PhD Studentship - HVDC Connected Offshore Energy Islands

Application deadline: 14/11/2025

Research theme: HVDC, renewable energy, power networks, modelling
How to apply: uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

UK only

This 3.5-year PhD studentship is open to Home (UK) applicants. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26; subject to annual uplift), plus a company top up of £5000/annum plus funding for travel and consumables. Tuition fees will also be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is January 2026.

We recommend that you apply early as the advert may be removed before the deadline.

An Energy Island is a hub for electricity generation mainly collecting energy from renewable resources and delivering this energy to various collective consumers either at sea or in remote areas on land. Currently there are plans to build energy islands in the North Sea and Baltic Sea that will serve as large-scale offshore energy hubs for nearby offshore wind farms. High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology will be used to bundle energy from several windfarms and transport to load centres.

Future offshore wind farms are expected to be further optimized either functionally or in their electrical design to accommodate new requirements for energy islands connecting to weaker grids and local loads. These energy islands may also need to operate islanded from the grid under some situations. Such systems have not been studied extensively. This PhD will model loads, generation, and the electrical network in Matlab/SIMULINK from an electrical network perspective and undertake network studies to assess operation and stability limits. Models will be developed and different configurations will be compared.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to interact with GE Vernova’s engineering staff and will have the opportunity to work, for part of the time, in GE Vernova’s main HVDC design office, based in Stafford, UK. Here the candidate will have the opportunity to see, design, manufacturing and advanced testing of HVDC power electronics and control systems, as well as other key components such as large power converter transformers.

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

The position is open to UK (Home) applicants only.

To apply, please contact the supervisors: Prof Barnes - mike.barnes@manchester.ac.uk and Dr Mahdieh Sadabadi - mahdieh.sadabadi@manchester.ac.uk. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

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