Climate research thesis for metal powder industry

Are you interested in climate research and how the IPCC reports have informed national policies, industry initiatives and business logic? So is the Swedish metal powder producer Höganäs AB and in the spring of 2021, you can write your Master’s thesis project for the Director of Group Sustainability. Your research will be important in the development of their ”Climate Roadmap 2045”  of climate action in heavy industry. 

About Höganäs AB

Established in 1797, Höganäs is the world leader in metal powder solutions with a yearly capacity of 500,000 tons. The technology provides opportunities to develop resource-efficient solutions for automotive steel components, brazing, electrical motors, additive manufacturing, water treatment and more. Today, Höganäs has about 2,500 employees and offers more than 3,500 products, mostly customer specific, from 18 production centres around the world.

In 2019 Höganäs’s Group management decided that the whole business would aim to become net climate neutral by 2045 and decouple earnings from climate impact emissions. The scope is both direct and indirect emissions and includes material and energy supply, production processes, research and development plans and business models. To reach these ambitious targets a ”Climate Roadmap 2045” is being developed to guide climate actions and integration with strategy and business planning processes (read more). Now Höganäs wants to compile research on climate policies, industry initiatives and effects on various aspects of business to have a strong base for decision-making and action within the Climate Roadmap 2045!

Scope of research

To gain structured knowledge of trends within the field of climate action, Höganäs wants the scope of research to include:

• What effects have the IPCC 1.5 2018 report had on climate policies on global, regional and national level? On industry initiatives, especially connected to steel associations and powder metallurgy? And on specific strategies and technological paths at individual companies for benchmarks.
• What effects if any have changed strategies and targets had on the powder metal industry? Concerning for example customer demands for LCA and climate declarations on products, offerings, marketing, acceptance of additional costs related to lowered carbon footprint on products and competitor’s ability to provide LCA data/climate declarations on products and choice of standards and methodology.

Your research should identify relevant trends and conclude 2-3 relevant indicators that can be followed over time that reflect the industry’s movement (or lack thereof) towards climate neutrality. Deliverables to Höganäs should include a comprehensive report that describes the present status of scope, identified trends and how to monitor future movement, a PowerPoint-presentation describing the highlights and an oral presentation of the main findings. To be presented in March 2021, after which you will maintain access to tutoring and information in order to finalise your academic paper during the rest of the term. Details to be decided in dialogue.

Expected qualifications

You should have a deep interest and understanding in climate policies and action and available to write your Master’s thesis in an industry collaboration. We also believe that you are more likely to succeed if you:

• Are interested in sustainability and climate efforts in heavy industry, especially within steel and manufacturing.
• Have experience of designing tools and strategies for data collection, analysis, and production of reports.
• Have relevant academic background within engineering, environmental management, business, policy, political science or something related.
• Are skilled at planning your own work with clear tasks and timelines, and work efficiently by yourself

Details

Type of engagement: Thesis project at Master’s level (30hp, full-time). The work is expected to be carried out independently as a combination of desktop study and interviews. Depending on your academic requirements, the thesis project can be carried out individually or together with a thesis partner.
Time: Spring term 2021, starting from January. Results or partial results expected to be presented in March 2021.
Location: The research and presentations can be carried out remotely and through video meetings.
Contacts: Main supervisor is the Director of Group Sustainability, Höganäs AB. Expected collaboration with a project team for the Climate Roadmap 2045
Reward: Unpaid to be conducted as part of a degree. A symbolic remuneration will be rewarded for a well carried out project.