Technical employee in the field of battery recycling in Freiberg bei Ceramic Technologies and Systems

Ceramic Technologies and Systems

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (www.fraunhofer.com) currently operates 76 institutes and research institutions throughout Germany and is the world’s leading applied research organization. Around 30 800 employees work with an annual research budget of 3.0 billion euros.

The three sites in Dresden and Hermsdorf (Thuringia) form the largest ceramics research institute in Europe. As a research and technology service provider, we develop modern high-performance ceramic materials, industry-relevant manufacturing processes and prototype components and systems in complete production lines up to pilot scale. The portfolio also includes expertise in materials diagnostics and testing.

The „Recycling and Green Battery” working group in the „Mobile Energy Storage and Electrochemistry” department is primarily based at the new Fraunhofer IKTS site in Freiberg. A major focus of the work is the development of new processes in the field of battery recycling. In various research projects, guidelines for the recycling-friendly design of lithium-ion-batteries are being developed, the processing of battery materials is being researched and their application in battery cells is being investigated. In particular, strategies are to be developed in order to be able to recycle lithium-ion batteries in a cost- and resource-efficient manner in the future. The research work being carried out at Fraunhofer THM in Freiberg therefore focuses primarily on closing material and substance cycles in production and recycling chains. This goal not only applies to batteries, but is also to be extended to other applications such as photovoltaic systems and electronic devices in the future. The holistic view, understanding and identification of efficient recycling processes in order to obtain high-quality products, regardless of the type of source material, is essential for the realization of a functioning circular economy.

What you will do

You can expect the following varied tasks:

Planning and carrying out experimental work in the laboratory with the aim of recovering critical and strategic raw materials and metals
Validation of recycling processes on a pilot scale based on the execution of test series and evaluation of the results
Preparation and performance of analyses
Participation in project meetings and presentation of results
Supporting the occupational safety specialist and employees in preparing risk assessments in the laboratories, with a focus on scaling up the processes to pilot plant scale
Responsibility for the chemical waste store and organization of waste collections from the research areas and disposal with the associated documentation

What you bring to the table

You have a degree in engineering with a specialization in chemistry, process engineering or similar and enjoy working in an interdisciplinary, international team. Relevant previous knowledge in the field of hydrometallurgical processing of primary or secondary raw materials is an advantage.

In addition, the following competences and skills round off your profile:

Practical experience in recycling end-of-life products, especially lithium-ion-batteries (e.g. hydrometallurgical processing, product recovery and purification)
Previous experience in carrying out laboratory tests up to pilot plant scale
Experience in the safe handling of hazardous substances
Good knowledge of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) for the presentation of results and preparation of reports
High motivation for research in this promising and dynamic field as well as for interdisciplinary project work
Fluent in written and spoken German and English

What you can expect

We offer you an exciting and interdisciplinary working environment with responsibility and room for your ideas as well as modern equipment and infrastructure. You will be part of a young and dynamic team.

We also offer our employees the following benefits: