Tenure Track Assistant Professor in H2o Electrolysis and Power-To-X Processes

Would you like to be a part of a dynamic team, working with future energy systems? At the Faculty of Energy Technology, a position as Tenure Track Assistant Professor in H2O Electrolysis and Power-to-X Processes is available within the pioneer center “CAPeX. The position is open from 1st November 2025 or soon hereafter.

Your work tasks

The tenure track Assistant Professor will be working from the Energy AAU Aalborg Campus, taking a leading role in the establishment of a research group with special focus on electrochemical H2O cell and electrode development. The research focus on both performance and degradation testing of electrodes and cells as well as theory and model development. We believe the experimental and theoretical work are complementary skills to build a strong research platform within PtX technologies for the future energy system. Significant investments into research hardware and facilities are already being made, and it is expected that significant funding will be directed towards this area in the future. Both via separate fundings and via the CAPeX project.

Key Research Areas will be within water electrolysis technologies (PEM, AEC, AEM, SOEC, etc.), thermodynamic and electrochemical modeling of electrolysis systems, electrode and electrolyte materials synthesis and processing, kinetics of electrochemical reactions, including hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions, experimental work with 3-electrode setups and full cell measurements, long-term operational testing and degradation characterization, and advanced post-mortem analyses of electrodes and cells.

Teaching will primarily be in electrochemistry and thermodynamics, but also in other study programs at the University.

What can we offer?

• A dynamic and inspiring working environment
• An onboarding program
• Focus on career development
• An International Staff Unit that supports international applicants to positions at AAU, such as residence and work permit for you and your family, local network, tax, public healthcare, child benefits and allowance, etc.: www.isu.aau.dk
• Support for job search and identification of career opportunities for accompanying spouse/partner
• Location in Aalborg, a beautiful and safe city which has a lot to offer such as easy access to nature, culture

Your competencies

The candidate should have a sound background in a relevant area of electrochemistry, thermos-dynamics, electrode and cell testing. Preferably additional expertise within e.g., mechanical, electrical or chemical engineering, and preferably relevant work experience from industry or academia. The candidate should preferably also document a basic understanding of independent research within thermos-dynamics, electrode and cell testing within the main technologies AEC, PEM, AEM or SOEC.

As it is expected that the successful candidate will take a leading role in establishing a strong research group within electrochemistry and electrode performance and degradation studies. Strong collaborative skills combined with personal ambition and drive are key ingredients in making it successful.

Qualification requirements
Applicants for a tenure track assistant professorship must have academic qualifications at PhD level.

When appointing tenure track assistant professors, Aalborg University also place particular emphasis on:

• The candidate can demonstrate a high degree of autonomy in their previous education and employment path
• The candidate shows considerable potential and is among the best in their field
• The candidate has academic experience from several universities and/or research institutions and preferably international experience
• The candidate is a skilled communicator
• The candidate writes and speaks English at the academic level
• The candidate is expected to meet the criteria for permanent employment as an associate professor at Aalborg University at the end of the tenure track process

Who we are

Aalborg University contributes to the knowledge building of the global society as well as the development of prosperity, welfare, and culture of Danish society. This is accomplished through research, research-based education, public sector services and knowledge collaboration. Aalborg University educates students for the future and activities are based on a dynamic and transformative collaboration with the surrounding community.

AAU Energy has campuses in both Aalborg and Esbjerg. The tenureship is in Aalborg.
AAU Energy spans the entire research chain from fundamental research within energy materials to large-scale Power-to-X systems. Research and teaching are in the absolute world elite in the field of energy, and we have extensive and leading workshop and laboratory facilities, where research and innovation are carried out in direct collaboration with industry to a great extent. You can read more about AAU Energy and the research groups at AAU Energy: https://www.energy.aau.dk/

The mission is to be world leading in both research and research-based education of the energy engineers of the future. AAU Energy has around 300 employees of many nationalities, with 28 being administrative and 17 technical staff. In addition, AAU Energy constantly has some 50-70 guest researchers from around the world.

AAU Energy offers highly qualified candidates an attractive career path via tenure-track. Tenure-track assistant professors are appointed for a period of six years with the prospect of performance-based promotion to a tenured position as Associate Professor. Tenure-track assistant professors are expected to have international academic standing, demonstrating acclaimed competitive research, and/or have a recognized high potential for future impact.

