Research Scientist for ALPHEUS Project: Innovative Pumped Turbine Hydro Storage for Green Energy

Renewable energy, especially wind and solar, is essential for our global efforts to decarbonize and slow the rate of global warming. However, the current electricity grid is unable to handle the intermittent nature of these energy sources, as the consumption of energy by industries and individuals often does not coincide in time with the generation of energy by the wind or sun. When electricity consumption is greater than generation, peaking (or backup) power supplies are needed. In wet mountains regions such as Norway and the Alps, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) is used for this purpose, with water pumped to reservoirs on mountaintops during times of excess power generation, then run through turbines back down to reservoirs in valleys during times of excess power consumption. This is the most efficient, mature, and lowest cost (both in terms of Euros and carbon emissions) means of energy storage, which is why over 95% of worldwide utility-scale energy storage is PHS.

In the civil engineering component of ALPHEUS, a Horizon 2020 project funded through EU grant 883553, the University of Stuttgart, Delft University of Technology, IHE-Delft, Technical University of Braunschweig, and the University of Pau and the Adour Region assess sites along the periphery of the North Sea for application of low head PHS. Conceptual designs of new and retrofit low head PHS basins are drafted. New structures encompass dike rings in the North Sea, including Dutch and Belgian ideas such as Plan Lievense and the North Sea energy island. Retrofits encompass concepts including the utilization of existing or proposed storm surge barriers or other structures, such as the Delta 21 Valmeer scheme. Comprehensive design of mechanical, electrical, and civil components allow costs of these schemes to be determined, and physical and economic risks assessed.

To address this challenge, the Hydraulic Engineering department of TU Delft is looking for a motivated Research Scientist or Postdoc for a period of 18 months. The selected candidate will work on concepts and designs on prefeasibility level and contribute to the ALPHEUS civil team on all elements of this component, including technical and economic aspects, as well as outdoor lab experiments on the fish-friendliness of the proposed construction.