Recycling waste heat: Graph‑based spatiotemporal optimisation of thermal networks

Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Civil and Architectural Engineering programme. The position is available from 01 June 2026 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title:
Recycling waste heat: Graph-based Algorithms for Spatio-temporal Optimization of Thermal Networks

Research area and project description:
Are you interested in optimisation of District Heating Systems and can you contribute to the development of our Villum Synergy project, “Recycling waste heat: Graph-based Algorithms for Spatiotemporal Optimization of Thermal Networks”? Then the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering invites you to apply for a fully-funded PhD position.
This PhD position is in district heating modelling and optimisation, with particular focus on:

• Graph-based, data-driven modelling of district heating networks.
• Data analysis and modelling of waste-heat sources and demand profiles.
• Spatio-temporal optimisation of waste-heat sources and supporting energy technologies integration.
• Cross-domain collaboration with computer science.

This position is part of an interdisciplinary project, where research tasks will be carried out in collaboration with the research group of Davide Mottin, at the Department of Computer Science, and Kredsløb, Aarhus’s district heating company.

Qualifications and specific competences:
The ideal candidate has a MSc degree in Building Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Civil Engineering or similar, including:

• Some background or experience in one or more of the following areas: district heating modelling, thermal energy system optimisation, data-driven modelling of energy systems, energy systems planning.
• Solid programming skills (e.g. Python, Matlab)
• Ability to analyse spatial (GIS) and temporal datasets is an advantage
• Interest in interdisciplinary work involving computer science
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills

Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Inge Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus C., Denmark.

Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:

• Massimo Fiorentini, e-mail: massimo@cae.au.dk (main supervisor)
• Professor Steffen Petersen, e-mail: stp@cae.au.dk (co-supervisor)

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:

• admission.gradschool.tech@au.dk

How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 06 April 2026 at 23:59 CEST.
Preferred starting date is 01 June 2026.

For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.