere with regular discussions, opportunities for collaboration, and access to expertise in numerical analysis, dynamical systems, and high-performance computing. The position includes funding to present your work at leading
conferences and engage in international collaborations.

PhD position in Numerical Analysis

We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated PhD candidate to join as soon as possible the Mathematics of Computational Science (MACS) group within the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Twente. You will work under the supervision of Dr. Gregor Gantner on a project dedicated to advancing the field of adaptive methods for time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs). The position is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) via the Vidi research project Optimal adaptive space-time boundary and finite element methods.

The project focuses on the design, numerical analysis, and implementation of novel numerical algorithms to efficiently solve parabolic PDEs such as the heat equation. More precisely, you shall investigate space-time finite element methods (FEM) and space-time boundary element methods (BEM), which both discretize the PDE as a whole, treating time as yet another dimension. In particular, this allows for fully flexible local mesh refinement in the space-time cylinder. You will develop suitable a-posteriori computable estimators for the discretization error to adaptively steer the mesh refinement and mathematically prove that the resulting algorithms converge optimally with respect to the number of mesh elements. You will further implement and thereby validate the theoretical results through numerical experiments.

You will conduct your research in a collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary environment that values both academic excellence and open exchange of ideas. The MACS group offers a stimulating atmosphere with regular discussions, opportunities for collaboration, and access to expertise in numerical analysis, dynamical systems, and high-performance computing. The position includes funding to present your work at leading conferences and engage in international collaborations.