About this role
About the position Center for Research on Digitalization and Sustainability (CREDS ), part of Inland School of Business and Social Sciences, University of Inland Norway (INN), invites candidates to apply for a three-year PhD research fellowship. The position is connected to the field of innovation studies with a specific focus on sustainability transitions, circular economy, business model change and value chains related to electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the context of energy storage and mobility. This may include research on the circular resource flows, reuse and recycle strategies, and competing end-of-life pathways for batteries and battery materials. Admission to INN's PhD program, Innovation in Services in the Public and Private Sectors (INSEPP) , is a condition for employment as a research fellow. The candidate is expected to participate actively in INSEPP’s activities. After commencement, the candidate must apply for admission to the PhD programme within three months. An agreement for admission to the PhD programme must be in place within six months after commencement. As a PhD research fellow, you will be an integral part of CREDS and actively contribute to one or both of its research groups. In addition, the candidate will be employed at a department of the Business School. The position preferably commences in the fall of 2026 and will conclude with the award of the Degree of Doctor upon successfully completing the program. The position is based at CREDS in Innlandet Science Park in Kongsvinger. A high degree of on-site presence is expected. For further information, please contact: CREDS Professor Johan Kask, +47 62 43 01 82, [email protected] CREDS Director and Professor Bård Tronvoll, +47 90 78 55 68, [email protected] Head of INSEPP PhD Program Marit Engen, +47 61 28 81 07, [email protected] About the project Project overview The PhD research fellow will join an international team of researchers at CREDS, Inland School of Business and Social Sciences. We seek a highly motivated candidate to research circular battery strategies and future applications from a business and innovation perspective. CREDS’s overarching academic objective is accelerating research on the transitions enabling sustainable businesses and societies. The primary focus is to understand transitions at the level of ecosystems and markets and at the intersection between digitization and sustainability, for instance linked to new or changed business models, value chains and practices. The candidate’s PhD project should address how scarce resources in circular value chains related to energy and mobility are organized and governed across competing end-of-life pathways. Relevant topics include sustainable value creation, reuse and repair strategies, recycling systems, and business models that extend the useful life of batteries and battery materials. The project may examine how such arrangements work in practice, how they develop over time, and how different pathways can be assessed in relation to sustainability, loop extension, efficiency, resilience, and other relevant criteria. It may also focus on market formation, ecosystem dynamics, governance arrangements, power relations, and the role of technology in handling resource tensions across systems, as well as on how firms and other actors develop circular strategies under competing demands, regulatory change, and uncertainty about future resource use. One particularly relevant empirical example is end-of-life EV batteries, where tensions may arise between reusing or repurposing batteries for second-life energy storage and recycling materials back into battery production or other industrial uses. Norway provides a promising context for studying such issues due to its early and extensive adoption of battery-electric vehicles. Candidates are encouraged to define their own research design within this theme. This includes developing the specific research questions, theoretical perspective, empirical focus, and methodological approach in dialogue with the supervisory team and the academic environment at CREDS. A broad range of methodological approaches is relevant for the theme, including qualitative case studies, optimization models, system dynamics modelling, and agent-based modelling. Please note that the project may later be modified in accordance with the supervisors’ advice and the academic research agenda of CREDS . The successful candidate will have a primary supervisor among CREDS’ academic staff. Qualifications The candidate must have a master’s degree and thesis on a relevant topic. Relevant academic backgrounds may include business and management, innovation studies, energy systems, industrial ecology, system dynamics, systems modelling, sustainability transitions, science and technology studies, topic-related forms of engineering, and other related interdisciplinary fields. The master's degree must normally constitute 120 ECTS credits. INN’s PhD regulations require that the qualifying education includes a master’s thesis of 30 ECTS. As a rule, the average grade at master’s level must be B. The qualifying degree(s) must be awarded from institutions in Norway, the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or from an international institution accredited by AACSB, AMBA and/or EQUIS. Where applicable, candidates should specify such accreditation in the application. Candidates who have not yet obtained the master’s degree at the time of application may apply. In this case, candidates must have submitted their master’s thesis by the application deadline. Temporary transcripts and the master’s thesis must be submitted with the application. The final diploma must be available by the time of employment. Candidates with a master’s degree from a university abroad must attach “Recognition of foreign higher education” from NOKUT. Instructions for obtaining this assessment are available from NOKUT, https://hkdir.no/en/foreign-education/education-from-outside-of-norway/reco