PhD Position in Sustainability Assessment of CO2 Capture and Use in Value-added Construction Products at ETH in Switzerland

The Chair of Sustainable Construction gathers scientists, engineers and architects from various backgrounds who aim to ground sustainability in all disciplines involved in the built environment. The objective is to identify the relevant parameters that influence the environmental impacts of buildings at international, national and regional levels to implement sustainable practices throughout the development of innovative strategies adapted to each stakeholder. This involves interdisciplinary works dealing, among others, with Life Cycle Assessment, urban metabolism, and material science.

Carbon4Minerals is a research project that aims to develop technologies to capture CO2 from industrial flue gases of processes producing construction products and use the captured CO2 through mineralisation to produce low-carbon material intermediates and construction products, which can replace CO2-intensive materials. The project is developed by a consortium of European research institutes, universities, and industry partners. ETH is responsible for assessing the overall sustainability of the new technologies considering environmental, techno-economic, territorial, and social impacts, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA). It is a three-year research project. More information about this project can be found here.

Your tasks will include:

• Assess sustainability indicators for the Carbon Capture and Use (CCU) technologies developed in the project, focusing on economic, social, and territorial aspects
• Develop a multi-criteria analysis framework to assess the sustainability of CCU technologies, including environmental, economic, social, and territorial aspects, and compare these technologies with benchmarks considering different scenarios
• Collect, organise, and analyse data on the processes and products developed within the project in collaboration with industry partners
• Collaborate with other researchers in the group and with project partners (inter- and transdisciplinary work)
• Disseminate research findings through peer-reviewed publications and other dissemination events such as research symposia, conferences, and seminars

Essential experience, skills, and characteristics:

• Masters in Ecological or Environmental Economics, Industrial Ecology, or related fields
• Experience in Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) or economic feasibility studies of innovative technologies with improved environmental performance compared to baseline
• Experience in Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods and tools
• Knowledge of Circular Economy
• Systemic and holistic view
• Good organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities
• Good data analysis and data management skills
• Good communication skills
• Ability to work in interdisciplinary and diverse teams
• Fluency in spoken and written English

Desirable criteria:

• Knowledge of Carbon Capture and Use technologies
• Knowledge of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
• Knowledge of Social Life Cycle Assessment or similar methods
• Familiarity with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools

More information here.