PhD in "Energy hubs with advanced power converters & control for hybrid microgrids"(IDEAL4GREEN)

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About the job

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The Department of Electric Energy (IEL) at NTNU has a vacancy for a full-time 100 % position (3 years) as a PhD candidate in “Energy hubs with multi-port advanced power converters & control for hybrid microgrids”. The position is associated with the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), Doctoral Networks project “IDEAL4GREEN”. The prospective candidate will be part of the research group Electricity Markets and Energy System Planning (EMESP) at IEL. In this position, you will be employed at NTNU, and you will spend 18 months at IEL at NTNU, and 18 months will be spent at the industry partner Pixii.

The objective of the MSCA Doctoral Networks IDEAL4GREEN project aims at pioneering decentralized energy solutions to meet global decarbonization targets through innovative microgrid technologies.

The IDEAL4GREEN project addresses the urgent challenges of climate change and the global shift towards sustainable energy systems. It focuses on developing and integrating microgrids, which are crucial in managing the variability of renewable resources and achieving decarbonization targets. The project aligns with the EC's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 by empowering energy communities and optimizing local supply and demand. The project proposes a comprehensive doctoral training network aimed at developing skilled engineers with interdisciplinary and intersectoral expertise. This network diverges from conventional university-based research, maintaining strong industry links and emphasizing practical implementation. IDEAL4GREEN consists of 8 beneficiaries and 11 partner organizations, recruiting 15 doctoral candidates to undertake research on microgrids' planning, design, operation, control, and impact assessment. 

The research encompasses innovative frameworks and methodologies for integrating microgrids and transforming traditional grids into sustainable energy systems. The Doctoral Candidates will engage in a mix of academic and industrial experiences, including secondments and networking meetings, ensuring their exposure to both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

The Department of Electric Energy is dedicated to advancing the field of electric power engineering through innovative research and education. The EMESP research group focuses on integrating renewable energy sources, energy storage, and consumption within the electricity market, aiming to optimize connections with heating and transportation systems. Their areas of study include the market integration of distributed resources like wind, solar, and electric vehicles, as well as optimizing hydropower across various markets. They also work on generation expansion, offshore grid optimization, and the integration of energy systems, particularly concerning electricity, hydrogen, heat, and transport. Additionally, the group is dedicated to advancing the digitalization of energy systems and informatics. EMESP has strong academic and industrial collaborations both national and international, like with SINTEF, NMBU, DTU, MIT, UPC, NREL, EPFL, Equinor.

Pixii is a company developing technology and products for power conversion and control for battery-based energy storage. Pixii has its HQ has about 100 employees and subsidiaries in Norway, Germany, Slovakia, and Australia. The HQ and main R&D centre is in Norway. Pixii has an industrial lab facility in Kristiansand / Norway for the development and test of advanced power converters, and for complete energy storage systems with the possibility to test the converters and energy storage systems in grid-tied operation and off-grid, and with both AC and DC connected solar power. 

Pixii has been involved in various “smart grid” R&D and demonstration projects every year since the start in 2018. The projects have included development and test of energy storage with both commercial & industrial facilities, and with Distribution System Operators for grid support. Pixii was recently recognised as the fastest-growing tech company in Norway, securing the top position in the prestigious Deloitte Technology Fast 50 award.

The main supervisor of the PhD candidate will be Associate Professor Steve Völler (NTNU), and the co-supervisor from Pixii will be Chief Innovation Officer Ole Jakob Sørdalen. In addition, co-supervisors from cooperating partners may be appointed.

Your immediate leader is the Head of Department at IEL.

Duties of the position

The main objective of the doctoral position is to develop and enable the distributed “energy hubs” for a modular, scalable, and robust microgrid. The “energy hub” will consist of multi-port systems, including advanced power converters and control, batteries, PV, AC microgrid connection, and outputs to critical local AC loads.

Research topics can be, but not limited to:

• Aggregation of local energy assets (both generation and loads) into distributed "energy hubs" and "virtual power plants", effectively maximizing value for both the asset owners and the power grid.
• Dimensioning and expansion planning of scalable "energy hubs" for different actors like commercial-industrial players, aggregators, and distribution system operators. The technical objectives can be optimal utilization of BESS for grid support services like frequency and voltage support.
• Development of optimal control strategies for multi-port hybrid microgrids with BESS as anchor. It can involve co-optimization for both modes, maximizing revenue when exchanging power with the grid and coordinating distributed energy resources when the grid is unavailable.
• Development of dispatch algorithms for a grid-interactive microgrid that stacks multiple services, thus maximizing return on investments on new energy assets. It may involve two-step optimization, starting with sizing-location studies and later connecting this with appropriate rolling time horizon dispatch algorithms.

