The Centre on Sustainable Energy (SE) is looking for a young student interested 
in carrying out an internship/master thesis experience in the field of 
batteries. The ideal candidate is a proactive and dynamic person with good 
organizational skills, a strong interest in physics, modeling and computer 
science and, of course, motivated to have research experience in an 
international context. 
 
The internship/master thesis will focus on multiphysics modeling of redox flow 
batteries. Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are a promising technology for large 
scale energy storage. In RFBs power and energy are decoupled: the former depends 
mainly on the size of the stack while the latter on the size tanks containing 
the redox active species. This feature makes RFBs ideal for economical, large-
scale energy storage. However, cost reduction is in order for allowing a 
widespread diffusion of this technology. Cell and stack design is a core task 
required for the development and upscaling of flow battery systems but redox 
flow cells models can be very complex due to the multitude of physical phenomena 
that need to be considered: electric fields, fluid flow, mass and specie 
transport in different components, electrochemical reactions, heat transfer. All 
these phenomena need to be considered to identify cell-limiting mechanisms, 
forecasting cell performance and optimizing the design.
 
We are looking for a motivated intern to support the development and validation 
of a multiphysics solver for redox flow battery simulations. The role involves 
working with an in-house existing solver based on OpenFOAM, testing it on 
various cell geometries, and conducting detailed post-processing. The intern 
will compare simulation results with experimental and literature data to enhance 
model accuracy and performance. This is a great opportunity to gain hands-on 
experience in CFD and multiphysics modeling and contribute to the advancement of 
energy storage technologies.

 
The following phases of work are expected:
-> Training and study of OpenFOAM: FVM implementation, code structure, solver 
structure
-> Analysis of different mathematical models used for modeling the different 
cells components (electrolytes, electrodes, membrane) and physical phenomena
-> Study and use of an existing library for modeling electrochemical systems
-> Preparing numerical analysis of redox flow batteries 
-> Creating CAD models for the testing purposes
-> Post-processing of simulation outcomes
-> Model validation based on experimental measurements 
-> The student will be supported by FBK’s researchers and the researcher will 
also guide the initial phases of training and the development of the activities.
 
Required qualification:
-> Enrolled in Master degree in Energy, Chemical or Mathematical Engineering, 
Physics/Chemistry or similar
-> Strong fundamentals of theory of fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mass and 
heat transfer
-> Fundamentals of numerical methods and their applications, in particular 
Finite Volume Method (FVM)
-> Knowledge of general CFD concepts and workflows: pre-processing, runtime-
processing, post-processing, meshing, turbulence modelling, etc.
-> Fluency in one or more CAD softwares like: SolidWorks, Salome, FreeCad, 
Blender
-> Basic knowledge of electrochemistry / batteries
-> Practical experience in at least one programming language. Ideally C, C++ or 
Python
Ability to work in an international team;
-> Excellent problem-solving skills and attentions to details
-> Good level of English (both spoken and written)

Application have to be sent through the official job page. Other form of 
applications will not be considered.