Combinatorial Rare Earth-free magnets for offshore wind turbines

Project Description:

This PhD scholarship is offered by the EPSRC CDT in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience; a partnership between the Universities of Durham, Hull, Loughborough and Sheffield. The successful applicant will undertake six-month of training with the rest of the CDT cohort at the University of Hull before continuing their PhD research at the University of Sheffield.

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate to join a pioneering project that challenges the conventional approach to wind turbine design. 

Wind turbines depend on magnets made from expensive and scarce rare-earth elements (REEs), creating significant cost and supply chain vulnerabilities. For decades, the research question has been: what is the most efficient generator for a given magnet? We are flipping this question on its head: what are the ideal magnetic properties we need to design, and how can we build them from the ground up? 

This project moves beyond single-material solutions. We shall explore the concept of creating high-performance “combinatorial magnets” by strategically combining novel and existing materials together. We will investigate whether materials previously dismissed for poor performance or high cost can be integrated to create a composite that reduces our reliance on critical REEs without sacrificing efficiency. 

Your research will be at the forefront of computational materials science. You will employ a powerful suite of cutting-edge techniques, including multi-physics finite element (FE) analysis and atomic-scale modelling. You will construct 2D and 3D simulations of generators that incorporate spatially varying material properties, from compositional gradients to atomic-level interface effects—a crucial step beyond current models. 

This PhD is part of a dynamic research cluster with strong industrial ties, including a studentship sponsored by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. This is a unique opportunity to conduct fundamental research with a direct line to real-world impact, helping to make wind energy more sustainable and economically viable. 

Training and development

You will benefit from a taught programme, giving you a broad understanding of the breadth and depth of current and emerging offshore wind sector needs. This begins with an intensive six-month programme at the University of Hull for the new student intake, drawing on the expertise and facilities of all four academic partners. It is supplemented by Continuing Professional Development (CPD), which is embedded throughout your 4-year research scholarship.

You will be given training in the use of the atomic scale software packages . The technical aspects of the generator design and performance will be supported through the SGRE R&D engineering team who are also assisting in supervising the project. 

Entry requirements

If you have received a First-class Honours degree, or a 2:1 Honours degree and a Masters, or a Distinction at Masters level with any undergraduate degree (or the international equivalents) in Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or Mathematics and Statistics, we would like to hear from you.

If your first language is not English, or you require Tier 4 student visa to study, you will be required to provide evidence of your English language proficiency level that meets the requirements of the Aura CDT’s academic partners. This course requires academic IELTS 7.0 overall, with no less than 6.0 in each skill.

If you have any queries about this project, please contact Dr Julian Dean (j.dean@sheffield.ac.uk) 

You may also address queries about the CDT to auracdt@hull.ac.uk.

Watch our short video to hear from Aura CDT students, academics and industry partners:

Funding

The Offshore Wind CDT is funded by the EPSRC, allowing us to provide scholarships that cover fees plus a stipend set at the UKRI nationally agreed rates. These are currently £20,780 per annum at 2025/26 rates and will increase in line with the EPSRC guidelines for the subsequent years (subject to progress).

Eligibility

Research Council funding for postgraduate research has residence requirements. Our CDT scholarships are available to Home (UK) Students. To be considered a Home student, and therefore eligible for a full award, a student must have no restrictions on how long they can stay in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the scholarship (with some further constraint regarding residence for education). For full eligibility information, please refer to the EPSRC website.

We also allocate a number of scholarships for International Students per cohort.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The CDT is committed to generating a diverse and inclusive training programme and is looking to attract applicants from all backgrounds. We offer a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for home fee status candidates who identify as Black or Black mixed or Asian or Asian mixed if they meet the programme entry requirements. This positive action is to support recruitment of these under-represented ethnic groups to our programme and is an opt in process.

Find out more

How to apply

Applications are open until 5 January 2026.

Please note, you may only apply for ONE project offered through the EPSRC CDT in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience.

Please ensure that you familiarise yourself with the Aura CDT website before you apply to give you a good understanding of what a CDT is, our CDT’s research focus and the training and continuing professional development programme that runs alongside the CDT. The Frequently asked questions page and Candidate resources page are essential reading prior to applying.

Applications to this project are made via the University of Sheffield admissions system. If you have not applied to the University of Sheffield before, you will need to set up an account to enable you to track the progress of your application and upload supporting documents.

As part of the recruitment process, we ask that you submit a short film of you delivering a presentation, of up to 5 minutes in length, on “How do your experiences and qualities provide a background to contribute to research and innovation for the project you have applied for”.

You will be assessed on the content of your presentation, not your film editing skills, but please be mindful of filming in an appropriate, quiet location. Please film the presentation in whatever way you feel most comfortable with. For example, it could be a slide presentation with voice over, or you may wish to present simply talking to the camera.  Please use the tools and technology that are accessible to you and that you feel comfortable with e.g. your mobile phone, or the built-in ‘Record Slide Show’ on Keynote (macOS, iOS, iPadOS) or Powerpoint etc.

We also ask that you complete a Supplementary Application Form. This includes space for you to provide a link where the shortlisting panel may view your film.

Follow this link to apply for CDT projects at the University of Sheffield: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying

After filling in your personal details, please select ‘Doctoral Training Course’ as the qualification you are applying for. You should then select ‘AURA II CDT’ for the specific doctoral training course and choose ‘PhD’. You can apply for one project only.

With your application, you need to upload copies of the following supporting evidence:

• Complete transcripts (and final degree certificate(s) where possible). If your qualification documents are not in English, you will need to supply copies of your original language documents as well as their official translation into English.
• Your Curriculum Vitae (CV).
• A completed Supplementary Application Form (upload when asked for your Supporting Statement).

Uploading the form

When you have completed the form, please save it as a pdf format and labelled as follows:

Last name_first name PhD application form

Upload the form as part of your application documents through the University of Sheffield student application portal, when asked to add your Supporting Statement. The Form replaces the Supporting Statement and so you do not need to complete the Supporting Statement section. Please do not send your form directly to the Offshore Wind CDT..

Interviews

First-round interviews will be held online during early to mid-February 2026. The interview panel will comprise the project supervisory team members from the host university where the project is based, plus a representative of the CDT.  Where the project involves external supervisors from university partners or industry sponsors then representatives from these partners may form part of the interview panel and your application documents will be shared with them (with the guaranteed interview scheme section of the supplementary application form removed).

If you are successful, you will progress to a second interview towards the end of February 2026. This will be with key academics from the CDT from across our four partner institutions (Durham University, University of Hull, Loughborough University, University of Sheffield) and your application documents will be shared with them (with the guaranteed interview scheme section removed from the supplementary application form).

If you have any queries about this project, please contact Dr Julian Dean (j.dean@sheffield.ac.uk) 

You may also address queries about the CDT to auracdt@hull.ac.uk.