Closing date: 05 May 2025
Funding provider: Swansea University Research Excellence Scholarships (SURES)
Subject areas: Energy Storage, Batteries, Polymers
Project start date: 1 October 2025 (Enrolment open from mid-September)
Supervisors: Dr Anji Reddy Munnangi (Primary), Dr Shirin Alexander (Secondary)
Aligned programme of study PhD in Energy Innovation
Mode of study: Full-time
Project description:
Swansea University is pleased to offer fully-funded Swansea University Research Excellence Scholarships (SURES) for full-time doctoral students to its seventh cohort, commencing in October 2025.
Each SURES scholarship includes tuition fees and a stipend – reviewed annually at the UKRI standard rate and a £1,000 annual training allowance to support immersive training experiences, conference attendance, engagement with industry and international collaborative opportunities.
Each scholarship is offered for a maximum period of three years; SURES students are expected to submit their theses within this timescale.
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) power portable electronics, electric vehicles (EVs), and grid storage. The large adoption and production of LIBs pose severe constraints on their resources (mainly Li, Co, and Ni) and, as a result, raise their cost. High-energy, sustainable, and safe alternative energy storage systems are required to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles and support intermittent energy sources. Alternative battery technologies like sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) would replace LIBs in grid storage applications, but their energy density is not significant enough to be considered for EVs. Furthermore, the safety of SIBs is a big concern, similar to LIBs. Battery development with new chemistries is urgently needed, and these could be viable alternatives to LIBs in terms of energy and power density.
Rechargeable fluoride-ion batteries (FIBs) were introduced and pioneered in this direction. However, fluoride-ion conducting liquid and polymer electrolytes are vital to developing high-performing FIBs. Therefore, developing fluoride-ion conducting polymer electrolytes is necessary for FIBs' advancement. With this studentship, we aim to develop novel and advanced polymer electrolytes for FIBs.
For more details please see here: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate/scholarships/research/energy-storage-phd-rs799-2025.php
Candidates for PhD must have attained, or must be expected to attain, a first-class UK undergraduate degree (or equivalent international qualification), or an upper second-class UK undergraduate degree and a Distinction in a UK master’s degree (or international equivalent). See - Country-specific Information for EU and International
NB: If you hold a non-UK degree, please see the Swansea University degree comparisons to find out if you meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants must be able to begin their course of study in October 2025. As a cohort-based programme, deferral to an alternative enrolment window within the academic year or to another academic year is not permissible.
English Language requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with a score of at least 6.5 in each individual component) or equivalent that is recognised by Swansea University. Details on the Swansea University English Language entry policy can be found here.
Please note that both the degree and language-proficiency entry requirements for SURES are higher than the baseline standard for entry that is stipulated for most of the PhD programmes at Swansea University.
Please note that the programme requires some applicants to hold ATAS clearance, further details on ATAS scheme eligibility are available on the UK Government website.
ATAS clearance IS NOT required to be held as part of the scholarship application process. Successful award winners (as appropriate) are provided with details as to how to apply for ATAS clearance in tandem with a scholarship course offer.
Funding
This scholarship includes an annual stipend at the UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26).
Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.
Tuition Fees
UK Fee Eligible Students
This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees for UK students.
International Students
This scholarship will cover the full cost of tuition fees if the applicant is also successful in being offered a SUIPRES Scholarship as outlined below.
To apply, please complete your application for here with the following information
In the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this case, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.
*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.
One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.
NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD - to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.
Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted.
As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):
Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact Dr Anji Reddy Munnangi a.r.munnangi@swansea.ac.uk
*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co-funding of a scholarship project is applicable.
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