In the initial phase, the supervisors, the candidate (based on the candidate's profile), and any cooperating partners will work together to identify the precise direction this project will take.

The candidate is expected to disseminate scientific findings via journal publications and international conferences, workshops, or similar events and thus take part in academic discussion in the international academic community. As a PhD candidate, it is a requirement that you complete academic training consisting of coursework corresponding to a minimum of 30 ECTS.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in electric power engineering, electronic systems, cybernetics, physics, or similar.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at the master's level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education, i.e. by having relevant work experience and/or published/publishable scientific papers.
• International mobility requirement for the MSCA position: The applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host organization’s country, specifically Norway, for more than 12 months in the 3 years before taking up the position.
• Applicants cannot have a doctoral degree at the date of their recruitment.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program.
• You must have Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish language skills at level A2. If you cannot document those skills upon employment, you must take Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. The Norwegian training comes in addition to the scholarship holder's three-year doctoral work. The language requirements only apply if the candidate takes up the position from 1 August 2025 onwards. 
• You must have Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish language skills corresponding to the scale A2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Applicants from non-English speaking countries outside EU/EEA/Switzerland must provide preliminary documentation of English language proficiency, in terms of an approved test. One of the following test scores could be documented for this purpose:  
  • TOEFL internet-based test (iBT) — iBT enhanced score reporting is required. Your proficiency level for the overall test should correspond to a score of at least 100. Your proficiency level for each section of the test should correspond to at least ‘high intermediate’ level.
  • IELTS — 8, with no section lower than 7.5 (only Academic IELTS test accepted) 
  • Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) — 193-199.

Further assessment of both written and oral English language skills and the ability to communicate fluently will be conducted in the continued selection process and during any interviews for all applicants.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Very good knowledge in one or more areas related to energy storage systems, power electronics, energy system modelling, renewable energy, electrical grids, microgrids, and/or electrification.
• Very good working knowledge of computer programs such as PSCAD, PSSE, MATLAB, Simulink, C++, Python, and LabView.
• Experience in laboratory environment (physical test setup, simulation skills).
• Experience in preparing technical reports and presentations on energy matters.
• Good written and oral language skills in either Spanish, French, German, or any other European language.

Personal characteristics

• Inquisitive, curious, and creative, i.e., eager to find new information and explore, wanting to know how and learn, and good at thinking of new ideas.
• Self-motivated with a strong ability to work both independently, and in cooperation with others and with an interdisciplinary team, when required.
• Structured, targeted and solution-oriented with a strong ability to manage multiple duties simultaneously, prioritizing tasks and meeting deadlines.
• Very good communication skills, both orally and in writing.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a Ph.D. position requires that you are admitted to the Ph.D. programme in Electric Power Engineering within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period. 

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The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

Employment in the position requires external funding. 

It is a prerequisite that you can be present at and accessible to the institution at campus Trondheim daily during your 18-month tenure. Similarly, during your 18 months at Pixii, you must be present in Kristiansand, Norway.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include: 

• A cover letter where the applicant describes personal motivation, summarizing scientific work, and how the applicant sees her/his background as suitable (1 page max).
• CV, testimonials, and certificates. 
• Regarding the international mobility requirement, please specify the period you have resided/worked in Norway in the last 3 years on your CV. 
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted. Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement or a similar document, which describes in detail the study programme and grading system. See also specific documentation requirements for education obtained outside of Norway, applicable to certain regions/countries, here. 
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• A research proposal (2-4 pages with references), where the candidate presents her/his own ideas for the Ph.D. work and how it can be applied, based on the project description given in this advertisement. This proposal will be neither final nor binding for the project.
• Name and contact information of three referees.
• English language proficiency documentation 
• If you have publications or other relevant research work, submit them.

Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. 

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The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

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As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Steve Völler by email steve.voller@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR consultant Sven Robert Storø by e-mail sven.r.storo@ntnu.no.

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 27.01.25