Open PhD candidate position with Deloitte France

General information

• Research areas: energy markets modelling, decarbonisation pathways, carbon

accounting rules, carbon offsetting, CO2 pricing and regulatory aspects, network

investments, optimisation

• Institutions involved: Deloitte Economic Advisory (hosting company) and an

academic partner to be chosen by the candidate (hosting laboratory)

• Location: Paris (France)

• Starting date: Fall 2023

• Candidate profile: open to but not limited to candidates with backgrounds in

economics, engineering, and mathematics.

What we offer

The team is looking for a highly qualified PhD candidate. The candidate’s research focuses on economic

questions linked to the decarbonisation of the energy sector and industry.

As part of the European Green Deal, and in line with the commitments of the Paris Agreements, the

European Union has set itself the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Although the

framework for achieving this objective has not yet been set for each sub-sector, it is nevertheless

necessary for players to estimate the natural and energy resources required to ensure the

compatibility of their activities with the decarbonisation objectives. Although numerous energy system

models exist, there is a general gap when discussing the impact of it on end-uses’ technology and fuel

switch (e.g., electrification, hydrogen adoption), on the necessary conditions for sector-coupling to

happen, and how each investment decisions in one of the sectors might impact others. In addition, the

impact of carbon policy and pricing (e.g. carbon border adjustment mechanism, EU ETS, CO2 taxes) will

provide the required incentives and shape the transition ongoing. Particular attention on the

institutional and regulatory framework should be paid regarding the net-zero definition (i.e., scope of

the emissions), the accounting rules and the possible contribution of carbon sinks/removal

alternatives.

In this context, the research topic of the PhD candidate will include the further development of existing

models within the team (i.e., energy system optimisation model, power system optimisation model,

among others) to assess how the future evolution of the energy system may look like, where key

challenges occur and how to tackle them in an adequate way. Flexibility is given in the choice of the

main thesis subjects, enabling to work at the frontier of research within an ambitious and inspiring

environment. At the same time, the advisory activities acquired through industrial projects for a

diverse set of clients provide valuable experiences and opportunities to the candidate. They offer

excellent conditions for the development skills and competencies that are highly relevant to various

stakeholders in the energy sector.

The candidate will join a team of other PhD students and researchers active in the fields mentioned

above. The environment provides good research conditions with a long track record in applied sciences

that hasresulted in many contacts with leading research institutes around Europe. Moreover, the fully

funded PhD gives numerous possibilities to present the research at international conferences and to

discuss with other researchers. In addition to a broad flexibility in the way of working, adequate

remuneration completes this offer. All practical arrangements, including the academic supervision and

the time allocation for research and consulting will be discussed and defined with the selected

candidate.

Who we are

The energy transition is one of the biggest challenges of our time, with many open questions on how

to reach climate neutrality in a feasible, economical, secure and timely manner. As part of the Deloitte

Economic Advisory of Deloitte France, the energy markets and modelling team works at the edge

between science and industry to contribute to finding answers to those questions. The Paris-based

team brings together researchers, economists and engineers combining a wide range of competences

and expertise, enabling us to support our international clients in finding answers to their questions on

relevant subjects related to the energy transition. The subjects covered include market design and

regulation, decarbonisation pathways, sectoral transitions, energy mix recommendations, tariff design

or energy policy. Moreover, the energy team maintains close ties with academic research, especially

by publishing in scientific journals or presenting results at various conferences, such as our recent

Hydrogen for Europe study.

What we expect

• Master’s degree (above average) or equivalent in engineering, economics, mathematics or

alike

• High motivation and strong analytical skills

• Interest in topics related to the energy transition, market design and modelling

• Solid background in microeconomics and knowledge of energy markets

• Experience in modelling (R, Python, GAMS...)

• Good English communication skills (French and/or German are a plus)

Contacts

Please send your CV and cover letter to:

Dr. Manuel Villavicencio, mvillavicencio@deloitte.fr

Dr. Behrang Shirizadeh, bshirizadeh@deloitte.fr