PhD Position, Electricity Market Design in the Energy Transition: Implications for System Security

100%, Zurich, fixed-term

The power system is changing, largely driven by the energy transition and climate change. The large shares of renewables, both centralized and distributed, are posing new challenges to system operations that are yet to be fully understood. Furthermore, these and other new technologies (heat pumps, electrical vehicles, batteries, power-to-x storage) are expected to have a significant influence on the electricity markets. Moreover, the recent EU regulations are working towards implementing the so-called 70% utilization rule, which is expected to drive electricity trading in Europe. Overall, the aforementioned systemic changes and regulations demand an in-depth investigation using advanced modeling tools and techniques.

The objectives of this PhD research project are to:

1. Assess the impact of the balancing reserves sharing and spatial distribution on the electricity market prices and grid security.
2. Understand the interdependencies between the energy transitions and the future electricity markets.

Project background

This thesis aims to answer the following main research questions:

R1: How is the system security affected if the system is organized into regional frequency balancing zones instead of national, independent zones? How will this affect the market prices and the selection of units used for ancillary services?

R2: How will the future electricity market look by 2050? What is the impact of net-zero technologies on electricity prices in Europe and Switzerland? Will low prices impact the investments in renewables and thus hinder the energy transition?

R3: Are current market designs and policies supportive of renewables and demand flexibility provision? Can we identify market designs and compensation plans that will encourage this flexibility while maintaining system integrity?

R4: Are new market designs needed? Should we go beyond the current setup in which the electricity prices are driven by the marginal cost of power generation? What are these designs?

R5: What is the impact of trade limitations on market clearing in the European context? How will this affect Switzerland in 2050, stemming from the cross-border 70% utilization law by the EU? Additionally, how will the market respond if Switzerland forgoes the NTC-based coupling and switches to flow-based coupling?

Additional research questions:

R6: How is the system security affected by the new Mari-Picasso initiative? Is the market more efficient, or is it only profitable for the suppliers?

R7: How is the market/security impacted by the failure of a large nuclear power plant?

This work will be performed using currently developed or in-development tools at RRE. Namely , Euroem , a European electricity market model, and Cascades , a power system security and transmission expansion planning model. Besides improving the interface between them, the PhD candidate has to upgrade the electricity market model as follows:

1. Cross-market bidding strategies for the suppliers (portfolios), including arbitrage. This includes scheduling ’Buy’ bids on the futures market and storing/reselling them on the day-ahead market.
2. New portfolio bidding strategies. This can include learning from previous simulation runs to reduce the portfolio’s final imbalance.
3. Utilizing real failure/maintenance rates of power plants and investigating the impacts on the market/security. For this purpose, we will use data sourced from the ENTSO-E transparency platform and processed at the RRE. This upgrade will be utilized to answer research question R6.
4. Integration of new technologies and potentially other markets beyond electricity (e.g., gas).

Other modeling improvements are to be expected, particularly related to R3, given the need to test new market requirements. For future scenarios, we will utilize the ENTSO-E projections until 2050.

Job description

• This PhD project aims to investigate how future electricity market designs will shape power system security
• The candidate will analyse the evolution of European and Swiss electricity markets toward 2050, examining cross-border trade rules, balancing market integration with renewable expansion, and emerging technologies
• The research involves developing and applying advanced modelling tools to assess how different market structures influence prices, utilization of distributed flexibility, and grid reliability
• The project contributes to evidence-based market reform strategies that ensure a secure and efficient power system

Profile

• We are looking for a candidate with: An MSc degree (or close to completion) in Power Engineering, Energy Science, or a related field
• The candidate has a solid quantitative background in either electricity markets or power system analysis (knowledge of both is ideal but not required)
• Interest and basic familiarity with market-clearing algorithms, stochastic optimization, or agent-based modeling is highly beneficial
• Programming experience (e.g., Python, MATLAB, or similar)
• Strong analytical skills and ability to work independently on complex modeling frameworks
• Excellent written and spoken English

Workplace

We offer

• Fully funded position with competitive salary according to ETH standards
• Access to state-of-the-art computational infrastructure
• Interdisciplinary and international research environment
• Perspectives for career development
• International team culture and team composition

Working, teaching and research at ETH Zurich

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In line with our values , ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to find out how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish. Sustainability is a core value for us - we are consistently working towards a climate-neutral future .

Curious? So are we.

We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents:

• CV
• Cover Letter
• Transscripts BSc/MSc

Further information about RRE can be found on our website .

Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.

We would like to point out that the pre-selection is carried out by the responsible recruiters and not by artificial intelligence.

Apply online now

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