LCA of alkaline electrolyser and/or seawater purification process

Master Thesis
Semester Project
Life Cycle Assessment
LCA
Green hydrogen technologies
Sustainable Energy

What?

Master Thesis or Semester Project

Where?

IPESE Lab, EPFL Valais Campus (Sion, Switzerland), hybrid

When?

Spring Semester 2026

Context

The European research project ASTERISK aims to develop a Platinum Group Metal (PGM)-free anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyser powered by pretreated seawater, and a novel seawater pretreatment, integrated before the stack, which will remove biological, organic and suspended solids with minimal energy requirements and operating costs. HES-SO is supporting this project by performing the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the overall system investigated by the ASTERISK consortium. In this initial phase of the project, the focus is on the development of the LCA model and the quantification of the environmental performance of the “benchmark” system, namely the alkaline electrolyser and the state-of-art seawater purification processes, with reference to the Mediterranean region.

Project objectives and tasks

The objective of the semester/master project is to apply the LCA framework to quantify and compare the environmental performance of the alkaline electrolyser and/or the current seawater purification treatment(s). The main tasks include:

  • Performing a literature review of existing life cycle studies of alkaline electrolysers and/or seawater treatment technologies.
  • Collecting data from literature and developing an up-to-date life cycle inventory.
  • Computing the impact profiles to identify the main hotspots of impacts in terms of life cycle stages, processes, and materials, where more attention should be directed to reduce the environmental footprint.
  • Performing sensitivity analyses on main modeling choices (life cycle impact assessment methods, allocation choices) and input parameters.

Skills and background

We’re seeking students with:

  • Ability to gather and process information and interpret results to support robust recommendations.
  • Basic knowledge of LCA.

Coding skills and previous knowledge of hydrogen technologies and/or seawater purification systems are a plus.

Supervision and conditions

The project is supervised by:

  • Prof. Manuele Margni, professor at HES-SO Valais Wallis at Energypolis (Sion, Switzerland) and at Polytechnique Montréal (Montréal, Canada).
  • Coaching: Eleonora Crenna, experienced LCA analyst at HES-SO / CIRAIG.
  • An official EPFL main supervisor needs to be identified; Prof. François Maréchal or Prof. Jan van Herle are knowledgeable professors that could take this role.

Application: Interested students must send an application file including a CV and a brief cover letter to Manuele Margni and Eleonora Crenna. The position remains open until a suitable candidate is found.