Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network

DTU Construct is advertising a fully funded PhD scholarship in Development of High Temperature Heat Pumps with Thermal Energy Storage in Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. The project sits in the Thermal Energy Section of the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark and is part of HeatMinds, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network funded by Horizon Europe.

The research focus is highly interdisciplinary and centers on high-temperature heat pumps, thermal energy storage, and Carnot Battery concepts for industrial decarbonization. The successful candidate will develop and design new hybrid architectures using natural working fluids and thermal storage (for example molten salts and dual-media packed beds), perform multi-objective optimization and dynamic system analysis, and validate findings through experiments and industrial secondments. The work aims to make industrial process heat cleaner, more flexible, and more affordable while enabling response to electricity price signals.

Academic supervision is provided by Prof. Adriano Sciacovelli and Prof. Anders Christiansen Erlandsson, with industrial secondments included. The project also offers opportunities to collaborate with doctoral candidates, universities, research institutes, and industrial partners across Europe. The position includes publication in international journals, conference presentations, network training, summer schools, and outreach.

Eligibility and requirements: applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree and must satisfy the MSCA mobility rule (not have lived or carried out their main activity in Denmark for more than 12 months during the 36 months before recruitment). A two-year master's degree (120 ECTS) or equivalent is required. Preferred qualifications include a strong background in engineering thermodynamics, heat transfer, and energy technologies; familiarity with modeling and numerical simulation; programming skills in Python, Matlab, Modelica, or similar tools; and excellent written and spoken English.

Funding: the PhD is fully funded under the MSCA compensation scheme. The announcement states a minimum salary of DKK 30,264.08 base salary plus DKK 1,580.90 PhD supplement, pension contributions of 18.07%, and possible family allowance. The employment period is 3 years and the role is full-time.

Application process: apply online via the portal before 24 November 2026. Submit all materials as one PDF in English: a motivation letter, CV, transcripts, BSc/MSc diploma with grading-scale description, thesis or publications if available, and a short critical literature review (max 3 pages) on high-temperature heat pumps combined with thermal energy storage. The review should cover up to five relevant publications, compare methods and findings, identify open research questions, and include at least one original figure or table. Applicants may apply before completing the master's degree, but they cannot start until it has been awarded.

This is a strong opportunity for students interested in mechanical engineering, energy systems, thermodynamics, heat transfer, thermal storage, and sustainable industrial process heat research.