Energy Storage: Fully Funded SURES PhD Scholarship in the development of polymer electrolytes for fluoride ion batteries (RS799)

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.

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

• Where applicants have multiple master’s degrees, a distinction must be held in the degree that is most relevant to the intended PhD study. 

• If you are currently studying for a master’s level qualification with an expected award date that is later than 01/10/2025, you should hold a minimum of an upper-second-class (2:1) honours degree.   

• You should be able to demonstrate a pass with a minimum grade average of at least 70% for your part-one master’s degree modules (the taught aspect of your master’s course rather than a research-focused dissertation) and submit your dissertation by no later than 30/09/2025.  

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. 

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. 

• Swansea University is pleased to offer the Swansea University International Postgraduate Research Excellence Scholarship (SUIPRES). This is a competitively awarded Scholarship open to overseas PhD and Professional Doctorate applicants eligible for the international rate of tuition fees who can demonstrate excellence in academic achievement.   
• The SUIPRES Scholarship covers the difference between the International and the Home tuition fee for the duration of the PhD/Professional Doctorate programme. Successful candidates will be charged fees aligned to the UK rate per year. The scholarship will be offset against your tuition fee liability  
• All International applications will be considered for a SUIPRES Scholarship. You will be informed whether a SUIPRES Scholarship will be offered within your offer letter. 

To apply, please complete your application for here with the following information

1. Course choice– please select Energy Innovation / PhD / Full-time / 3 Years / October 
2. Start year– please select 2025
3. Funding (page 8 on the application process)

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.

• ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
• ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS799 – SURES FIBs'

*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):

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project.
• One reference (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference.
• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable).
• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)
• Confirmation of EDI form submission

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.