MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship: Call for Postdoctoral Candidates 2026

In recent years, the MATERALIA Group has positioned itself at the forefront of steelmaking and metallurgical decarbonisation, driving the development of innovative and efficient processing routes that extend material lifetime, reduce CO₂ emissions, and enable the valorisation of metallurgical by-products. This dynamic research environment combines physical metallurgy principles with hydrogen-based process design, supported by pioneering experimental capabilities aimed at understanding multiscale physicochemical phenomena governing hydrogen–metal oxide interactions and their influence on final product quality.

The MSCA fellow will contribute to the “Hydrogen metallurgy” research line within several collaborative projects with industrial partners such as ArcelorMittal, CELSA Group, Rovalma, and Atlantic Copper. This research line addresses key challenges including:

• Hydrogen-based recovery of metals from steelmaking by-products such as rolling mill scale and Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slags

• Hydrogen-based refining processes, including blister copper deoxidation

• Role of impurities in solid-state hydrogen reduction of iron oxides in mill scale pellets

• Selective recovery of copper and tin from slags generated in e-waste recycling

• Data-driven and thermodynamics-based design of pyrometallurgical processes

• Influence of trapped hydrogen in thermally processed additive-manufactured steels on mechanical behaviour

The MATERALIA Group is strongly committed to maximising the scientific and societal impact of its research, contributing to industrial decarbonisation and energy transition (https://descarboniza360.com/).

Supervisor

Dr. Carola Celada-Casero is a Tenured Scientist at the Spanish National Centre for Metallurgical Research (CENIM-CSIC) since 2021. She holds a PhD in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid (2015). From 2016 to 2021, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and later as a principal researcher and project leader at Tata Steel R&D, a global leader in sustainable steel manufacturing.

She has coordinated the Energy Transition and Climate Change Forum of PLATEA and served as a Scientific Expert for the Office of Science and Technology of the Spanish Congress (Green Hydrogen as Fuel, doi: 10.57952/87d5-vg85).

She currently leads a new research line on “Hydrogen metallurgy” at CENIM-CSIC. Her research focuses on understanding multiscale physicochemical phenomena governing structure–property relationships in metallurgical materials to design more sustainable and energy-efficient processing routes. She combines hydrogen-based experimental approaches, advanced characterization techniques, and state-of-the-art simulations. She interprets mechanisms using theoretical frameworks and data-driven approaches, including Computational Thermochemistry and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.

Her leadership and communication skills enable strong team synergy and motivation across multidisciplinary teams, within a wide academic and industrial network, ensuring effective knowledge transfer and impact of research outcomes.

Research Topics (indicative)

Candidates are encouraged to propose innovative MSCA projects aligned with or complementary to the group’s expertise, including:

-   Impact of trapped hydrogen in the thermally-processed additive / conventionally manufactured steels on the mechanical behaviour

-   Prospects and innovative uses of hydrogen for the industry decarbonization (hydrogen-based metallurgy)

-   Hydrogen-metal interactions: hydrogen diffusion, trapping, hydrogen activity, etc.

-   Hydrogen-iron oxides interactions either in solid or liquid states, hydrogen-based reduction processes.

Interdisciplinary proposals are particularly welcome.

Candidate Profile

Applicants must comply with MSCA PF eligibility criteria:

-   PhD degree at the call deadline

-   Maximum of 8 years of research experience (post-PhD)

-   Compliance with MSCA mobility rule

-   Strong publication record and scientific independence

-   Interest in collaborative and interdisciplinary research

What We Offer

-   Full support in proposal preparation and project design

-   Integration into a highly recognized research group

-   Access to advanced characterization and modelling capabilities

-   Strong academic–industry interaction environment

-   Career development and training within MSCA framework

MSCA fellowships provide:

-   Competitive salary (including mobility/family allowances)

-   Research, training, and networking budget

-   International mobility and career development opportunities

-   Application Procedure

Interested candidates should send:

CV (including publications)

Short research proposal (1–2 pages)

Motivation letter

Contact

Carola Celada-Casero [c.celada@cenim.csic.es]