PhD position - Methodological approaches for the design, sizing and management of energy communities

Organisation/Company: Nantes Université

Department: Science and Technology

Research Field: Engineering » Electrical engineering

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions: PhD Positions

Country: France

Application Deadline: 15 May 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 35

Offer Starting Date: 1 Sep 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Context and challenges

The sale of electricity between producers and consumers who are geographically close, at the scale of a district or a city for example, has become possible thanks to the development of regulatory frameworks dedicated to energy communities. Collective self-consumption (CSC) is one of the possible mechanisms, allowing consumers to buy their electricity from one or more producers located nearby, at an economically attractive rate for both the consumer and the producer.

However, in its operational phase, the technical and economic results expected during the design phase of the CSC may be altered by various changes, such as changes in the consumption and production profiles of the participants, changes in purchase and sale tariffs to the network, or the addition or withdrawal of participants during the life of the CSC. These uncertainties must be considered from the design phase of the CSC to define a robust energy distribution key and structure.

Objectives of the thesis

This thesis aims to propose a methodological approach to consider in the design and operational phases the different uncertainties that may be encountered in a collective self-consumption operation, by defining a distribution key and a robust sizing. The uncertainties will concern the consumption and production profiles, the addition and withdrawal of participants over time, and the purchase and sale prices. Recommendations in terms of design and energy management of collective self-consumption operations may arise from this thesis work.

Organization of work

The thesis work will be divided into different stages:

• State of the art on academic work dealing with collective self-consumption, from an energy design and management point of view;
• Modeling and characterization of the different uncertainties and integration into a process of optimization of the design of the collective self-consumption operation;
• Formulation of explicit distribution keys based on rules according to technical, economic, and social criteria;
• Sensitivity analysis to identify influencing factors and provide recommendations in terms of management and design of energy communities;
• Writing of the thesis and defence.

The work carried out will be promoted by publications in international peer-reviewed journals and communications in national and international conferences.

Where to apply

E-mail: anthony.roy@univ-nantes.fr

Requirements

Research Field: Engineering » Electrical engineering

Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field: Mathematics » Applied mathematics

Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field: Computer science » Modelling tools

Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

• Master in applied mathematics, optimization, electrical engineering or energy;
• Autonomous, rigorous, ability to communicate and present results, interest in research;
• Knowledge in electrical networks, energy communities, modeling and optimization;
• Software/programming: Matlab or Python or Julia (autonomy in programming required);

Application process and contacts: Application to be sent with CV, cover letter, transcripts of the last two years and a letter of recommendation (or a person to contact).

Applications selected at the end of the applications study phase will be invited for an interview.

*Only applications submitted with all requested documents will be processed.

Supervisors: Anthony ROY (MCF, IREENA, Supervisor), Jean-Christophe OLIVIER (PR, IREENA, Director of the thesis)

Contract: 36 months fixed-term contract, gross salary of 2200€/month (public prevailing rate at 01/01/2025).