PhD Position: Scalable Offshore Floating PV Systems

Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems offer a powerful route to expanding solar power without competing for land use. Offshore FPV in particular has great potential, but also many technical, environmental, and system integration challenges. This PhD project aims to develop a robust, physics-based modelling framework tailored to offshore FPV systems, to help developers, investors, and policy-makers to design, optimise, and evaluate these systems with greater confidence.

Your job
Your tasks and responsibilities are:

• developing digital models that accurately predict the performance of FPV systems under offshore conditions, including wave dynamics, albedo effects, and system heat transfer;
• studying floater stability, system losses, degradation mechanisms, and developing accurate energy yield estimation under real environmental conditions;
• building a digital library of validated offshore FPV components (conceptual and market-ready) and environmental datasets to support flexible simulations;
• investigating grid connection options such as cable pooling and hybrid offshore renewable energy plant strategies (for example FPV combined with offshore wind and storage) particularly in the North Sea context;
• validating models using existing offshore datasets, lab-scale experiments, and collaborating with ongoing projects;
• developing optimisation algorithms for ensuring techno-economic feasibility of FPV systems, enabling testing of various scenarios and configurations;
• publishing research in international peer-reviewed journals and presenting at scientific conferences.

You have a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Energy Science, and a strong analytical background in mathematics and physics. You bring experience and knowledge in the following areas:

• modelling and simulation of PV systems and other offshore renewable energy technologies;
• hydrodynamic and fluid dynamic systems;
• programming and numerical modelling (e.g. Python, MATLAB);
• computational fluid dynamics (CFD) using software such as COMSOL or Autodesk CFD, or the willingness to learn these tools;
• conceptualising complex offshore energy systems and translate them into computational models.

Furthermore, you are eager to learn new methods and tools and are motivated to contribute to the global energy transition through innovative, high-impact research. You have good soft skills and teamwork skills: you are able to collaborate effectively in a multidisciplinary, international research environment, which requires that you also have excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

• A position for one year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• access to excellent resources, synergistic projects and collaborations (e.g. with NorthSea Two, Sparkles, OranjeWind, etc.), and participation in international networks (IEA PVPS, ETIP PV, Zon op Water);
• support through Utrecht University’s doctoral training, professional development, and interdisciplinary environment;
• a working week of 38 hours and a gross monthly salary between €3,059 and €3,881 (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development, various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities. You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

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Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth’s core to its surface, including man’s spatial and material utilisation of the Earth – always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.