Assistant Researcher (PhD Grant) in Atmospheric Physics in the Vicinity of Offshore Wind Farms in EU

Atmospheric Physics and Turbulence for Wind Energy (AptWind) is an innovative European Industrial Doctoral Network. AptWind aims to train a new generation of researchers to tackle the current and future challenges in atmospheric flow physics and turbulence for wind energy applications.

The AptWind program includes specialized seminars, such as:

• Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Systems Science at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado, in 2024.
• Remote Sensing for Wind Energy PhD Summer School at the Danish Technical University in Denmark in 2025.

Participants in the AptWind program will:

• Acquire a portfolio of transferable skills.
• Contribute to significant advancements in the transition to green energy through their research.
• Develop a broad professional network within the wind energy industry.
• Engage with the entire student and supervisory network across Europe to present progress, discuss challenges, and learn from the AptWind community.

PhD topics cover essential engineering domains for wind energy, such as computational fluid dynamics, lidar measurements and machine learning. Candidates will split their time between a university in one country and a private-sector company in another.

More information: AptWind

Offer Description

The PhD research focuses on enhancing an existing meso-microscale coupled model. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model will provide boundary conditions to drive a time-dependent Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) computational fluid dynamics model. The research aims to include the wake effect of future wind turbines with tip heights up to 300 m, focusing on offshore marine environments. Key areas of investigation include boundary layer height, low-level jets, atmospheric stability, gravity waves, complex land-sea interactions, and their impacts on high-fidelity wake models.

Work Locations

• First 18 months: Natural Power, France. You will work with the Analytics Team, focusing on evaluating current wake models and their responses to the advanced topics discussed previously. Development of the current Ventos wake implementation and validation against a range of operational sites. This will also include the integration of new methods into the commercial modelling chain.
• Second 18 months: University of Porto (FEUP), Portugal. You will collaborate with the VENTOS® CFD research team, continuing the work from Natural Power. This phase will focus on developments of the meso-scale coupled model with specific reference to integrating wake modelling into a coupled model that is commercially deployable in the current modelling chain.

Benefits

You will be compensated according to local rules for Doctoral Researchers and the regulations of Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates. The employment period is three years, with the first 18 months in France and the following 18 months in Portugal.

Our work and culture

We have been pioneers of positive renewable change at Natural Power for 25 years. If you’re looking for a job in the renewable energy industry, we could be just the place to advance your career.

Our values are at the very heart of what we do every day. By working with us, you’ll be joining a diverse international community of experts who are innovative, inclusive and supportive of your own personal development. We also provide the highest quality of expertise, innovation and client commitment globally. These are just some of the great things you can help to deliver as part of our team.

Diversity and Inclusion

Natural Power is an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability status.

Natural Power reserves the right to remove this vacancy at any time.