PhD scholarship in Market-based Operation of Power-to-X Assets

The Centre for Electric Power and Energy (CEE) at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) invites applications for a fully funded 3-year PhD scholarship in market-based operation of power-to-X assets. You are encouraged to apply if you are keen on designing the green solutions of the future and making a real difference in the green transition of our society.

You will be involved in the project “Towards H2-driven business model: Portfolio management of a multi-energy system under uncertainty (HOMEY)” which has been recently granted funding by the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP). You will be based at DTU, while having a close collaboration with Siemens Gamesa that is our industrial partner in the HOMEY project. The expected start-date for this PhD project is the first of April.

You will join the Energy Analytics & Markets (ELMA) research group of CEE. The ELMA group (https://lnkd.in/dNBFxrc ) and in general CEE offer a very international and friendly atmosphere, encouraging creativity, diversity, empathy, and team working. The ELMA group has a strong multi-disciplinary research focus on energy market design as well as advanced optimization, game-theoretic and machine learning algorithms applied to power and energy systems. Many former PhD students of CEE are currently very successful scientists either in academia or in industry.

You will have a great opportunity to build strong networks with internationally known researchers at DTU and other universities as well as industrial partners. You will take several relevant courses (30 ECTS in total) aligned with the PhD project either in DTU or other universities. You will have a chance to attend several international conferences and other scientific and industrial events as well as a research stay for 3-6 months in a well-known research group outside Denmark. You will also have a chance to contribute to BSc/MSc thesis supervision as well as teaching activities.

Responsibilities and qualifications
Aligned with the HOMEY project, you (in collaboration with your supervisors at DTU and other collaborators at DTU and Siemens Gamesa) are expected to design market-based operational models for a hybrid power plant, including power-to-X assets (such as electrolyzers), renewable assets (such as wind and PV) as well as battery energy storage systems. While properly coping with different sources of uncertainty, the goal is to determine the optimal bidding strategy for the hybrid power plant in potential target markets, such as power, ancillary service, and hydrogen markets. We envision to verify and demonstrate the performance of our operational models in a real pilot in Denmark belonging to Siemens Gamesa.

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Your qualifications are:

• Knowledge of power and energy systems
• Knowledge of energy markets, such as power and ancillary service markets
• Knowledge of decision-making under uncertainty (including stochastic/robust optimization)
• Knowledge of programming tools such as Julia and Python
• Excellent use of the English language
• Good skills in communication with the industrial partner
• Ability to present results in technical reports, and prepare scientific papers for publication in international conferences and journals
• Ideally, knowledge of game theory and machine learning
• Ideally, knowledge of power-to-X technologies

Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education .

Assessment
The assessment of the applicants will be mainly made by Associate Professor Jalal Kazempour (DTU).

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here .

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor Jalal Kazempour, [email protected] .

You can read more about DTU Electrical Engineering at www.elektro.dtu.dk/english . 

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark .

Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 28 January 2022 (Danish time). Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply online", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma including official description of grading scale
• Contact details of two individuals that can provide a letter of reference, if necessary

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear vision to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That vision lives on today. DTU has 12,900 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.