PhD Position Market Adoption of Consumer Flexibility in the Energy Transition

Do you want to contribute to the energy transition, engage with renewable energy experts, and develop model-based policy recommendations? Join us to explore how decentral flexibility will shape Europe’s energy future!

Job Description

Decentral flexibility is pivotal to the energy transition. Numerous companies, start-ups, pilot projects, and not-for-profit organizations offer decentral flexibility solutions to integrate renewable energies, provide storage capacity, balancing power and resilience for electricity grids. Decentral flexibility designs include, among others, peer-to-peer energy trading, flexibility aggregation of home batteries, heat pumps, and electric vehicles, as well as energy communities. These designs represent different pathways to achieving decentralized flexibility, each offering distinct benefits. While some of these designs have proved successful, others have not.

This PhD project investigates the systemic, business, behavioural and policy factors that that enable or inhibit the market adoption of decentral flexibility designs in European energy markets. As the selected PhD candidate, you will:

• Assess the current trends in the market of decentral flexibility solutions.
• Develop a System Dynamics model, and conduct simulation-based assessment of whether a convergence towards certain designs can be expected and what factors lead to a tipping in the diffusion.
Conduct empirical analysis of consumer and provider preferences for decentral flexibility designs.

Your PhD research should result in a set of policy recommendations for companies and governments to further stimulate the spreading of decentral flexibility. The methods foreseen for this PhD project are a market and literature review, System Dynamics modelling, and empirical analysis.

You will be part of the Department Multi-Actor Systems (MAS) within TU Delft's Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management. Our diverse team of approximately 120 researchers, including PhD candidates and postdocs, brings together expertise from policy analysis, systems engineering & simulation and organisation & governance. This interdisciplinary approach is essential as we tackle complex socio-technical challenges such as climate change, cybersecurity, and the energy transition.

As the successful candidate, you will contribute to the stimulating intellectual environment at the Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management at TU Delft and to support its portfolio of teaching and knowledge transfer activities. Supervision of the PhD project will be shared by Dr. Özge Okur and Dr. Merla Kubli, with Prof. Dr. Martijn Warnier as the promotor. You will have access to state-of-the-art facilities, labs and equipment to help develop your research. The environment is open and collaborative, promoting daily interaction and knowledge exchange. With minimal hierarchical barriers, you’ll benefit from strong mentorship and tailored training. Professional growth is a priority, ensuring your success in academia.

Job Requirement

The ideal candidate…

• Is close to completion or holds a Master’s degree on energy transition, sustainability, management or System Dynamics, or related fields (e.g. Engineering and Policy Analysis, Complex System Engineering, Sustainable Energy Technologies, System Dynamics, or a similar degree).
• Is passionate about the energy transition, has a strong interest in decentral flexibility and energy communities and their business dynamics in the European context and is curious to research complex socio-technical systems.
• Has experience with System Dynamics simulation modelling skills (e.g. with Vensim or Stella). If not already proficient, the candidate should demonstrate a strong interest in acquiring this skill in the early phase of the PhD and ideally have prior experience with systems thinking approaches and/or simulation models.
• Has a solid basis in qualitative research and/or empirical surveys.
• Is able to work independently, manage a long-term research project, and contribute to collaborative academic environments.
Is fluent in English and has strong writing skills. Dutch language skills are a plus.

This PhD project is grounded in system-level modelling for policy analysis, with an explicit focus on socio-technical systems thinking. It is not focused on algorithm development or optimization modelling. Candidates with an engineering background are welcome to apply if they are motivated to engage with behavioural, business, and innovation perspectives on the energy transition.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Technology, Policy & Management

The Faculty of TPM provides an important contribution to solving complex technical-social issues, such as energy transition, mobility, digitalisation, water management and (cyber) security. TPM does this with its excellent education and research at the intersection of technology, society and policy. We combine insights from both engineering and social sciences as well as the humanities. TPM develops robust models and designs, is internationally oriented and has an extensive network of knowledge institutions, companies, social organisations and governments.
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Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2872 per month in the first year to € 3670 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service. This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Additional information

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Dr. Merla Kubli and Dr. Özge Okur, via m.d.kubli@tudelft.nl and o.okur-1@tudelft.nl.

Application procedure

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 25 May 2025 via the application button. We will contact shortlisted candidates for a two-stage interview process. Interviews are foreseen to be held in June 2025. You are expected to start the position on September 1st, 2025, or a mutually-agreed upon date.

Documents that must be included in the application:

• Motivational letter including a description of the research interests (1-2 pages).
• CV.
• Contact details of two references.
• Master diploma including the grades;or if not yet fully graduated the master grade transcript (in English) and a confirmation that the master’s degree will be completed before the start of the position in September 2025.
• A writing sample (usually the master thesis or a seminar paper).

The application may be addressed to Dr. Özge Okur, Dr. Merla Kubli, and Prof. Dr. Martijn Warnier.

For information about the application procedure, contact the HR Advisor Martine van de Vorst, email: recruitment-tbm@tudelft.nl.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• A knowledge security check will be part of the selection procedure (for details page 45: national knowledge security guidelines).
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.