ABOUT THE PIONEER CENTER CAPEX
The Pioneer Center unites leading Power-to-X experts from five Danish and three international universities in conducting fundamental strategic research and delivering transformative breakthroughs across scientific disciplines, methods, and sustainable and scalable materials discovery and development.

By building upon recent advances in complementary fields like computational materials design, operando characterization, and scalable materials synthesis, as well as autonomous robotics, digital twins, and machine learning, CAPeX will reinvent the ways we invent new sustainable materials for Power-to-X.

The Center is run in a partnership between DTU and Aalborg University (AAU), and is located in a new interdisciplinary ‘Climate Challenge Laboratory’ at DTU, Kgs. Lyngby in Greater Copenhagen.

CAPeX will establish a unique self-driving laboratory for P2X materials discovery, which accelerates the discovery process by fully integrating multiple scientific disciplines and techniques to transcend existing sequential and trial-and-error-based discovery approaches. The CAPeX approach will be capable of bridging the extensive separation in spatial and temporal scales between the fundamental processes controlling the electrochemical performance and the degradation processes that govern the durability, reliability, and economic viability of the P2X devices. In doing so, we can shorten the divide between fundamental breakthrough science and materials discovery bringing curiosity-driven strategic research to the proof-of-concept level.

Assessment in connection with transfer to associate professorship
The assessment in connection with transition to tenure as an associate professor normally takes place in the final six months of the tenure track assistant professors’ employment. However, the employee may request that an assessment take place at an earlier time in the first four years. If this assessment finds that the employee is not academically qualified, they may request another assessment within the final six months of their period of employment. A maximum of two assessments may take place.

The assessment, on transition to the associate professorship, will as a minimum, emphasize the following qualifications in relation to the scientific subject area of the tenure track assistant professorship:

• Research qualifications equivalent to the level that can be achieved on the basis of satisfactorily completed employment as tenure track assistant professor.
• Documented scientific production at international level. Assessment will be based on up to ten selected publications selected by the employee.
• Documentation of pedagogical supervision and upgrading of qualifications, including a positive written assessment of teaching qualifications. The assessment will also be based on the employee's teaching portfolio.
• The level of contribution to an active academic environment as well as the ability to collaborate and build relationships.
• The level of experience with grant proposals and experience of communicating research to relevant stakeholders.

If the tenure track assistant professor fails to request that their qualifications be assessed in the last year of their period of employment or if they are assessed as not academically qualified, the university must immediately initiate dismissal proceedings in accordance with the collective agreement rules.

How to apply
Your application must include the following:

• Application, stating reasons for applying, qualifications in relation to the position, and intentions and visions for the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (master's degree diploma and PhD diploma)
• List of publications, with an indication of the attached publications that you wish to be taken into account in the assessment. You may attach a maximum of five publications. If you are applying for a position at The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), you must submit a co-author statement, see template for co-author statement
• Documentation of teaching qualifications. Depending on which faculty you are applying for employment, please see guidelines for teaching portfolio at The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, The Faculty of Engineering and Science and The Faculty of Medicine or guidelines for teaching portfolio at The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. If this is not enclosed, the applicant must enclose the reasons for this .
• Dissemination qualifications, including participation on committees or boards, participation in organisations etc.
• Additional qualifications in relation to the position
• References/recommendations

You can read more about the requirements for your application here.

The application must be submitted via Aalborg University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg University's website.

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore, everyone, regardless of personal background and orientation, is encouraged to apply for the position.

Do you have any questions?
If you have any questions about the position, you are more than welcome to contact us.

You may obtain further professional information from AAU Energy Professor Søren Højgaard Jensen shje@energy.aau.dk, Professor Frede Blaabjerg fbl@energy.aau.dk, or Head of Department, Birgitte Bak-Jensen bbj@energy.aau.dk

Other questions, please contact HR AAU Energy: hr@energy.aau.dk. 

Further information
Read more about our recruitment process here

The appointment process at Aalborg University involves a shortlisting process. You can read more about the shortlisting and appointment process here.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Salary and terms of employment
The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (in Danish).

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (only in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (only in Danish).