Research Fellow (Energy Storage for SG Grid) Full-time

Research Fellow Position

Meng Research Group is seeking a Research Fellow to investigate how sodium-ion batteries can be engineered and operated to deliver grid ancillary services in Singapore, as the first step toward a sodium-ion virtual power plant. Ancillary services impose a distinctive duty cycle on storage batteries: frequent, short, high-power events, partial state-of-charge operation, and stringent response-time requirements, operating under the constraints of local weather conditions which tend to be hot and humid.

The successful candidate will work closely with senior researchers, engineers, software developers, and collaborators to address this task through three linked aims: first, characterizing the electrochemical and thermal behavior of candidate sodium-ion chemistries under realistic ancillary-service duty cycles; second, developing degradation-aware control and bidding strategies that balance market revenue against battery lifetime; and third, validating these models on existing platforms in NTU's test facilities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the development and operation of deployable grid assets for Singapore, beginning with a battery energy storage system (BESS) designed to participate in the National Electricity Market's ancillary services, before scaling into a full virtual power plant (VPP) in the long term.
• Conduct automated materials synthesis, characterization, electrochemical testing, and data analysis for battery systems.
• Participate in project planning, data collection and analysis to generate high-quality, reproducible research outcomes.
• Prepare manuscripts for publication in high-impact journals and contribute to grant proposals and research reports.
• Report on research progress and/or literature update in scheduled group meetings and individual meetings.
• Support the overall research mission of the lab by contributing to technology development, knowledge dissemination, and translational opportunities.

Job Requirements:

• Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Research experience in battery materials, electrochemistry, or materials synthesis.
• Experience and knowledge with robotic systems, high-throughput experimentation, or autonomous laboratory development.
• Demonstrated scientific productivity (peer-reviewed publications).
• Strong hands-on experimental and problem-solving skills, with the ability to develop, integrate, and troubleshoot automated research workflows.
• Good communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary research environment.

Hiring Institution: NTU