Are you a UK student interested in supporting the transition to net zero, systems level thinking and learning from the lessons of the past?
An interdisciplinary PhD position is available through the School of Engineering and School of History and Cultures at the University of Birmingham. Building on previous work, this project will decipher the complex system of bottlenecks limiting the deployment rate of clean energy infrastructure through a combination of historical analysis and predictive modelling. The researcher will develop a bottom-up project level model of the UK energy system trained on past infrastructural transitions as a guide. Application deadline: 27 February 2026.
With under 25 years to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, it is crucial to focus on actions with the greatest climate impact. Even established technologies like offshore wind farms can take up to 15 years from planning to completion, often delayed by financial, labour, and infrastructure constraints.
Government targets and roadmaps typically use top-down approaches to predict infrastructure growth by sector. Previous research (Link) showed that these methods tend to overestimate outcomes for UK energy projects, while bottom-up approaches give more realistic projections. This issue may help explain challenges in delivering major UK projects like Hinkley Point C.
This project will build on the initial model to identify bottlenecks in UK infrastructure deployment, relating them to government policy and targets. The model will be based on past transport and energy sector transitions and applied to the clean energy transition. On completion, the student will gain expertise in infrastructure planning, net zero strategies, and supply chain management for large-scale projects.
This position will enable the researcher to develop an advanced knowledge of the net zero transition and the UK energy system: past, present and future. The outputs of this projects will be published to influence policy and accelerate national decarbonisation
