PHD4ENERGY · Nanoscale Materials for Energy: Fundamentals, Applications and Safety""

One of Humanity’s most urgent and greatest scientific and technological challenges is the need for more efficient methods to access renewable energy sources and ways to reduce energy consumption. Nanotechnology opens up fundamentally novel routes to address these challenges. With focus on the unique opportunities offered by III-V nanowires and molecular engineering, PhD4Energy will develop (i) highly-efficient, cost-effective, and flexible NW solar cells, (ii) cost effective, phosphor-free LEDs for RGB and lighting with optimised color rendering index and very low energy consumption , (iii) practical methods to enhance the thermoelectric performance of nanomaterials, and we will (iv) pioneer the use of Nature’s choice of material (proteins) for direct chemical-to-mechanical energy conversion in artificial molecular machines. Furthermore, PhD4Energy will concurrently evaluate the safety and sustainability of our novel nanomaterials and device fabrication. In order to train early-stage researchers in the skills and methods necessary for succeeding with the proposed research and its industrial applications, PhD4Energy builds an innovative doctoral program (IDP) that with 9 partners from the private sector, combines high-level, interdisciplinary research with an extensive secondment program. The IDP will be designed to last beyond the tenure of PhD4Energy, and will serve a best-practice model for PhD education that effectively bridges the gap between academic research and in-terest of commercialization. A key feature of the training program is the direct input of industry leaders on the students’ course menu, greatly enhancing employability. The training program will be embedded into the major materials science research hub at Lund in Sweden, comprising of the Nanometer Structure Consortium at Lund University, the synchrotron Maxlab, the future ESS spallation source, and a cluster of spin-off companies that actively pursue commercialisation of nm based research.""