About this role
This is NTNU NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim. At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world. You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here . Video: https://youtu.be/Xt-yHCN5QS0 About the position We invite applications for a postdoctoral fellow research position in steam turbines for ships. The work will be embedded in the SFI - SAINT project Sustainable, Applied and Industrialized Nuclear Technology, which supports the launch of 2-3 nuclear powered demonstration ships in the early 2030s. Within the SAINT project, you will work in Work Package 3 – From heat to propulsion. The shipping industry accounts for roughly 3% of global CO₂ emissions, and with international pressure to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors, nuclear propulsion is emerging as a serious candidate for deep-sea and high-utilization vessels where battery or hydrogen solutions face fundamental range and energy density constraints. Steam turbines are already in use in commercial ships today, based on fossil fuels. This research project will investigate how to integrate steam turbines, thermal and electrical energy storages, and a nuclear reactor in an energy efficient and operational reliable energy system for various ship types. As a Post Doc (PD), you will work closely with other members of the project, both industry partners, PhD candidates and other researchers in the project on a daily basis. You will also be a part of the PD/PhD community at our institute, counting around 40 candidates at present, who work on other projects but on topics related to yours. Your work will be to investigate the present applications of steam turbines in shipping, identify critical criteria for integration and operation, and develop a model for simulation of the energy system. This includes normal operations, ramping, transit vs. port stay, and maintenance requirements. The aim of the work is to use this tool to size the reactor (output heat), steam turbine, energy storages, and other components of the propulsion system for three specified use cases: a tanker, an offshore vessel, and a floating nuclear power plant. Are you ready to take your research career to the next level? We offer an exciting 3-year postdoctoral position that gives you the opportunity to develop a strong profile as researcher. You will also gain valuable experience that might be relevant for your further career. The purpose of a postdoctoral position is to build up a researcher profile that qualifies for a position as associate professor. The position may also offer additional skills that are relevant to the postdoctoral fellow's future career. Apply for this position to become part of our research environment and take the next step in your career with us. Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department. About the project Naval vessels and polar icebreakers have operated on nuclear power for decades. Nuclear propulsion is emerging as a serious candidate for decarbonization of deep-sea and high-utilization vessels in Norway and internationally, offering greater energy independence, higher sustained speeds, and extended range compared to conventional fuel-based propulsion. International bodies are actively establishing the frameworks that will govern the civil use of nuclear propulsion and the foundational engineering knowledge is being established right now. SAINT - Sustainable, Applied and Industrialized Nuclear Technology - is a research project investigating the use of nuclear propulsion for commercial and specialist maritime vessels and aims at launching 2-3 demonstration ships in the early 2030s. SAINT addresses the technical, safety, and operational challenges that must be resolved before such systems can be responsibly deployed. PhD and Post Doc candidates will be among the people shaping this emergent field. In the intersection of nuclear and maritime engineering qualified engineers and researchers are scarce globally. Candidates who complete a PhD within the SAINT project will be well positioned for careers in nuclear safety, maritime regulation, advanced vessel design, and the emerging commercial nuclear sector. The project is hosted at the Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering (IHB) at NTNU in Ålesund, a campus with deep roots in maritime engineering and ship design. Around 70 PhD students are at NTNU in Ålesund, roughly 40 of which are in IHB working on ship design, naval control systems and in shipping management. Within the project we are aiming to recruit up to ten PhD students and one or two Post Docs to work in parallel across the core engineering challenges of maritime nuclear propulsion, creating an unusually dense and collaborative internal research environment in which you will collaborate with researchers working across nuclear engineering, naval architecture, electrical power systems, and maritime operations. The project is carried out in close collaboration with thirty industry partners spanning shipbuilders, reactor vendors, turbine manufacturers, control system developers, classification societies, and maritime operators. A dedicated test center for non-nuclear testing of reactor and turbine systems is under construction, giving SAINT researchers hands-on access to hardware validation at a scale rarely available in academic maritime research. Duties of the position Carry out research of outstanding quality Academic publications and popular science dissemination Participate in the research group of SFI SAINT Apply for research funding and write applications and report on progress to funding sources Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions Teaching Mentoring students, helping them with their research projects, and