Volvo Group is furthering the development of the internal combustion engine (ICE) with hydrogen as a propulsion technology by offering PhD scholarships dedicated to hydrogen combustion engine technology. Two PhD students will be chosen to undertake research at Chalmers University of Technology and Lund University in Sweden while being employed by the Volvo Group.
Recruitment will begin during the first quarter of 2024, as part of Volvo’s goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its products, solutions and services by 2040. To reach this goal, the company is also offering battery-electric solutions and making substantial investments in hydrogen technologies, both for fuel cell applications and as a renewable fuel for combustion engines.
As one of the few automotive companies that support ongoing research and development of the ICE, Volvo explores it across various applications, including trucks, buses, construction equipment, marine vessels and industrial equipment.
“We believe that the future will demand varied propulsion applications to meet our customers’ needs and environmental demands. This is why we are taking a three-pronged approach to propulsion. I see the internal combustion engine running on green hydrogen as another solution of high interest that we are currently testing in our engine labs and test vehicles,” said Lars Stenqvist, COO of Volvo Group.
Furthermore, due to the reduced public funding for academic research in this field of technology and therefore reduced interest among students, Volvo is establishing the VICE (Volvo Internal Combustion Engine) scholarship to ensure continued competence in internal combustion engine technology.
Martin Nilsson Jacobi, president and CEO of Chalmers University of Technology, added, “Hydrogen research at Chalmers, not least with the TechForH2 center, is an exciting and collaborative environment that will be further enriched with the new PhD scholarship. The technology being developed represents further steps in the transition to a fossil-free society. Hydrogen combustion can create robustness and thereby help us cope with many global transition scenarios.”
Successful candidates will become industrial PhD students and will undertake their research from 2024-2029. The students will be employed by Volvo Group, which will also finance research, supervision and experimental expenses.
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