PhD in Digital hybrid heat pump aggregation & control for congestion management

Job description

Hybrid heat pumps will become the standard for heating homes in the Netherlands after 2026 in order to reduce the consumption of natural gas. However, due to the rapid uptake of hybrid heat pumps, combined with the proliferation of photovoltaic installations and the electrification of the transport sector, it is expected that congestion in the low-voltage (LV) distribution system will occur more often. Therefore, it is important to investigate how and to what extent collective control of behind-the-meter hybrid heat pumps can be achieved to provide flexibility. This PhD position is part of a multi-partner project that aims to develop technology based on an open standard, so that small consumers can contribute to congestion management through a market platform.

You will work on quantifying the flexibility potential of controlling hybrid heat pumps and the factors that determine it. Additionally, you will be tasked with translating available flexibility into optimal offers to be submitted in a congestion management market platform and designing new financial instruments to facilitate flexibility procurement from small consumers both preemptively and in real-time. Finally, you will assess the impact of the developed solutions on the consumers and the distribution system under future scenarios, taking into account other financial incentives and potential sources of flexibility.

You will primarily contribute to Intelligent Energy Systems research activities of the Electrical Energy Systems group. Besides research you will also have the opportunity to contribute to education within the department. Apart from supervising BSc and MSc students in their research projects, other assistance in education, e.g. in bachelor courses, is usually limited to around 5% of your contract time.

Job requirements

• A master’s degree (or an equivalent university degree) in Electrical Engineering, Operations Research or a similar field.
• Good programming skills are necessary. Experience in Python is an advantage.
• A research oriented attitude.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.

You must possess a comprehensive knowledge of power systems and/or electricity markets. You must have a proven ability to develop and apply quantitative decision-making methods (e.g., mathematical programming or data-driven approaches), as evidenced by a relevant MSc thesis or publications. Furthermore, familiarity with topics such as congestion management, flexibility provision, energy management, energy communities, mathematical decomposition methods, distributed optimization techniques is highly desirable.

Conditions of employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 27.
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.

Information and application

More information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact
dr. Nikolaos Paterakis, Assistant Professor, n.paterakis[at]tue.nl.

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact HR Services Flux, HRServices.flux[at]tue.nl.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application

We invite you to submit a complete application by using the 'apply now'-button on this page.
The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references.
• A transcript of your grades.
• Copies of your degrees and diplomas.
• A copy of or a link to your MSc thesis. If your MSc thesis was not written in English or it is not publicly available, please provide a one-page summary. If you have not completed it yet, please explain your current situation.
• If you want to provide additional documentation in support of your application (e.g., link to code repository, etc.), please include relevant information in the CV/cover letter.

Selected candidates may be invited first for an online interview and then for onsite visits to TU/e. The position is available immediately and the selected candidate is expected to start no later than September 2023.

We look forward to your application and will screen it as soon as we have received it. Screening will continue until the position has been filled.