Multinational energy PhD scheme funded

A university in Israel has received Horizon 2020 funding to implement a joint PhD programme on thermal energy storage (TES) technologies.

The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, based in Beer-Sheva, hopes that the PhD programme will help to educate European research and industry professionals in the ETS field. The new scheme, formed by a network of universities and research institutes, will also play into the work of the European Commission’s SET-Plan.

The research consortium is composed of 14 universities, three companies, two SMEs and two research institutions; partners involved include KIC InnoEnergy, Trinity College Dublin, Technical University of Eindhoven, University of Ghent and Warsaw University of Technology.

The SET-Plan establishes a European energy technology policy designed to accelerate the development and deployment of cost-effective low carbon technologies. The SET-Plan’s education and training roadmap is intended to bring about a structural change in the EU educational landscape by enhancing integration and co-ordination of the business and research environments. As part of the roadmap, the joint PhD programme will focus on high temperature thermal energy storage, short term storage technologies for load management, and seasonal storage technologies and storage.

In the long term, the project partners will be part of a larger network of excellent R&D institutions and industries, helping to increase the mobility of students.