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Project Description

PhD Subject: Electrical Engineering

This project aims to strengthen the participation of battery energy storage systems in the Nordic electricity market to support a sustainable and low-carbon energy future. As the share of renewable electricity production increases, battery storage plays a central role in providing flexibility, ensuring system security, and improving market efficiency.

The project focuses on three main challenges: (i) designing market-compatible bidding structures for battery storage that reflect operational constraints, (ii) developing tailored financial contracts to manage revenue risks in markets with low price volatility, and (iii) enabling joint optimization of energy and reserve services using advanced optimization models and AI-based methods.

The research combines mathematical modeling, electricity market design, and computational methods. The PhD student will work closely with leading industry partners, including Nord Pool and Fortum, contributing to both theoretical advancements and practical applications.

Supervision: Prof. Mohammad Reza Hesamzadeh and Prof. György Dán (KTH), Prof. Derek Bunn (London Business School), and Prof. Darryl Biggar (Monash University) are proposed as supervisors. Final decisions are made upon admission.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to doctoral studies (Chapter 7, Section 39 of the Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility:

• completed an advanced level degree, or
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, including at least 60 higher education credits at an advanced level, or
• acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way, within or outside the country.

Special Eligibility:

We are looking for candidates with:

• A civil engineer or master's degree in electrical engineering, energy systems, technical physics, applied mathematics, operations research, or a related field.
• Good knowledge of mathematical optimization, such as linear, integer, or non-convex optimization.
• Basic understanding of energy systems and electricity markets.
• Programming skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Applicants with a background in mathematics, physics, or computer science and a strong interest in energy systems are also welcome to apply.

In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for English equivalent to English B/6.

Selection

To succeed in your PhD studies at KTH, you need to be goal-oriented and persistent in your work. In the selection process, the ability to:

• independently drive your work forward,
• collaborate with others,
• have a professional attitude, and
• analyze and work with complex issues

The following qualifications are meritorious:

• Experience with stochastic optimization, decomposition methods, or large-scale optimization problems.
• Knowledge of electricity market design, ancillary services, or flexibility markets.

After meeting the eligibility requirements, great weight will be placed on personal qualities.

Final Degree: Doctorate

Information on Admission and Employment

Only those admitted to doctoral studies may be employed as doctoral students. The total employment period may not exceed what corresponds to full-time doctoral education over four years. An employed doctoral student may, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within, for example, education and administration. A new employment as a doctoral student is valid for a maximum of one year; thereafter, the employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

As a doctoral student, you are entitled to KTH's employment benefits and receive a monthly salary according to KTH's agreement for doctoral salaries. Read more about Doctoral Studies at KTH.

Union Representatives

Contact details for union representatives.

Doctoral Student Section (Student Union of the Royal Institute of Technology)

Contact details for the doctoral student section.

Application

You apply via KTH's recruitment system. As an applicant, you are primarily responsible for ensuring your application is complete when submitted.

The application must contain the following:

• Copies of degree certificates and transcripts from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above). Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages. Copies of originals must be certified.
• CV with relevant professional experience and skills.
• Cover letter with a brief account of why you wish to pursue doctoral studies, your academic interests, and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. (Max 2 pages)
• Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please include an abstract and a web link to the full text.

The application must be received by KTH no later than the last day of the application period at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Other

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It may occur that an employment at KTH is placed in a security class. If this is the case for this specific employment, a security clearance check will be conducted on the applicant in accordance with the Security Protection Act (2018:585) with consent. In these cases, a condition for employment is that the applicant is approved after the security clearance check.

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