Research & Development Engineer (Electrification of Transport & Energy Flexibility) (497258)

Salary: £34,308 - £42,155

Term: Open Contract

FTE: 1.0 (35 Hours)

Closing Date: 02 February 2023

This is a new and exciting role within PNDC that will work within the growing electrification of transport and energy flexibility team. The role will sit within PNDC's whole energy systems research, test and demonstration programmes - working on electric vehicle and energy system flexibility technologies that work across multiple energy vectors (e.g. electricity, heat and transport).

The successful candidate will help to develop and deliver a wide range of technical projects to support the growth of PNDC's electrification of transport and energy flexibility activities, with a particular emphasis on the experimental validation and testing.

In addition, the post-holder will have the opportunity to lead on and contribute to the further development of the PNDC innovation agenda, prepare high value industrial funding proposals as well as being a strong catalyst in the knowledge exchange arena helping to build capability in our expanding ecosystem.

To achieve the above, the R&D Engineer will require significant research and/or industrial experience in at least two of the following technical areas:

a) EV smart charging strategies and control techniques;
b) Vehicle to Grid (V2G) and the provision of ancillary services to the grid;
c) Grid integration of EV charging and Energy Storage Systems;
d) EV charging backend systems and data;
e) Grid scale and behind-the-meter Energy Storage System technologies;
f) DER grid services including flexibility and wholesale markets;
g) Energy data analysis and management.

About PNDC Established in 2013 as one of the University of Strathclyde's industry-facing innovation centres, PNDC is a world-class whole energy systems innovation, test and demonstration environment across multiple locations, shaping the energy transition through its leading-edge programme of work. The facilities and capabilities offered by PNDC are unique in Europe, attracting global organisations to partner with us in our combined efforts to accelerate the deployment of innovations in integrated energy systems.

PNDC continues to evolve its capabilities in the established facility located in Cumbernauld and support innovation in advancing power networks and accelerating the decarbonisation of heat and transport. PNDC is investing over £20m in new capabilities with a particular focus on decarbonisation of heat and transport, and will launch a second testing facility in 2023, which will be located in Inchinnan.

The PNDC innovation program covers three main focus areas: Advancement of Power Networks, Decarbonisation of Heat, and Decarbonisation of Transport. The program includes a number of innovation themes within each area as well as whole energy system innovation across power networks, heat and transport.

Advancement of Power Networks concentrates primarily on accelerating and de-risking innovations that support the major changes in electricity generation and demand characteristics resulting from the net zero transition. Particular focus is placed on solutions that increase power system robustness and security, support the digitalisation of the entire power network sector, and those that facilitate the greater flexibility and participation of demand side innovations in the energy transition.

Decarbonisation of Heat concentrates primarily on accelerating and de-risking novel low carbon heating solutions, both at large scale (e.g. zero-carbon CHP, district heating schemes, hydrogen-for-heating) and at smaller scale addressing the domestic/small commercial scale markets (e.g. heat pumps, hydrogen boilers, solar thermal). Particular focus is also placed on the integration of novel low carbon heating technologies into the wider energy system, their control and scheduling, and the impact of consumer behaviour on technology deployment.

Decarbonisation of Transport concentrates primarily on accelerating and de-risking novel low carbon transport systems for land, marine and aero transport sectors. This covers both innovations in vehicle charging infrastructure and innovations in on board systems. Particular focus is placed on new electric drive trains and onboard power systems, including a number of new components such as fuel cells, batteries, and power electronic machine and drive components.

We are a dynamic, flexible and collaborative team, where colleagues support each other through constructive challenge as well as simply lending a hand to build something new. We are energised when we see the products we've helped develop being deployed and actively reducing costs to consumers, increasing reliability of supply or making the world a more sustainable place. If this appeals to you, then please visit our website (www.pndc.co.uk) to learn more about our Focus Areas and our team.

Previous applicants need not apply.

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Ryan Sims, PNDC Lead Research and Development Engineer (r.sims@strath.ac.uk).