NUAcT PhD Studentship: Hydrogen Integration Empowers Net Zero

Award summary

100% fees covered for home fees, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £19,237 (2024/25 UKRI rate). International students are required to cover the remainder of the fees costs. 

Overview

We welcome applications from students who are interested in hydrogen integration in energy systems. 

Possible topics may involve:  

• Optimisation, flexibility, and resilience evaluation of national energy systems (including power/gas/hydrogen/heating systems)
• Offshore/onshore nexus of energy/transportation systems
• Large temporal and spatial scales of climate-dependant energy systems
• Human-centred energy demand forecasting, behaviour characterisation, and risk modelling
• Advanced optimisation/control algorithms and their application in energy systems

Applications are welcomed from students of Electrical/Energy Engineering, Computer Science, Operations Research or other relevant fields.  

Number of awards 

1 

Start date  

January, April, or September 2025.  

Award duration 

3 years full time.  

Application closing date 

30/11/2024 

Sponsor 

Newcastle University (NUAcT fellowship) 

Name of supervisor/s 

Dr Sheng Wang, Dr Shahab Dehghan, and Prof. Haris Patios 

Eligibility Criteria

Essential: 

• Must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (Electrical/Energy Engineering, Computer Science, Operations Research or other relevant fields).
• Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.
• Skills in using programming languages (i.e., Matlab, Python, GAMS) and optimization-related toolboxes (i.e., Gurobi, Mosek, Cplex)
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Self-motivation and ability to work both in a team and independently
• Demonstrated experiences in research or scientific writing

Desirable: 

• Willingness and enthusiasm to work in an interdisciplinary environment
• Experience in mathematical modelling and optimisation of power/gas/hydrogen/heating systems
• Publications in high-quality peer-reviewed conferences or journals
• Research project experiences
• Enthusiasm in dissemination, exploitation, and open-source practice

Home and international applicants are welcome to apply. Successful international candidates are required to fund the difference between home fees and international tuition fees. International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme. 

How to apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal  

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.   

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:   

• search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8060F
• Research Area: Electrical Power
• select ‘PhD Electrical Power (full time) – Electrical Power ‘ as the programme of study

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:   

• a ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) – upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form
• the studentship code COMP231 (for example) in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field
• when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal – select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

Contact Details

sheng.wang@newcastle.ac.uk