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

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.

• 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.

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.