PhD THESIS OFFER - Development of a Circularity Assessment Toolkit to support the deployment of local renewable energy technology systems

The Circular Economy and Industrial Sustainability (CEIS) research group of the Faculty of Engineering at Mondragon Unibertsitatea offers a PhD student position for the development of a Circularity Assessment Toolkit to support the deployment of local renewable energy technology systems.

The European Union (EU) has set ambitious targets to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, which involves the deployment of solutions to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy, advance the decentralisation of energy ownership and distribution, and facilitate a digital smart management of the energy market. Furthermore, a key aspect for the sustainable energy transition is the development of local energy communities, with citizens playing an active role in energy self-sufficiency, as highlighted in the EU Clean Energy Package (2019).

In this context, new players are emerging (e.g., local authorities, local businesses and the civil society) involving complex decision-making processes by considering relevant technological, social, economic, legal and environmental aspects related to local energy production and consumption. This requires the development of innovative renewable energy management tools for decision-support by applying circular economy and sustainability criteria.

Therefore, the aim of this PhD thesis is to develop a practical set of tools to guide and support different actors in the deployment of local renewable energy technology systems by identifying viable circular and sustainable opportunities and assessing their potential local and regional impact.

The PhD student would join the Research Group of Circular Economy and Industrial Sustainability (CEIS) in the Faculty of Engineering at Mondragon Unibertsitatea. CEIS is a young dynamic research group that integrates experts from the fields of industrial product design, industrial organisation and production, environmental engineering, corporate social responsibility, and innovation and business management who work closely with industries, business associations and public organisations to facilitate a sustainable energy transition and circular economy deployment. More specifically, the research group works on four major lines of research and innovation: i) circular and sustainable design of products and technologies, ii) circular and sustainable industrial manufacturing, iii) technology-enabled circular and sustainable business models, and iv) circularity and sustainability assessment methodologies, tools and indicators.

Position details

• Researcher profile: First Stage Researcher (R1).
  • Research field: Circular economy, innovation management tools, energy efficiency, renewable energy, life cycle assessment, sustainability indicators, sustainability transitions
• Type of contract: 3 years (36 months)
  • Job status: Full time
  • Hours per week: 40
  • Application Deadline: 25-01-2023 (CET, GMT+01:00)
• Starting date: Late-January/Early-February 2023
• Interested applicants send your CV and a short motivation letter to: dibarra@mondragon.edu and jmfernandez@mondragon.edu

Hiring Organisation & Offer Posting Contact Details

Organization: Mondragon Unibertsitatea, Faculty of Engineering.

Research group: Circular Economy and Industrial Sustainability.

Organisation type: Higher Education Institute

Location: 20500, Arrasate-Mondragon, Gipuzkoa, SPAIN

Contact email: dibarra@mondragon.edu / jmfernandez@mondragon.edu 

Phone: +34943794700