PhD position energy economics 100 % | ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften

Stelleninserat ZHAW

PhD position energy economics 100 %

You will conduct research aimed at creating a sustainable, affordable, and secure energy system, with a focus on evaluating the role of storage in facilitating the integration of solar and wind energy in Switzerland.

School: School of Management and Law

Starting date: October 1st, 2024, or as per agreement

Your PhD work is embedded into a project funded by Swiss Federal Office of Energy, in collaboration with University of Basel and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The project focuses on the role of electricity storage in Switzerland to support the integration of solar and wind energy while maintaining system adequacy. We will expand our current quantitative market model to evaluate the need for additional storage capacities in Switzerland and design innovative support contracts tailored for storage assets. A focus will also be on market design to analyse possible subsidy policies for governmental support for storage uptake. Your potential tasks include:

• Developing skills in electricity market modelling and design
• Exploring potential future developments in the energy and electricity sectors in Switzerland and the EU, focusing on the role of storage assets to prepare scenarios for analysis
• Critically analysing model results and writing reports and papers

We offer:

• An open and collaborative team environment at the Centre for Energy and the Environment (CEE), headed by Prof. Dr. Regina Betz
• Comprehensive guidance and opportunities to develop a robust research profile
• Access to an outstanding network of energy and environmental economists addressing critical climate and energy issues
• Competitive salary by international standards (according to SNF PhD salary guidelines)
• Secured funding for the PhD project for three years
• Opportunities to participate in international academic conferences
• Immediate commencement of your Ph.D. research
• Master's degree in economics or a related field
• Strong interest in microeconomics
• Knowledge in or passion for energy economics and programming (e.g., Python)
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, with a strong ambition to publish high-quality research

The PhD position will be co-supervised by Prof. Hannes Weigt at the University Basel and candidates need to fulfill the PhD requirements of the Faculty of Business and Economics in Basel.

Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW is one of Switzerland's largest multidisciplinary universities of applied sciences, with over 14'000 students and 3'400 faculty and staff.

ZHAW is committed to gender-mixed and diverse teams in order to promote equality, diversity and innovation.

The ZHAW School of Management and Law (SML) is one of the largest business schools in Switzerland with around 9,500 students. It is the only university of applied sciences in the country that is included in renowned rankings published by the business newspaper “Financial Times" and is accredited by AACSB and EQUIS – labels for high quality standards in teaching, research and further education.

The internationally recognized bachelor's and master's degree programs, cooperative PhD programs and the numerous continuing education offerings are scientifically sound, interdisciplinary and practice oriented. The SML maintains numerous collaborations with over 190 selected partner universities worldwide.

The Center for Energy and the Environment (CEE) deals with economic and business issues relating to energy and the environment on a national and international level. It cooperates closely with the other ZHAW institutes and centers active in energy research. The CEE is part of several “SWiss Energy research for the Energy Transition" projects, a programme funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and Co-leads SWEET ReFuel.ch jointly with empa. The center is a member of the Swiss Carbon Removal Platform.

Wir bieten hochschulgerechte Arbeits- und Anstellungsbedingungen an und fördern aktiv die Personalentwicklung unserer Mitarbeitenden und Führungspersonen. Eine detaillierte Beschreibung der Vorteile ist auf der Webseite «Arbeiten an der ZHAW» zu finden. Hier die wichtigsten Eckpunkte:

Dr. Ali Darudi

Project lead at the Center for Energy and the Environment

Jocelyn Schaad

Recruiting Manager