Emiel van Druten

Phd candidate | Sector coupling for accelerating the energy transition

Institution: Eindhoven University of Technology
Work package: WP10 Integral models
In NEON: 2021 onwards
Now: Works full-time at TenneT TSO (listed as ancillary activity on his TU/e page); part-time external PhD candidate.

WP10 PhD candidate on sector coupling for accelerating the energy transition, using the NEON integral model.

Emiel van Druten, a mechanical and hydraulic engineer, worked as an energy-transition consultant at Witteveen+Bos from 2016 and did his PhD part-time. His NEON research uses energy-system models to study sector coupling and grid congestion, for example by combining wind, solar and batteries behind one grid connection.

About me

My whole life I have had the drive to understand the world and learn about new topics. I have done a bachelor in mechanical engineering and a master in hydraulic engineering. Since 2016 I work as an energy transition consultant at Witteveen+Bos, working on very different energy transition projects ranging from offshore wind to heat transition in the build environment. I live together with my girlfriend in Deventer. We often go cycling together, I like running whist listening to an energy podcasts and I do CrossFit and Survivalrun.

Personal Motivation

I enjoy working on energy transition because I can have a positive impact and it offers enough complexity to keep my curiosity satisfied. Getting a better understanding of the bigger picture of the energy and climate transition is my motivation to start a PhD next to my work as a consultant. I hope that with the NEON group we can explore and show in our New Energy Outlook how the transition can be accelerated in a sensible way. When I finish my PhD I want to be an authority in the field of energy transition.

SECTOR COUPLING FOR ACCELERATING THE ENERGY TRANSITION

I will apply several energy transition models, including the NEON Integral model, to explore:

Coupling offshore wind development to industry decarbonization and flexibility;
Coupling regional wind and solar to built environment decarbonization and flexibility.

I hope to find out how this can reduce the need for upgrading electricity grid infrastructure and prevent that the transition is slowed down by the pace of grid upgrades.

Link to other neon research

I work on and use the Integral model in my PhD with Floor Akemade as my promotor. In my paper on coupling offshore wind to industry I will try include innovation in Airborne wind energy and DC electricity grids. In my paper on coupling regional supply to build environment I will incorporate Local energy demand, storage and new market models including smart Charging mobility and local supply from Building integrated PV.

Profile text from the former NEON website.

✎ draft

Supervised by

Floor Alkemade
Principal investigator · Eindhoven University of Technology

Publications and talks

Cable pooling to add renewables amid grid congestion: Exploring optimal integration of solar and batteries with existing onshore wind under cost uncertainty (journal-article, 2025)
Polder pumping-station for the future: designing and retrofitting infrastructure systems under structural uncertainty (journal-article, 2022)