Internship / Working student / Master Thesis student (m/f/d) - Simplified LCA for the Sustainable Design of Switchgear Components

Take your next career step at ABB with a global team that is energizing the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. At ABB, we have the clear goal of driving diversity and inclusion across all dimensions: gender, LGBTQ+, abilities, ethnicity and generations. Together, we are embarking on a journey where each and every one of us, individually and collectively, welcomes and celebrates individual differences.

Looking for a taste of working life in an international, future-focused corporate group? Then join us as an intern/working student/master thesis student (m/f/d) and familiarise yourself with a suitable department for 3 to 6 months. You will be involved in large-scale projects and perform a defined set of duties independently. Use your time at ABB Corporate Research to build a network and become familiar with our company.

Your responsibilities

• Switchgear in medium voltage grids are systems controlling and protecting a large variety of grid assets. As they are very broadly used and in very different applications (from substations in urban and rural areas to wind farms or industrial plants) there are high demands on their reliability and safety. Furthermore, such systems have a very long lifetime of about 30 and up to 50 years in extreme cases. Considering this background, sustainability in the design of these devices and especially in their mechanical components has long been seen as a minor issue compared to its functional safety and reliability. With changing regulations and new customer demand the question of how to improve switchgear design towards more sustainable material choices arises.
• In the intended project, a study on methods for a simplified Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) in the design process for mechanically loaded parts shall be conducted. To this end, the student will compare different LCA approaches in the context of an actuator design for a switchgear. The chosen method should be able to assess different mechanical designs with respect to sustainability. The designs may vary in material selection and processing as well as their morphology. By focusing on key aspects of the LCA, it should be possible to compare design variants quickly, considering the entire life cycle of the product at an early stage, the design phase. Eventually, the integration of a simplified LCA in the design process will contribute to a new engineering design method within a larger project at the German Research Center of ABB in Mannheim in cooperation with several universities.
• We expect you to have the willingness to tackle difficult problems and proactiveness to come up with new ideas.
• As part of our project team, you should have high motivation to get acquainted with an unknown topic, interest in code development, and independently drive your tasks.

Your background

• You are studying for a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Environmental Engineering, Material Sciences or similar field.
• You are a good communicator, you have sound English skills in speaking and writing as required by an international team.
• You are interested in sustainable design, life cycle assessment and solving complex industrial problems.
• You have a strong background in environmental engineering and/or life cycle assessment.
• You should preferably be familiar with design methodology and scientific literature research.
• You have experience in CAD software, e.g., SolidWorks. Experience in LCA software (e.g. SIMAPRO) would be a big plus.

More about us

We believe in fairness, so interns who join us will benefit from our expertise as they expand their own knowledge. We give you the scope to try things out for yourself and obtain practical experience. Your time is valuable, so you will receive appropriate remuneration for the duration of the internship. Please note that internships are generally limited to six months, while voluntary internships during a bachelor course are for a maximum of three months. Please state whether you are applying for a voluntary or mandatory internship or master’s thesis student and be sure to enclose your certificate of enrolment. In the case of mandatory internships, please include the corresponding extract from your university’s internship guidelines. Interested? Then we look forward to receiving your informative application (cover letter, CV, certificate of enrolment, current transcript of grades and other supporting documents) through our online careers tool.