A fully funded 3.5 year Ph.D. studentship is available to UK nationals and outstanding international students, with Professors Lynn Gladden, Mick Mantle and Andy Sederman, to start 1 October 2026.

Underground storage of carbon dioxide and hydrogen will play an important role in the energy transition and the delivery of net zero because the storage can be done at scale. However, the demands of underground carbon dioxide (UCS) and underground hydrogen storage (UHS) are very different. In the case of UCS, we need to store large quantities of carbon dioxide for the long term, whilst UHS requires the temporary storage of hydrogen through the seasons such that it can be recovered for use as an energy vector when needed. UCS is, of course, much more widely studied than UHS.

The aim of this project is to understand the micro-scale physical and chemical processes occurring in rocks when carbon dioxide and hydrogen are injected into them. A particular challenge is that a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir, where gas storage would take place, is very different from a pure synthetically made porous material. In addition to chemical and structural differences of different rock types, the pores into which the carbon dioxide or hydrogen is injected contain varying levels of sea-water and residual hydrocarbon. This is a very complex system, and magnetic resonance methods are unique in being able to study these processes occurring in an optically opaque system (i.e. rock).

The project will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), just as you would in a medical application, to see inside the rock and investigate how carbon dioxide and hydrogen move and become immobile within the rock. How do they interact with the internal surface of the rock? Do emulsions form within the rock? Do any chemical interactions occur? How are these characteristics changed by the rate at which the gas is injected? How does the brine, gas, residual hydrocarbon system evolve over time? The images we will acquire will provide unique datasets against which to validate numerical codes developed by our collaborators. The ambition is to be able to optimise selection of storage sites and the methods of injection such that carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases can be stored and accessed safely and effectively.

Applicants for the studentships should have a First Class (or a high 2:1) or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline such as chemical engineering, engineering, chemistry or physics.

To Apply For This Studentship

You must have a high 2.i or a 1st in your undergraduate degree and any subsequent study; please see the University's requirements if your degree(s) was completed outside the UK: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/international-qualifications
If you are able to meet the above requirement, you would need to submit a formal application for our PhD in Chemical Engineering, noting Vacancy Reference NQ48883 in the research proposal of your application. Full information about our PhD, as well as a link to the on-line application, is: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcepdcng

Please quote reference NQ48883 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

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Cambridge University Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology jobs

Understanding the Mechanisms of Underground Storage of Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen