Background
Energy systems are undergoing rapid changes, both in terms of electrical power generation, but also in the fast transition taking place in other energy-intensive sectors such as heating of buildings. This presents many opportunities, but also requires careful planning and operation to deal with emerging challenges such as network congestion. Recently, positive energy districts (PEDs), i.e. communities of homes that have very low or net-zero greenhouse gas emission and are highly energy-efficient, have become a key component of the energy transition.
The EmPowerEd project is a large national project that focuses on tackling the challenges that PEDs face in the transition to carbon-neutral heating. It is a large project, bringing together several Dutch universities, companies and municipalities to address this key societal challenges. It is also highly interdisciplinary, bringing together expertise ranging from mechanical and electrical engineering, computer science, built environment, to social sciences, economics and regulation.
Job description
The project of the PhD student based at CWI in Amsterdam will focus on techno-economic models (and in particular multi-agent modeling) of energy exchange and flexibility for positive energy districts. A specific focus will be placed on designing incentives and sharing models between prosumers in PEDs. This includes both peer-peer trading models between individual prosumers (based on their own energy assets such as PVs, home batteries, heat pumps etc.), and models where joint electricity and heating infrastructure is shared in a local cooperative or coalition.
Potential topics that are relevant for this PhD position include:
• Modeling of peer-peer energy exchanges between prosumers in energy communities, considering their energy preferences and constraints
• Coalitional models for efficient sharing of joint energy infrastructure (such as a community heating network or community battery). This can use, e.g. techniques from coalition theory such as Shapley values.
• Models of network congestion, and solutions for planning and co-optimizing electricity and heating networks to avoid congestion issues
•. Validation of proposed techniques through principled multi-agent simulations, complex systems analysis or other data-driven methods.
Requirements
The candidate based at CWI will have either a computer science or mathematics background, with a strong affinity for energy systems modeling, or an [electrical] engineering background, but with an interest (or prior experience) in computational intelligence, AI and/or agent-based modeling techniques.
He or she will work closely with researchers in the Electrical Engineering department at TU Eindhoven (TU/e) (EES group, InPowerlab), including potentially working 1 day/week at TU/e.
It is important to stress the EmPowerEd project is a large, interdisciplinary project. Thus, the ability of the PhD candidate to work with and relate their results to researchers from other disciplines (such a mechanical engineering, but also social and innovation sciences, built environment, economics etc.) is essential. The projects will involve regular discussion and presentation of the results to other consortium members from other universities, HBOs and companies. Hence, effective communication skills (in English) are an essential requirement.
Terms and conditions
The terms of employment are in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Research Centres ("CAO-onderzoeksinstellingen"). The initial labour agreement will be for a period of 18 months. After a positive evaluation, the agreement will be extended by 30 months. The gross monthly salary, for a PhD student on a full time basis, is € 2,968 during the first year and increases to € 3,801 over the four year period. Employees are also entitled to a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.33%. CWI offers attractive working conditions, including flexible scheduling and help with housing for expat employees.
Please visit our websites for more information about our terms of employment:
https://www.cwi.nl/jobs/terms-of-employment and
https://www.nwo-i.nl/en/working-at-nwo-i/jobsatnwoi/
Information and application
All applications should include:
- A detailed CV, detailing educational and work experience
- List of grades and courses completed during their studies
- A motivation cover letter, describing how the background and interests of the applicant, and fit with the proposed PhD project(s)
- [Optional] Relevant information about a completed piece of research (e.g. abstract of MSc thesis or relevant prior publication (if any).
The application deadline is Monday 17th November 2025 at 9:00AM CET. To be considered, valid applications must be received through the CWI HR system, using the link provided. Tentatively, we aim to notify the shortlisted candidates soon after closing, and hold the interviews in December or early January 2026 at the latest.
For more information about the vacancies, please contact:
Prof. Dr. Valentin Robu
Tel. +31 (0)20 592 4123
Email: v.robu@cwi.nl
Diversity code
CWI encourages a diverse workforce: we endeavour to develop talent and creativity by bringing people from different backgrounds and cultures together. We recruit and select based on capabilities and talent. We strongly encourage everyone with the appropriate qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical abilities.
About CWI
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is the Dutch national research institute for mathematics and computer science and is part of the Institutes Organisation of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The mission of CWI is to conduct pioneering research in mathematics and computer science, generating new knowledge in these fields and conveying it to trade, industry, and society at large.
CWI is an internationally oriented institute, with 160 scientists from approximately 27 countries, an informal atmosphere and short lines of communication. We have an activity committee that organizes after-work activities and an informal women’s network.
CWI is located at Amsterdam Science Park, which is a major location for scientific research in the Netherlands. Next to CWI, Science Park houses several other national research institutes, many startups and scale-ups, the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), and the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam.
About Research group
The PhD student will be employed for 4 years in the Intelligent and Autonomous Systems Group (IAS, https://www.cwi.nl/en/groups/intelligent-and-autonomous-systems/) at CWI, the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands, located in Amsterdam. The IAS group has an extensive experience in developing and applying computational intelligence and multi-agent systems techniques to address societal problems, and energy systems are an increasingly important application area.
The student with be supervised jointly by Prof. Valentin Robu (also professor at TU Eindhoven) and Assist. Prof. Dr. Christina Papadimitriou (TU/e). He/she will interact closely with other PhD students in the project based at TU/e,
