The KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) is expanding its geothermal program. The research of the division of Geothermal Energy & Reservoir Technology focuses on scientific and technological challenges of using geothermal energy. Projects are often conducted in an international context and expand from the local Upper Rhine Graben up to South America with numerous partners from academia and industry in application fields worldwide.

Raw materials are crucial to Europe’s economy, forming a strong base for a wide range of technologies used in everyday life. Reliable and unhindered access to certain often critical raw materials is an increasing concern in the EU and globally. Recently, geothermal brines have emerged as a possible resource for raw material extraction. Key questions in this field include the potential and sustainability of these extraction processes.

This research will initially assess the potential raw materials in the Upper Rhine Graben and evaluate possible extraction technologies in close collaboration with industry partners. If viable materials and processes are identified, the next step will involve (geochemical) experimental analysis, leaching experiments from reservoir samples and quantification of mass transfer rates. Finally, the gathered data will be used to develop a thermo-hydraulic-chemical reservoir model to quantify the impact of the extraction processes and predict the applicability and sustainability of raw material extraction from geothermal brines.

In this context, we are searching for a highly motivated scientist with the ability to integrate in our international working group at KIT. This requests advanced English communication as well as at least basic German language skills. The research questions combine geochemical laboratory work and numerical modeling. The ideal candidate should therefore hold a master’s degree in geosciences or similar with sound interest in aqueous geochemistry and numerical modeling.