PhD scholarship: Sizing and physical design of Hybrid Power Plants (HPPs) accounting for operational strategies Context

Do you want to be involved in the green energy transition? Do you wish to contribute to the development of wind energy and are you looking for a career in R&D or academia, then we have an opportunity!

The Department of Wind Energy at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Wind Energy) is seeking a candidate for a 3-year PhD project within the System Engineering and Optimization (SYS) section.

DTU Wind Energy is a mission-driven university department with a vision to be the preferred university partner for the global wind energy sector. The department creates value for society through integration of research with edu cation, innovation and research-based consultancy within key fields central to the development and use of wind energy.

You will be part of the international team carrying out research in the SYS section where the working language is English. Our research in SYS is dedicated to investigate system engineering and optimization related to wind energy in general.

Please look at https://windenergy.dtu.dk/english/research/research-sections/sys for more details on the type of activities we undertake.

Responsibilities and qualifications
The purpose of this PHD study is to develop and execute capability for the technology selection, sizing, and physical design of HPPs that account for their operational strategy and overall profitability. This will involve extending capability for TOPFARM and TOPFARM/HyDesign to consider a variety of technologies including, but not limited to, solar PV, battery storage, Power-to-X, etc. The operational strategy will be considered in the sizing and in a simplified way in the physical design. The physical design will account for issues specifically associated with HPPs such as shadow of PV panels by the turbines. In addition, the sizing and design will address the selection and sizing of electrical components considering the reliability aspects of these components.

The capability will be applied to a series of real-world case studies for existing and planned hybrid facilities. The performance of resulting plant designs will be evaluated in time-series as a validation. In a next stage of the work, uncertainty due to time-varying resource availability, component reliability, and market price variability will be addressed in a stochastic optimization approach to enable optimal sizing and physical design for a variety of uncertainty-based objectives (e.g. maximization of expected NPV, minimization risk of falling below a certain IRR threshold, achieving an optimum based load generation approach, etc).

The study will be supported by two PhDs that are each supported through additional effort by the DTU Wind research team.

The proposed PhD study will include:

A detailed project plan will be developed with the supervisors within the first three months after enrolment.

Candidates should have a Master in engineering, natural sciences or similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a Master’s degree. The successful candidate is required to have:

• Documented background in engineering
• Documented background in numerical modeling
• Background in wind energy is encouraged
• Ability to work in a project team and take responsibility for own research goals
• Fluency in communicating and reporting in English

The successful candidate must also fulfill the requirements for admission to a PhD program at DTU.

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 .

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 .

The workplace will be DTU Wind Energy, Risø Campus at Roskilde, Denmark.

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Head of Section Katherine Dykes ([email protected]).

You can read more about DTU Wind Energy on www.vindenergi.dtu.dk

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

Application
Please submit your online application no later than 15 February 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

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

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

The Department of Wind Energy is one of the world’s largest centres of wind energy research and knowledge, with a staff of more than 240 people from 37 countries working in research, innovation, research-based consulting and educa- tion. DTU Wind Energy has approximately 40 PhD students. The department’s cross-disciplinary research is organized through strategic research programmes that collaborate with Danish and international universities, research institutions and organizations, as well as the wind industry.

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.