PhD Position in Industrial Electrical Engineering

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI, and Lund University, Faculty of Engineering, LTH, announce a joint recruitment for a PhD position in industrial electrical engineering.

About VTI

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI, is a government agency conducting applied research and qualified investigations in the transport sector. We have around 250 employees and an annual turnover of approximately 300 million SEK. The headquarters is located in Linköping, while other offices are in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Lund. We are now looking for an additional employee for the Traffic Analysis and Logistics unit, which has about 35 staff members and works with applied and socially motivated research as well as qualified investigations in logistics, transport, energy supply, digitalization, and traffic systems. The focus is on developing knowledge and models that enable more reliable decision-making. This is to meet goals in areas such as efficiency, accessibility, mobility, environment, energy supply, resilience, and safety. Traffic Analysis and Logistics | VTI

The position will be based in Lund.

You will be employed 50% at the Traffic Analysis and Logistics unit, TAL, at VTI, and 50% at the Department of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation, IEA, LTH, Lund University. You will be admitted to the PhD program at LTH at 100%.

About LTH

LTH offers a stimulating and international environment with PhD students, postdocs, senior researchers, and professors from various parts of the world. Research, innovation, and education are conducted in an open and creative climate that promotes collaboration both within academia and with industry partners. A PhD provides an excellent foundation for an exciting career in academia or industry.

IEA has about 30 employees and is located in the newly renovated M-building on LTH's campus in Lund. Research at IEA focuses on electrical systems, electric drive systems, and drainage systems. All research aims at a sustainable society, in line with the EU's climate goals and the UN's global goals for sustainable development. In practice, scientific methods for modeling, analysis, and control are applied to systems of industrially relevant complexity. These methods are usually validated through pilot tests, real data, or experiments in IEA's new power laboratories.

PhD students are encouraged to take significant responsibility for their research and engage in societal issues, as well as build networks within and outside academia. IEA is actively involved and holds leading roles within the Swedish Electromobility Centre (SEC), Swedish Energy Storage and Balancing Centre (SESBC), and LTH's profile area Energy Transition.

About the Role

Electrification appears to be the most promising way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from both passenger and freight transport. Local and regional distribution trucks with predictable routes over moderate distances are good candidates for electrification. However, charging battery electric trucks (BET) may require extensive and costly grid upgrades at logistics terminals. With bidirectional charging – known as Vehicle2Grid for passenger cars and thus Truck2Grid in this project – BET becomes an active resource in the power grid, alleviating the issues of high-power charging and providing additional revenue linked to arbitrage trading and provision of ancillary services.

The selected PhD candidate will primarily work on the Truck2Grid project. For further description of the position, see the full advertisement here.

A PhD position involves both theoretical and practical work. As a PhD student, you will be trained in scientific work in the form of publishing scientific articles in journals and at national and international conferences. You will also take mandatory and elective PhD courses. Additionally, you may have the opportunity to try out a teaching role. As a researcher, you will work as a neutral party in many contexts, providing a fantastic opportunity to learn how to drive challenging development projects. Your work will include theoretical models and simulations, but some practical work may also be included.

About You

You are qualified to apply for this position if you meet the requirements for doctoral studies at the Department of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation, LTH: LTH

The tasks involve contacts with clients, collaborators, and other researchers. Therefore, good collaboration skills are required. The tasks require a grounding in theory and methodology, and you should be able to independently compile, analyze, and present material. We place great emphasis on your ability to take initiative and work independently. Advanced proficiency in written and spoken English is a requirement.

Appointment Duration

This position is a shared position between VTI and LTH while you are admitted to the PhD program at the Department of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation, Biomedical Engineering, LTH. The PhD program is four years for full-time studies. If teaching and other departmental/institute work is involved, the appointment will be extended correspondingly, but no longer than 5 years (i.e., max 20%). Annual evaluation of the PhD program will be conducted, and the position will be extended if studies progress according to plan. For more information about doctoral education at LTH, see; Doctoral Education at LTH.

More Information

Information on how VTI handles your personal data can be found at Personal Data - vti.se

We kindly decline all offers of advertising or recruitment assistance in connection with this recruitment.

Ref. no: 2025/0114-3.1

Application

We welcome you to submit your application by April 21, including a personal letter, CV, degree certificates, and transcripts, as well as any other documents you wish to reference. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. PLEASE NOTE that this position is a joint recruitment with LTH and applications are required to both organizations. Applications to LTH can be made here: LTH