Thesis work 30 hp - The Cooler Cat: Catalytic Combustion of Hydrogen at Extreme Temperatures

Introduction:
Thesis work is an excellent way to get closer to Scania/Traton and build relationships for the future. Many of today's employees began their Scania/Traton career with their degree project.

Background:
Scania is undergoing a transformation from being a supplier of trucks, buses and engines to a supplier of complete and sustainable transport solutions. One important part in this strive is the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel.

Hydrogen produced from renewable sources such as wind- or solar power offers an alternative to battery electric in applications where for example long range and fast fuelling are important features.

The hydrogen could be used either in fuel cells generating electricity or directly in specially adopted internal combustion engines (H2-ICE). The latter is a fairly mature technology which will be an important part in the implementation of hydrogen fuelled heavy trucks.

The use of hydrogen will offer new challenges for the design of the trucks exhaust aftertreatment system as the exhaust temperatures and composition will differ greatly for common diesel or petrol engine exhausts. But it also opens up new opportunities, at cold-start conditions hydrogen can react with oxygen from the air over a catalyst to produce heat. Which can be used either to heat up the engine itself or the exhaust system. This process have been shown possible even at extreme sub-zero temperatures.

Objective:

The work aims at studying the performance and use of catalytic hydrogen combustion as a mean to overcome cold-start problems and improve ignition of hydrogen fuelled engines. This is an exciting novel approach to the use of catalysts on-board a hydrogen fuelled vehicle and has a great potential for improvement of the performance and emissions.

Job description:

The assignment will cover the whole process from idea to design of experiments and testing. It will include both theoretical and hands-on work in the laboratory as well as the use of advanced characterization techniques. The assignment involves contacts with different experts both at Traton/Scania and KTH. 

We expect you as a candidate to have a curious mindset and a will to see things through from idea to final product. You will work in a dedicated team of driven experts from many aspects of engines and exhaust aftertreatment technologies.

The work will be performed mainly at Material Technology in Södertälje and some work at Process Technology, KTH.

Education/program/focus:

Master’s student in chemical engineering, chemistry or equivalent. You should have an interest in experimental work and the ability to address technical challenges in the laboratory.

Number of students: 1
Start date: Spring 2026
Estimated time required: 20 weeks
Credits: 30 ECTS

Contact persons and supervisors:

Supervisor: Anders Ersson, Senior Engineer, TGRMVMC,

Group manager: Ragna Elger, Unit manager TGRMVMC,  

Application:
Your application must include a CV, personal letter and transcript of grades

A background check might be conducted for this position. We are conducting interviews continuously and may close the recruitment earlier than the date specified.

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