PhD Position in Formulating Strategies for Airborne Wind Energy Commercialisation

PhD Position in Formulating Strategies for Airborne Wind Energy Commercialisation

Do you want to contribute to the green transition of society, thrive in collaborative teamwork and have ambitions for an academic research career, then you might be our new colleague!

Job description

We are seeking a candidate for a 4-year PhD project as part of the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network on “Airborne Wind Energy Training for Industrialization Network” (AWETRAIN). Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) is a radical new technology based on tethered aircraft generating electricity from altitudes higher than conventional wind turbines. This allows these devices to be installed in different locations, generate power at different times, and provide cheaper electricity. This project focuses on commercialization of AWE technology. It will investigate strategies for developing technology and business, to exploit short-term niche strategies and strategies to build up the technological innovation system.

If you want to contribute to the green transition of society, thrive in collaborative teamwork and have ambitions for an academic research career, then you might be our new colleague in our research section ‘Economics of Technology and Innovation’ (ETI), in the Department of Values, Technology and Innovation (VTI) at Delft University of Technology (TUD), where we offer a vibrant and inspiring research community in social sciences embedded in an engineering environment. Furthermore, you will be joining a team of 12 PhDs, along with their supervisors in the MSCA Doctoral Network AWETRAIN. Two of the positions will be located at TUD. Your main supervisors will be Professor Roland Ortt and Assistant Professor Linda Kamp, and you will join the Graduate School at TUD.

In your PhD project, you will explore barriers to the uptake of various Airborne Wind Energy systems across selected countries in Europe and formulate company strategies to deal with these barriers. In the socio-technical transition to a more sustainable energy system, the development and diffusion of new technologies does not only depend on technological innovations, but also on the socio-technical system around these innovations. Companies play an important role in this system by developing strategies for development and diffusion.

You will therefore critically examine the historical pattern of development and diffusion of AWE systems and the current status of such AWE systems, and the technological innovation systems (TIS) around them. In collaboration with a co-researcher at Technical University of Denmark, spatial or market niches for AWE systems will be explored in different countries. Your task is to identify different company roles in the TIS and specify company strategies in these market niches. Based on this, you will formulate a roadmap for industrial and governmental partners. Research will be based on qualitative social science methods, e.g. conducting interviews and analyzing documents, and will involve writing scientific articles as part of the thesis.

Applicants for the position should develop an independent research proposal that relates to and addresses the above issues.

The research work will be carried out within the AWETRAIN project, where you will be collaborating within a larger team of 12 PhD students, their supervisors, and their institutions. The project strongly encourages teamwork and collaboration, so we expect the PhD candidates to mutually support each other.

The supervision team for the PhD project consists of main supervisors Roland Ortt and Linda Kamp (TUD) and co-supervisor David Rudolph (Technical University Denmark).

We foresee a secondment with Kitemill, Norway, subject to confirmation. The company Kitemill is one of the leading developers of AWE technology and the secondment aims to investigate niche strategies for AWE systems with Kitemill and its partners and will expose the candidate to the activities, operation and challenges of an AWE company.

Besides this, your tasks may include teaching and co-supervising Master students and participation in outreach and dissemination activities of the department commensurate with research at PhD level.

Job requirements

The following further qualifications will be considered in the assessment:

• Documented experiences and skills in qualitative research methods.
• Strong background and interest in the energy transition and social science energy research.
• Ability to thrive in a technical environment.
• Excellent communication skills, both in writing and oral presentation.
• Open-minded team player, able to work in multidisciplinary and multinational teams.
• A long-term interest in pursuing a research career.

The working language of the project is English and thus the candidate must have suitable skills in both written and spoken English. Proficiency in additional languages is beneficial for the selected countries in which fieldwork will take place. Proficiency in the Dutch language is not required.

TU Delft

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 Technology, Policy and Management

The Faculty of TPM provides an important contribution to solving complex technical-social issues, such as energy transition, mobility, digitalisation, water management and (cyber) security. TPM does this with its excellent education and research at the intersection of technology, society and policy. We combine insights from both engineering and social sciences as well as the humanities. TPM develops robust models and designs, is internationally oriented and has an extensive network of knowledge institutions, companies, social organisations and governments.

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 €2872 per month in the first year to €3670 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
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Linda Kamp (l.m.kamp@tudelft.nl) and/or Roland Ortt (j.r.ortt@tudelft.nl)