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): Cost-Efficient Direct Recycling for Metal Oxide Cathode Materials – These projects focus on developing low-cost, scalable strategies for the direct recycling and upcycling of spent metal oxide cathodes, particularly, high Ni-containing oxides, through chemical-mechanical approaches, ionothermal/molten salt methods, etc. 

Project 2 (2 PhD students): Direct Recycling of Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries - These projects aim to establish effective and sustainable approaches for the direct regeneration and component-level recovery of spent LFP batteries, focusing on mechanical and physical separation methods for efficient recovery of active materials and components from spent LFP cells as well as development of hydrothermal relithiation processes to restore the electrochemical activity of spent LFP materials.

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 up to 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: 

Dr. Chao Ye and Dr. Zhixiao Xu

School of Chemical Engineering / Discipline of Materials Engineering

Email: chao.ye@adelaide.edu.au ; zhixiao.xu@adelaide.edu.au   

Expression of interest 

Expressions of interest should be submitted to Dr. Chao Ye and/or Dr. Zhixiao Xu by no later than 30 June 2025 with the name of scholarship in the subject heading. Please ensure you include all of 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