Are you interested in high-end technological design? Then the Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) programme Energy & Process Technology is something for you! The PDEng programme is a 2-year post MSc technological programme with a focus on technological design. This programme at the University of Twente contains an educational part that will be followed at the University (~50%), and a design project (~50%) that will be carried out at the research institute “ECN part of TNO” in Petten NL. The educational programme will have an in-depth and broadening character with ample attention for professional development and will be partly tailored to the design project. In collaboration with “ECN part of TNO”, high level, creative and new designs for complex issues will be aimed at.

PDEng Design Project
Energy storage will play a pivotal role in providing the needed flexibility and offering balancing options to the integrated energy system. Greater deployment of energy storage is required at different scales, i.e. from low power and fast response solutions (< 1kW; <1s) to longer-term balancing needs for the grid (>1GW; hours to days and beyond). Large-scale and centralized energy storage can provide flexible bulk power management services for electricity, gas and heat commodities. In addition to flexibility, large-scale energy storage offers essential services to society in the form of strategic energy reserves and balancing solutions for unavoidable seasonal variations. The subsurface is the only space where energy can be stored on a scale that significantly contributes to the seasonal storage requirements of the Dutch Energy grid in the future energy system. The growth of these services to sufficient scale is key to ensuring a reliable and secure energy supply. Among the limited number of alternative sources of flexibility, large-scale energy storage seems a cost-effective option. Currently, much of this flexibility is being provided by the storage of natural gas. As the role of natural gas will decrease in the Dutch energy system the need grows for the large-scale storage of energy in a different form.

The goal of this project is to:

1. Improve insights into the optimal design considerations for specific large-scale subsurface energy storage technologies in a competitive market environment.
2. Reducing techno-economic challenges and risks for selected large-scale subsurface energy storage technologies including potentially hydrogen and ammonia energy storage in salt caverns and hydrogen storage in depleted gas fields.
3. Deliver the preliminary technical design of a selected large scale subsurface energy storage pilot/demonstration facility in consultation with industry stakeholders.

We are searching for the best MSc graduated candidates (or graduates with several years of experience) in the field of Mechanical Engineering, Applied (Geo) Physics, Geoscience/engineering, Petroleum Engineering, or a comparable field, with a demonstrable affinity with design and multidisciplinary assignments. Experience in the subsurface energy storage field is a pré. It is important that you can work in a team, have good communication skills, have a sound project approach, and speak and write fluent English. You must have the ambition and talent to excel in finding solutions / creating designs for complex technological issues with a multidisciplinary character. An interview will be part of the selection procedure.

Information and application
If you have any further questions about this vacancy of the PDEng programme in Energy & Process Technology, please contact Dr. Mina Shahi, email: m.shahi@utwente.nl   Tel.: +31 (0)53 489 2362 General information about PDEng programmes you can find at our website or in our brochure: www.utwente.nl/pdeng. Please send your letter of motivation, with a curriculum vitae, a list with grades of courses attended, references and, if applicable, a list of publications before 1 March 2019 through the link below.

We offer you a contract for 24 months with a gross salary of € 1.913 per month. During these two years you follow a tailor made post-master design programme with a combination of education (50%) and working on a design project (50%). Additionally, the UT provides excellent facilities for professional and personal development, a holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus. On successfully completing the programme, you will receive a certified and recognised degree. You will be entitled to use the academic degree PDEng and will be registered as a Technological Designer in the Dutch register kept by the Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI).

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply.

The Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) is one of the five faculties of the University of Twente. ET combines Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering. Our faculty has approximately 1800 bachelor and master students, 400 employees and 150 PhD candidates. The departments of the faculty cooperatively conduct the educational programmes and participate in interdisciplinary research projects, programmes and the research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centra and Digital Society Institute.