Posting Title

Post Undergraduate/Graduate (Year-Round) Intern - Fuel Cell and CO2 Reduction

.

Location

CO - Golden

.

Position Type

Intern (Fixed Term)

.

Hours Per Week

40

.

Working at NREL

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

From day one at NREL, you’ll connect with coworkers driven by the same mission to save the planet. By joining an organization that values a supportive, inclusive, and flexible work environment, you’ll have the opportunity to engage through our ten employee resource groups, numerous employee-driven clubs, and learning and professional development classes.

NREL supports inclusive, diverse, and unbiased hiring practices that promote creativity and innovation. By collaborating with organizations that focus on diverse talent pools, reaching out to underrepresented demographics, and providing an inclusive application and interview process, our Talent Acquisition team aims to hear all voices equally. We strive to attract a highly diverse workforce and create a culture where every employee feels welcomed and respected and they can be their authentic selves.

Our planet needs us! Learn about NREL’s critical objectives, and see how NREL is focused on saving the planet.

Note: Research suggests that potential job seekers may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who is interested in this opportunity to apply. We seek dedicated people who believe they have the skills and ambition to succeed at NREL to apply for this role.

Job Description

This position will support research in NREL’s Chemistry and Nanoscience Center focused on electrochemical energy conversion devices, specifically hydrogen fuel cells and CO2 electrolyzers.  The candidate will work as part of a diverse team to support various projects with academic, industrial, or national laboratory partners. Common job tasks will include fabrication of membrane electrode assemblies, cell assembly and testing of cells using appropriate test stands and/or the testing of cell components in a variety of ex-situ methods. 

The candidate will be responsible for the fabrication of hydrogen fuel cell and/or CO2 membrane electrode assembly (MEAs), coordinating with their mentor on experimental design, in-situ electrochemical testing, chemical analysis of gas and liquid product streams, and the subsequent interpretation of the electrochemical performance to quantify device-level performance and identify potential sources of (energy/chemical) efficiency losses.

The candidate will evaluate state-of-the-art electrochemical materials to better understand device performance, durability and recommend materials and integration approaches. The overarching goal for this work is to identify promising fuel cell electrode architectures that will both improve electrode performance and mitigate performance loss. The candidate will also have the opportunity to evaluate CO2 electrolyzers that perform gas-phase CO2 reduction at the cathode and alkaline water oxidation at the anode to investigate how device and electrode-level modifications impact thermodynamic and kinetic levers that control product selectivity. 

.

Basic Qualifications

Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Undergraduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a bachelor’s degree program from an accredited institution.
Post Undergraduate: Earned a bachelor’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.


Graduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a master’s degree program from an accredited institution.
Post Graduate: Earned a master’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
Graduate + PhD: Completed master’s degre