PhD studentship in Market Design for Low Carbon Energy Systems

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in Market Design for Low Carbon Energy Systems. The work will be based within the Control and Power group in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London. The student will be supervised by Dr D Papadaskalopoulos and Prof G Strbac. The studentship will start as soon as possible from November 2018.

Significant efforts towards the deregulation of the electricity industry have been witnessed worldwide during the last decades, through the introduction of competitive markets. However, traditional centralised optimisation models do not capture the emerging market dynamics and the interactions between different self-interested market players, and therefore cannot provide accurate insights in the development of suitable market designs. This challenge is aggravated by the fact that future electricity systems will be massively decarbonised, exhibiting needs for provision of multiple energy, flexibility and capacity services by various flexible resources (generation, flexible demand, energy storage).

This PhD will investigate fundamentally new market models, capable of capturing the individual objectives of multiple independent electricity market players and identifying the system conditions emerging from their interactions. Among other modelling approaches, game-theoretic, bi-level optimisation and reinforcement learning methods will be explored. These market models will consider energy, balancing and capacity market sectors in an integrated fashion along with different pricing and regulatory mechanisms for their operation.
To apply for this position, applicants should have a Distinction/First class grade Master’s degree in electrical engineering or a related field, and good communication and technical writing skills. Strong knowledge in power system optimization and mathematical programming are desired.

The studentship provides a (tax-free) bursary of £16,553 (Standard RCUK Bursary rate) per annum for up to 3.5 years to cover living expenses, together with the College tuition fees at the UK/EU rate for 3 years. Applications from Overseas will also be considered, but other funding source would need to be arranged.

For a description of the Control and Power Research Group please visit our website at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/controlandpower.