PhD Candidate in Prospective Life Cycle Assessment (M/F)

About this position

The PhD project will be conducted within the UAR UTOPII, a research and support unit dedicated to developing and disseminating methods for assessing the impact of engineering research. The work will be supervised by Myriam SAADE (CNRS Researcher, UTOPII) and Tom BAUER (Associate Professor, UTOPII / I2M).

This thesis is part of the ADEME PROgSPECT project, which focuses on the environmental assessment of research programs. The doctoral candidate will benefit from interactions with the project team. Coordination with the ANR CYCLEM project—which focuses on the prospective Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of emerging technological systems originating from engineering science laboratories—is also expected.

By joining the CNRS, you will benefit from:

• A stimulating work environment alongside research staff
• 44 days of leave/working time reduction (RTT) per year
• Excellent working conditions (flexible hours, remote work options)
• Partial reimbursement of public transport costs (75%) + a sustainable mobility allowance of up to €300/year
• A site accessible by public transport and bicycle

The ADEME PROgSPECT project aims to contribute to the development of sustainable innovations and technologies by proposing an environmental assessment methodology based on prospective Life Cycle Assessment (pLCA). To achieve this, the project focuses on the level of research programs—such as the Priority Research Programs and Equipment (PEPR)—given their structural importance for research in France and their potential to shape research topics. Currently, there is no established approach for the environmental assessment of such programs, even though LCAs have been conducted on specific technologies developed within projects supported by these programs.

The project therefore seeks to develop a methodological framework that integrates the analysis of environmental impacts arising from the program's operation with the environmental assessment of its outcomes, within a pLCA perspective. This will involve exploring the potential of hybridizing pLCA with environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) matrices and testing the proposed methodology on a research program to evaluate its applicability.

As part of this PhD project, the doctoral candidate will explore the potential of hybridizing pLCA with environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) matrices for defining and modeling prospective scenarios. They will examine methods for defining future scenarios, outlining the socio-economic trajectories typically explored in pLCA (such as "Business as Usual" and "Sufficiency") as well as alternative scenarios. They will also investigate existing tools—such as PREMISE—and the potential of other tools, for instance those used in stock-flow consistent (SFC) macroeconomic models.

Particular attention will be paid to the consistency between the modeling of the foreground system and that of the background system. This thesis will thus inform the development of a methodological framework designed to link the analysis of environmental impacts arising from the program's operation with the environmental assessment of its results, within a process-based LCA (LCAp) perspective.As part of the UTOPII research activities focusing on the environmental assessment of emerging technologies in engineering sciences, the postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the development of researches on prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA). They will work closely with other team members involved in this activity.

Activities

Coupling environmental assessment methods with pLCA (Environmentally-Extended Input/Output (EEIO), etc.)

Synthesis of the scientific literature on pLCA applied to research projects and programs, with a focus on scenario development for future technological contexts

Development of guidlines for the definition and modeling of prospective scenarios

Analysis and testing of available and emerging pLCA tools

Contribution to the formalization of a methodological framework for prospective environmental assessment of research programs in the field of engineering sciences, in coordination with ongoing work at UTOPII

Application to an emerging technology in the field of engineering sciences (materials, nanotechnologies, electronics, etc.)

Dissemination of results in conferences and journals

Skills

The candidate must:

• hold a Master's or engineering degree in a field of engineering sciences
• have conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in a field of engineering sciences

The following skills/knowledge are not all mandatory for this position, but some will be valued and should be highlighted in your application:

• Experience in prospective LCA
• The ability to develop computer code, knowledge of numerical methods and programming languages such as Python, and ease in sharing code, for example, using GitHub.
• Verbal and written communication skills necessary for scientific reports and publications, as well as for delivering scientific presentations.
• Good knowledge in the areas of environmental transition: energy, mobility, resources, circular economy, digital technologies, etc.
• Ability to facilitate and present findings in meetings or working groups