These scholarships are funded by the Australian Research Council (3) and the University of Adelaide (1) to support 4 full-time PhD students who are undertaking research in the field of battery recycling:

Project 1 (2 PhD students): Development and optimisation of DES battery recycling process - These projects aim to improve the DES-based battery recycling processes, focusing on investigating the impact of metallic impurities of black mass on the DES 2.0 process, upgrading the DES 2.0 by developing new hydrophobic DESs with high selectivity.

Project 2 (2 PhD students): Design and synthesis of high-quality battery precursors and materials - These projects aim to advance the DES-based battery recycling processes towards the production of high-purity, battery-grade materials, focusing on developing refinement process to purify the as-obtained individual Li/Co/Ni/Mn salts from DES 2.0 to battery grade precursors, using refined Li/Co/Ni/Mn salts to synthesize high Ni-containing NCM cathode materials, and regenerate the single cathode materials from black mass with high electrochemical performance.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia, or international students who are acceptable as candidates for a PhD degree at the University of Adelaide. 

Stipend:

The scholarship will be for [3.5] years and has a stipend of $35,300 (indexed annually) per annum. It is likely to be tax exempt, subject to Taxation Office approval. 

Enquiries:

Contacts: Associate Professor Jianfeng Mao and Dr Jingxiu Wang

School of Chemical Engineering / Discipline of Materials Engineering

Email: jianfeng.mao@adelaide.edu.au; jingxiu.wang@adelaide.edu.au   

Expressions of interest:

Expressions of interest should be emailed to Associate Professor Jianfeng Mao and Dr Jingxiu Wang [jianfeng.mao@adelaide.edu.au ; jingxiu.wang@adelaide.edu.au] by no later than 30 June 2025 with the name of scholarship in the subject heading. Please ensure you include all the following documents:

• Evidence of Australian or New Zealand citizenship, or Australian permanent resident status (if applicable)

• Degree certificates (testamurs)

• Academic transcripts

• Translations of non-English documentation

• Evidence of English language proficiency

• Curriculum vitae