You will be working at the Ghent campus of KU Leuven, as part of the Electa research group. You will join a large, young, international and growing research group, with strong ties to industry as well as other academic realities in Belgium, Europe, and overseas.
Electa is part of EnergyVille, a collaboration between the Belgian research partners KU Leuven, VITO, imec and UHasselt in the fields of sustainable energy and intelligent energy systems. Spread across the different campuses of Electa and EnergyVille, tens of colleagues (PhD students, postdocs, permanent research staff and lab engineers) work on a variety of related energy problems, making it a stimulating work environment.
The PhD will be performed in the framework of the Arenberg doctoral school: https://set.kuleuven.be/phd . The position if full-time and fully-funded for four years, which is the nominal duration of a PhD program at KU Leuven.
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Project
The transition to a more sustainable energy sector, which is crucial to achieve the European Union's climate and competitiveness goals, has led to a surge in investments in renewable energy generation and in the electrification of industrial and residential power demand.
However, systemic bottlenecks are slowing down present and future investments. One major issue is due to the fact that additional electricity demand and/or generation can only be connected to the power grid (and thus be used) if the grid is able to support these extra connections without compromising the safety and quality of the power it delivers to citizens and industry. If (part of) the grid cannot do this because it has reached its safe capacity limit, it is defined as "congested".
Due to the recent acceleration in the energy transition, congestion is a problematic reality in many European countries and the capacity of the power system is rapidly exhausting. As a result, new connection requests are either denied by the network operator, or placed in (in general, increasingly long) connection queues, that may stall projects and investments for multiple years, and jeopardize the achievement of climate targets.
This doctoral trajectory is part of a prestigious and impactful project with a multidisciplinary consortium of Flemish researchers that are experts in electrical engineering, energy economics, energy regulation and energy law.
Within this consortium, this specific doctoral position focuses on developing mathematical optimization methods for network capacity calculations, congestion mitigation and connection queue management under uncertainty. Within these areas, the candidate has freedom (in agreement with the supervisor and consortium) to focus on specific sub-topics and methods of interest, shaping their own research agenda and contributions to the state of the art.
The candidate can start from existing software that has been developed in the Electa research group, and that is based on state-of-the-art power systems and optimization frameworks.
Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic and communicative researcher with a Master degree in (Electrical) Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or a relevant related field, from a reputable institute. Both EU and international candidates are welcome to apply.
You should have obtained excellent study results, and you should be keen on disseminating your research results by means of scientific publications, and/or conferences and talks.
Furthermore,
- Candidates should have a strong interest in energy, and prior background (education or professional experience) in power systems modeling/analysis is highly valued.
- Experience with optimization and estimation methods - even outside energy-related problems - is highly valued.
- Good programming skills and experience with Matlab/Python/GAMS/Julia is a significant plus.
- Applicants should have good English communication skills.
- Prior research and publication experience is not expected but is a plus.
- You are a capable of working independently as well as in a team
The candidate should be willing to live in Belgium. The workplace is in the city of Ghent, with extensive opportunities to collaborate with the Leuven campus and EnergyVille, as well as our international network.
Offer
KU Leuven is is currently the largest university in Belgium in terms of research funding and expenditure, and is among the top European universities according to the Times Higher Education ranking, as well as the Reuters Top 100 of the World's most innovative institutions. The Electa research group of the Department of Electrical Engineering is a key player in the field of energy research, also thanks to its collaboration with the EnergyVille research centre.
You will be part of a young and international team that addresses a broad range of research challenges related to the energy transition.
We offer:
- A full-time and well-funded PhD position with full social security
- Multiple benefits (health insurance, laptop, funding to attend international conferences or schools, ...)
- The initial appointment is for 12 months, to be extended for subsequent years on the condition of positive evaluation by the doctoral commission
- A PhD degree in Engineering at the end of the fourth year, if the candidate is successful
- A highly specialized doctoral training
- An exciting work environment in a team with different skill sets working in projects for the industry and in public R&D projects with industry involvement.
- While not strictly required for the completion of this project, EnergyVille has state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, which the PhD student may use, if meaningful
Starting date: 1 October 2026 (with some room for small deviations from this date).
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Marta Vanin, mail: [email protected].
KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
