DC1 — Grid Interface Control and Runtime Verification

Host: Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Lyngby, Denmark — Distributed Energy Systems section, DTU Wind and Energy Systems.
Work package: WP1 (Programmable Energy-Integrated Infrastructure)
Duration and start: 36 months, full-time; start between February and September 2027 (latest start September 2027).

The project

An edge datacenter can only sell fast grid services — for example, helping hold the grid’s frequency steady within a second — if it can promise that doing so will never push the site past its own safety limits. In this project you build the safety foundation for that promise.

You will create a runtime verification framework: software that watches the datacenter as it runs and checks, against formal rules written in temporal logic, that every grid action stays inside safe operating bounds. This turns the site from an unpredictable load into a grid resource that operators can trust.

What you will work on:

• Create hierarchical control algorithms for Fast Frequency Response (FFR).
• Build a runtime safety-verification framework that uses temporal logic to enforce operational limits.
• Combine power electronics, IT load, and thermal systems in one validation platform.

What you will deliver:

• A verified control library with measured response times under two seconds.
• Runtime monitors that hold safety limits, such as a 20% power reserve, in simulated scenarios.
• A hardware-in-the-loop platform tested across a broad set of automated grid-event scenarios.

Secondments

You will spend two research visits with partners in the network:

• Center Denmark (Denmark) — 3 months from around July 2028 (industry), with Tore Kjeld: collect real-time energy-market data from the major Danish energy players and test the proposed methods against it.
• EPRI Europe (Dublin, Ireland) — 3 months from around July 2029 (academic), with Eamonn Lannoye: test the control algorithms on EPRI’s grid testbeds and check the fast-frequency-response behavior on utility-scale platforms.

The host

The Distributed Energy Systems section at DTU Wind and Energy Systems develops digital solutions for operating and controlling distributed energy resources and integrated local energy systems.

Supervision

Main supervisor: Henrik Bindner (ORCID) — Senior Researcher and Head of the Distributed Energy Systems section, DTU Wind and Energy Systems. His work focuses on smart grids and data-driven control of distributed energy resources.

Co-supervisors:

• Tore Kjeld — Center Denmark
• Eamonn Lannoye — EPRI Europe

Profile we are looking for

• Control engineering and/or power systems
• Real-time or embedded software
• An interest in formal methods or runtime verification (temporal logic) is a plus
• MSc (completed or near completion) in electrical engineering, control engineering, computer engineering, or a related field
• Curiosity, initiative, and good spoken and written English

You must also meet the MSCA eligibility rules — no PhD yet, the mobility rule, and open to all nationalities.

How to apply

Official vacancy at the host institution: link coming soon.

Until then, apply through the central AEGIS application portal: AEGIS application portal (reference position DC1), and read what to include in your application.

Questions about this position? Contact the coordinator, Prof. Paul Pop, aegis@compute.dtu.dk.