Sustainable Metallurgy IMPRS Scholarships 2026 Open in Germany

Three fully funded doctoral positions in sustainable metallurgy have opened across Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr region, hosted jointly by the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials in Düsseldorf, the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim an der Ruhr, and Ruhr University Bochum. The three-year PhD programme, conducted entirely in English, is accepting applications until 15 May 2026, with positions commencing on 1 July 2026.

A Research Agenda Built for the Green Transition

The programme targets a pressing industrial challenge: making metallurgy — the extraction and processing of metals that underpin infrastructure, energy systems, and medicine — carbon-neutral. The three PhD projects approach this challenge from complementary angles.

• Project 1, supervised by Prof. von Keudell at Ruhr University Bochum, focuses on microwave plasma-based reduction of metal oxides, a low-carbon alternative to conventional blast furnace processes.
• Project 2, led by Prof. Weidenthaler at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, examines the mechanochemical synthesis of intermetallic compounds through in situ studies using powder diffraction and spectroscopy.
• Project 3, under Prof. Bitzek at the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials, uses atomistic simulation to investigate chemo-mechanical processes in the iron-oxygen system.

Taken together, the three Max Planck sustainable metallurgy PhD positions represent a coordinated push to correlate experimental observation with computational modelling — combining ab initio methods, machine learning, and multi-scale simulation with advanced characterization tools including atom probe tomography, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction.

Funding and Financial Terms

All three positions are salaried or stipend-based. Doctoral researchers at both Max Planck Institutes receive remuneration under the TVöD E13 pay scale at 65 percent — approximately €40,000 gross per year, which after German social deductions translates to a competitive net monthly income.

The Ruhr University Bochum position carries a monthly scholarship of €2,050 net, tax-free. Both arrangements represent standard doctoral funding in Germany and are sufficient to cover living costs in the Rhine-Ruhr region, one of Europe’s more affordable metropolitan corridors despite its research density.

Eligibility: What Each Project Requires?

All applicants must hold an excellent master’s degree. For the plasma physics role (Project 1), a background in physics and demonstrated experience in plasma research is expected. The mechanochemistry position (Project 2) is open to candidates with master’s degrees in materials science, chemistry, or solid-state physics; knowledge of X-ray diffraction or electron microscopy strengthens an application.

Project 3 requires a master’s in materials science, physics, or chemistry, with experience in atomistic simulations on high-performance computing platforms and a solid grasp of crystallography. Strong English language proficiency is required across all three positions. Nationality restrictions are not specified, and the Max Planck Society explicitly encourages applications from international candidates and individuals with disabilities.

Why This Programme Stands Out?

The Max Planck Society consistently ranks among the world’s most productive basic research organizations; its institutes have produced more Nobel laureates per capita than almost any comparable institution. The sustainable metallurgy PhD programme benefits from that infrastructure while situating itself in an explicitly applied context — the decarbonization of heavy industry. For doctoral researchers interested in materials science or computational physics, the combination of Max Planck supervision, interdisciplinary collaboration, and direct relevance to energy transition policy is difficult to match among PhD positions in Germany 2026.

The deadline is 15 May 2026. Required application materials include a motivation letter, CV, degree certificates, and academic transcripts. Interested applicants should review the specific project descriptions carefully and direct their application to the appropriate supervisor.