PhD position: Digital Substation of the Future with vPAC, IEC61850 and Real-time HIL Simulation

PhD position: Digital Substation of the Future with vPAC, IEC61850 and Real-time HIL Simulation

Developing the digital substation of the future for modern power grids considering future architecture, IEC61850 communications for PAC and vPAC, and cyber security.

Job description

ESTELAR project, funded under Horizon Europe, is recruiting a talented, enthusiastic, and ambitious PhD candidate to perform excellent research and achieve breakthroughs in the field of digital substation of the future for power systems. The objective of ESTELAR is to advance virtualization technologies for digital substations of the future in electrical power grids, overcoming current challenges and boosting the digitalisation of the power system to speedup energy transition, moving to climate-neutral economies and strengthening the power grid resilience. ESTELAR is based on three innovative pillars: advanced communication strategies, a robust computational framework, and the transformative Digital Substation of the Future (DSoF) architecture. The first pillar focuses on enhancing substation communication systems to facilitate seamless and real-time integration of physical and virtual components. The second pillar aims to boost the processing and data handling capabilities of substations across both cloud and edge computing platforms for future computational demands. The third pillar is centered on developing a modular and scalable substation architecture that incorporates advanced monitoring, virtualized protection, automation and control, digital twinning and cyber security.

Within the ESTELAR project, TU Delft is hiring a doctoral candidate on the subject: "Digital substation of the future with virtual protection, automation and control (vPAC), IEC61850 and real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation".

In this PhD, you will contribute to the development of a scalable and modular digital substation architecture that integrates the current substation technologies and advanced monitoring, protection, automation, and control through IEC61850 communications, digital twinning and virtualized Protection, Automation and Control (vPAC). Hence, the candidate is expected to posses a strong background in power system automation, Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), IEC61850 for PAC / vPAC, and hardware-in-the-loop setups such as RTDS/OPAL-RT or EMT simulations with PSCAD.

You will conduct research to develop the DSoF proof of concept, define requirements and propose a scalable and modular DSoF architecture to overcome identified limitations and challenges of state-of-the-art substation automation systems, which combine physical PAC, digital twins of IEDs, virtual PAC, and their interaction. IEDs and vPAC coexistence is one of the most promising and needed aspects in DSoF. The DSoF architecture will aim at a TSO-DSO substation with key digital technologies integrated at the bus, bay and station levels and connected to the Control Room of the Future (CRoF) of TU Delft. The DSoF architecture will be developed considering (i) advanced communications using open standards and interoperability frameworks, (ii) real-time data and computing performance, (iii) centralized vPAC, (iv) robustness, availability, redundance, scalability and time synchronization, and (v) cloud connectivity.

We offer four-year PhD appointments, with an anticipated start date in August / September 2025.

You will be a member of the section Intelligent Electrical Power Grids, in Electrical Sustainable Energy (ESE) Department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science.

About the department

The research in ESE Department is inspired by the technical, scientific, and societal challenges originating from the transition towards a more sustainable society and focuses on four areas:

• DC Systems, Energy Conversion and Storage (DCE&S)
• Photovoltaic Materials and Devices (PVMD)
• Intelligent Electrical Power Grids (IEPG)
• High Voltage Technologies (HVT)

IEPG group, headed by Professor Peter Palensky, works on the future of our power system. The goal is to generate, transmit and use electrical energy in a highly reliable, efficient, stable, clean, affordable, and safe way.

Job description

• Essential job requirements:
• Demonstrable interest in interdisciplinary and intersectoral research, and specifically the interface between power systems, information and communication technologies, and cyber security.
• Completed a Master's and Bachelor’s degree in a highly quantitative and analytical discipline (electrical engineering with an emphasis on power systems, telecommunications, and/or computer science).
• Excellent academic record (grades of B or higher).
• Excellent analytical and writing skills.
• Very good command of English. The minimum requirement of a TOEFL overall band score of 100 (with scores of at least 21 for all sections) or IELTS overall band score of 7.0 (with scores of at least 6.5 for all sections: writing, reading, listening, speaking) applies to all candidates wanting to pursue a PhD at TU Delft. Test results must have a validity of two years
• Ability to read and critically analyse power systems / computer science / mathematics papers.
• Strong knowledge of power system automation, communcation standards and protocols, and hardware-in-the-loop simulations.
• Strong knowledge of mathematics including differential algebraic equations, discrete systems, and probability theory and statistics.
• You are independent, self-motivated, and eager to learn.
• You are keen to work with industry partners to link real-world challenges to fundamental research questions.
• Demonstrable experience with computer modelling and simulation.
• You enjoy programming and hold your code to a high standard.

Desirables:

• Knowledge of computer networking and cyber security.
• IEC61850, IEC62351 and EMT hardware-in-the-loop simulations.
• Experience with Python and machine learning libraries.
• Experience with collaborative software development (e.g. open source).

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.
Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2901 per month in the first year to € 3609 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills. The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.

Additional information

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Dr. Alex Stefanov, Associate Professor, via a.i.stefanov@tudelft.nl.