PhD student position - The E39 as a renewable European electricity hub

The Department of Energy and Environment excels in research and education related to energy, environment and sustainable development ranging from a global perspective to industrial, building and product issues. The focus is on experimental and theoretical research on energy technology as well as on development, use and evaluation of methods and tools for analysis of technical systems. In total around 200 persons are active at the six divisions of the department.Significant investments in both renewable energy technologies and transmission capacity can be foreseen over the coming decades. The transformation of the energy system opens up for business models where distributed generation may be more competitive than at present, i.e. in-house generation possibly with trading with the surrounding system. Thus, techno economic analysis of future energy systems is an important field of research with the aim to provide results and methodologies to be used by different stakeholders for identifying benefits and challenges in the transformation of the energy system. 

Information about the research/the project/the division
This PhD project will be performed at the Department of Energy and Environment (Division of Energy Technology) and has the aim to provide a comprehensive assessment on how renewable energy (RES) technologies, such as wind power and energy storage technologies, can be integrated in road infrastructures (e.g. roads and bridges) under different scenarios for future development of the European energy system. The project, which is in co-operation with the Norwegian Public Roads Authority, is focused on how RES technologies can be integrated in the Norwegian E39 “ferry free” road infrastructure with respect to capacity (MW), and energy (TWh), under different scenarios for future development of the energy system.

The PhD position will deal with techno-economic analysis/modeling of the energy system with focus on evaluation of how RES based electricity generation and associated systems can be integrated in road infrastructures. This will involve mathematical modeling of the electricity system so that its time resolved characteristics can be understood, including electricity trade between countries and regions. Thus, a key is to evaluate RES and energy storage technologies under different assumptions on the development of the electricity system with respect to fuel prices and policy measures. The candidate is expected to use and modify existing models and/or develop new energy systems models as well as gathering input comprehensive data required for the modeling analysis.

Major responsibilities
Your major responsibilities as PhD student is to pursue your own doctoral studies. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing, both in Swedish and in English. The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 per cent of working hours. You are expected to write a licentiate thesis within 2-3 years and defend your doctoral thesis within 4-5 years. 

Position summary
The total time period for the position is limited to four years full time doctoral studies, or five years with 20% teaching load.

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in a relevant field. To qualify for this position, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education (ECTS) credits in Mechanical Engineering, Civil or Environmental Engineering, Engineering Physics or equivalent. Excellent writing and communication skills in English are required. If Swedish is not your native language, you are encouraged to learn it during your employment as a PhD student. Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Application deadline: 2014-03-21


For questions, please contact:

Professor Filip Johnsson
E-mail: filip.johnsson@chalmers.se
Phone: +46 31 772 1449

Dr Mikael Odenberger
E-mail: mikael.odenberger@chalmers.se
Phone: +46 31 772 1444





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