PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering: Resilience-Aware Investment Planning in Integrated Net-Zero Electricity and Hydrogen Networks under Climate Extremes and Uncertainties

Award Summary

100% fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £18,622 (2023/24 UKRI rate).

Overview

Transition to net-zero emission integrated energy systems requires substitutional integration of modern technologies into different energy sectors. This amounts to replacing a significant capacity of traditional resources in electric power and natural gas networks with zero-carbon resources for producing green electricity and hydrogen. Furthermore, short-term uncertainties in renewable production and electricity consumption as well as long-term uncertainties in national energy policies and global climate changes, make the design of future energy systems more complex. Although integrating net-zero emission electricity and hydrogen networks can offer cross-sectoral flexibility to cope with climate extremes and uncertainties in balancing energy production and consumption to ensure energy supply resilience, modelling integrated electricity and hydrogen networks under climate extremes and uncertainties is a large-scale complex optimisation problem. To address the above-mentioned challenges, this project will focus on: modelling different low-carbon/zero-carbon technologies in integrated electricity-hydrogen networks, developing tractable counterparts for physical models of electricity-hydrogen networks, introducing a resilience-aware model for cost-effective investment planning in integrated electricity-hydrogen networks under climate extremes and uncertainties, and utilising the proposed model to quantify the techno-economic pros/cons of integrating electricity-hydrogen to bring carbon emissions to net-zero.

Also, the candidate can potentially collaborate with National Grid, the £10m Hydrogen Integration for Accelerated Energy Transition (HI-ACT) Hub, the £15m Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC), the £5m Supergen Energy Networks Hub, and Centre for Energy at Newcastle University to offer more practical solutions for energy transition in the UK and beyond. 

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

16th September 2024

Award Duration

3.5 years

Application Closing Date

31st March 2024

Sponsor

EPSRC DTP

Supervisors

Lead Supervisor: Dr Shahab Dehghan

Co-supervisor: Professor Vladimir Terzija

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2.1 or equivalent (or above) in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (inc. Engineering, Computer Science, or Operations Research); Enthusiasm for research, the ability to think/work independently, excellent analytical skills and strong verbal/written communication skills are also essential requirements.

Home and international applicants (inc. EU) are welcome to apply and if successful will receive a full studentship. Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme. 

How To Apply

Use Apply to Newcastle Portal

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’. 

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using programme code: 8060F
• Research Area: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Select ‘PhD Electrical and Electronic Engineering’ as the programme of study.

 You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further details’ section:

• ‘Personal Statement’ - upload a document or write a statement directly into the application form. 
• ‘Research Proposal’ - when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal – select either ‘Write Proposal’ or ‘Upload document’. Your research proposal should be no more than 1500 words. 
• Studentship code ENG134 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field.

In the ‘Supporting Documentation’ section please upload:

• your CV 

Contact Details

Dr Shahab Dehghan

Professor Vladimir Terzija

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