PhD scholarship in proton battery development

$33,826 per annum, 3 years

Applications are now open.

30/06/2026

One (1) scholarship available

A high-class Bachelor and/or Master degree in a relevant engineering or science discipline, which may include electrochemistry, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, physics, chemistry, and materials science. Any industry experience in designing and testing prototype products will be an advantage.

Prospective candidates should submit an application for admission to the PhD Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering program (DR216) as per instructions available on the School of Engineering website.
At the same time as submitting your application, you should email Professor John Andrews [as listed in the Contacts fields] and provide:

• a curriculum vitae
• a short statement of experience, expertise and interests relevant to one or other of the two PhD topics (no more than two pages).
  

This PhD scholarship is being offered by RMIT University’s School of Engineering to contribute to the project, “Technology development and prototyping of the Proton Battery and Proton Flow Reactor Systems, funded under a Research Collaboration Agreement with Eldor Corporation, and international automotive component supplier based in Italy.

Previous RMIT research has led to the invention and patenting of the proton battery concept – a reversible hydrogen fuel cell with an integrated porous carbon electrode for storing neutralised protons; and proton flow reactor concepts – a proton battery with a flow-through carbon slurry electrode. See, for example, our recent publications in this area:

• Niya, S.M.R., Heidari, S., Andrews, J. (2022). Enhancement of the performance of a proton battery, Journal of Power Sources, 543, 231808
• Andrews, J., Niya, S.M.R,. and Ojha, R. (2022) Electrochemical hydrogen storage in porous carbons with acidic electrolytes: Uncovering the potential, Current Opinion in Electrochemistry, 31, 100850
• Andrews, J., Ojha, R., Niya, S.M.R., Seibt, S. (2021). Electrochemical storage reactions of hydrogen in activated carbon from phenolic resin, Catalysis Today, 397-399, 155-164
• M. Mourshed, S.M.R. Niya, R. Ojha, G. Rosengarten, J. Andrews, B. Shabani (2021). Carbon-based slurry electrodes for energy storage and power supply systems, In: Energy Storage Materials, 40, 461-489.