JOB - PhD position in Energy Economics

Design of auction-based support schemes for renewable energy in Europe

Scholarship : About €2,400 net/month, tax-exempt

Duration : 24 months, with a possible 24-month extension

Deadline : 21 September 2026 for full consideration

Funding : Fonds Spéciaux de Recherche (FSR), UCLouvain

Start : Autumn 2026, no later than January 2027

Location : Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Research project

This PhD position in Energy Economics focuses on auction-based support schemes for renewable energy in Europe, drawing on auction theory and industrial organization. The exact orientation is flexible: during the first year, the candidate will develop their doctoral research project within this area. Four possible directions are:

1. De-risking green investment. How should governments de-risk investment in green energy? Does public intervention crowd out private insurance or weaken incentives to develop suitable technologies and produce at the lowest cost?
2. Multi-technology auction design. How should auctions be designed when different energy technologies compete in the same auction? One objective is to obtain an optimal portfolio of technologies in order to reduce systemic risk and improve European strategic autonomy. Another is to increase competition within the EU and reduce the rents obtained by firms.
3. Local content requirements. Europe increasingly imposes local content requirements for new investments, implemented through non-price award criteria, which could be studied from a strategic trade perspective.
4. Pre-qualification requirements and completion bonds. How can pre-qualification requirements and completion bonds reduce project abandonment, stimulate innovation, and improve competition?

Research environment

The project is embedded in the LIDAM Energy Group at CORE. Supported by an ARC grant and an EU Doctoral Network, the group will expand in 2026–27 to five PhD researchers in Energy Economics, five in Operations Research and Engineering, and one postdoctoral researcher.

Doctoral students in economics enroll in the doctoral program in economics at UCLouvain.

Required qualifications

Applicants should have:

• A two-year research master’s degree (120 ECTS) in Economics. The degree must have been obtained with distinction.
• Alternatively, a master’s degree in another field, complemented by at least one year of graduate-level courses in economics. Equivalent qualifications are assessed under the admission conditions for the PhD in Economics.
• Solid graduate-level training in microeconomic theory, including industrial organization, and game theory, at a level comparable to Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, and Osborne and Rubinstein, respectively.
• Strong interest in energy economics, market design, and policy-relevant research.
• Proficiency in English.

Prior exposure to auction theory, mechanism design, or market design would be considered an advantage.

Employment conditions

The scholarship is governed by UCLouvain’s doctoral-scholarship regulation and the applicable FSR rules. The main conditions are summarized below.

• The successful candidate will hold a full-time doctoral scholarship at UCLouvain.
• Under UCLouvain’s scholarship regulation, the holder may not have reached the age of 30 at the start of the first grant period. This limit is raised by one year for each maternity, paternity or adoption before the start of the doctorate, and exceptions may be approved by the rector.
• The FSR scholarship initially covers 24 months. During this period, eligible candidates must apply for external doctoral funding from FRS-FNRS. If no external funding is obtained, the supervisor may request a 24-month FSR extension, subject to satisfactory progress.
• The scholarship is exempt from income tax. The net amount is currently around 2,400 euros per month, depending on personal circumstances and subject to annual indexation.
• The holder is subject to the social security system for salaried employees. Coverage is complete for nationals of the European Economic Area and of states having a social security agreement with Belgium, and limited to health and disability insurance and family allowances for other nationals.
• The candidate contributes, to a limited extent, to educational or dissemination activities related to the PhD project.
   

Application procedure

Applications must be submitted in English as a single PDF file, named: Lastname_Firstname.pdf.

Complete the application form below. After submitting it, you will be given a link for uploading your PDF.

The application PDF should contain:

• Statement of intent (max. 1 page), outlining the research you would like to pursue within the project and showing how you meet the required qualifications, including relevant graduate-level coursework in microeconomics, industrial organization, game theory and econometrics
• Curriculum vitae (expected Master’s completion date if applicable)
• Bachelor’s and Master’s transcripts and degree certificates (if available)
• One writing sample (e.g. Master’s thesis or research paper)
• Formal language certificates (e.g. TOEFL or IELTS), if available
• Standardized test scores (e.g. GRE), if available
• Names and contact details of at least two academic referees (letters of recommendation may be requested at a later stage)
   

Applications received by 21 September 2026 will receive full consideration. Review continues until the position is filled.

   Submit your applicatiion

Contact

For more information about this position, please contact:
Bert Willems, LIDAM, UCLouvain. Email: bert.willems@uclouvain.be