PhD Position Computationally Efficient Modeling to Evaluate Energy Market Organisation

PhD Position Computationally Efficient Modeling to Evaluate Energy Market Organisation

Are you passionate about algorithms, solving optimization problems efficiently, and eager to make a significant impact on the energy transition? Join us and help shape the future of energy markets.

Job description

You will research the state of the art in solving large optimization problems efficiently, and extend and apply this to support policy decisions regarding energy markets, in collaboration with our academic and industry partners.

You will build upon and contribute to the TULIPA energy model, which is currently the most advanced model for energy system optimization. Together with the team at TNO you will extend its capabilities to analyze the impacts of energy policies in (imperfect) markets. For example, together with other academic partners, you will develop a model to evaluate different long- and short-term market changes in a scalable manner, and analyze selected market regulations and distortions at the distribution level, including their impact on congestion.

You will develop new algorithmic solutions and/or models to do these analyses at scale, contributing to the development of the first comprehensive tool for supporting the design of energy markets. The aim is to make this tool useful for the projects’ societal partners as well as for research and education. Your research will be published and presented at international AI, optimization, energy policy, and power systems venues.

This PhD position is part of the research project MODES (Market Organisation of the Dutch Energy System), which is funded by the Dutch Research Council within the framework of the National Research Agenda programme. The position is embedded in an interdisciplinary research team composed of researchers in engineering, economics, law and public policy from seven Dutch universities, two Universities of Applied Science, TNO, and a consortium of industrial (e.g., TenneT) and institutional partners (e.g., Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth).

The current market organisation of the Dutch energy system is not aligned with the ambition of climate neutrality by 2050. Current markets, policies, and regulations do not adequately address the need for investments, nor the demand for flexibility (crucial in integrating renewables), or the requirements coming from the integration of multiple energy carriers and small consumers. MODES’ overarching research goal is to propose a market design that can support an integrated, flexible energy system that meets public expectations in terms of reliability, affordability, and equity, during and after the energy transition.

You will work in the Algorithmics group at the Software Technology department under supervision of prof.dr. Mathijs de Weerdt and dr. Germán Morales-España. In the Algorithmics group, you will become part of a dynamic and diverse environment of PhD and postdoc researchers excited about making theoretical and algorithmic contributions in intelligent decision making. We aim to deal with the scalability challenge inherent in many such applications, to understand how to learn models that are useful for upstream planning, scheduling, and verification tasks, and how to deal with their uncertainty. Further, we aim to understand how to effectively incorporate behaviour and preferences of stakeholders into the algorithmic decision-making process.

As a PhD candidate, you will collaborate with experienced researchers, attend conferences, and experience an international research environment. The position will focus on research, with optional contributions to education and supervision of students.

Why join us?

• Innovative research: Work on cutting-edge modeling techniques that address real-world energy policy challenges.
• Collaborative environment: Engage with multiple work packages and different experts in the field, from industry, and in close collaboration with TNO.
• Impactful work: Contribute to sustainable energy solutions and policy-making.

If you are a computer science enthusiast with an interest in energy system modeling, we invite you to apply and be part of this transformative project!

Job requirements

To qualify for this position you must have:

• completed a relevant MSc degree in Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field,
• demonstrated competences in one or more of these categories: combinatorial optimization, linear programming, algorithm design,
• excellent programming skills, preferably experience in Julia,
• a proven record and interest in further developing your modelling, programming and analytical skills,
• strong affinity and enthusiasm for state-of-the-art, algorithmic and optimization approaches, and in applying these to support decisions regarding the energy transition,
• excellent critical and analytical thinking skills,
• an affinity with teaching and guiding students,
• proficiency in expressing yourself verbally and in writing in English,
• the ability to work in a team and take initiative.

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.

Additional information

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Mathijs de Weerdt, via m.m.deweerdt@tudelft.nl.