Recent international energy transition policies have established increasingly challenging emission reduction targets for the transport sector, including ships and boats. In particular, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has set ambitious emission reductions, such as 40% in 2030 and 70% in 2050 for international shipping, to be achieved through improvements in energy efficiency and the adoption of near-zero greenhouse gas emission technologies and energy sources. In this context, multi-source electric propulsion architectures for vessels based on a combination of technologies such as batteries, supercapacitors, hydrogen fuel cells and diesel engines are very promising. The research activity focuses on the study, development and prototyping of innovative and highly integrated configurations of hybrid energy storage systems for marine electric propulsion systems. As these systems require proper management of the power flows between the energy sources, i.e. multi-mode, the research activity also deals with the development and implementation of advanced energy management and control strategies by combining conventional and novel approaches, with particular reference to artificial intelligence techniques.

The research activity will mainly regard electrical engineering topics, more specifically modelling of electrical systems and components (e.g. energy storage systems and power electronic converters), and the design of energy management and control systems. A good knowledge of MATLAB/Simulink is required, and knowledge of some programming languages (e.g. Python, C, VHDL) is also very advisable. Experience with real-time simulation platforms (e.g. Typhoon HIL, OPAL-RT) and artificial intelligence techniques represents a plus. All these skills can be refined appropriately during the PhD thanks to the attendance of specific training courses.

The research team consists of professors and researchers that have 20-year experience in design and control of power electronic converters, electrical machines and drives. The team has been working also on energy management and control systems of energy storage systems for more than 10 years, for both vehicular and power system applications. The research group does experimental research activity at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, whose laboratories are equipped with several devices, instruments, and prototypes preparatory to the proposed research activity (electric drive test bench, multi-level converters, hybrid energy storage systems, real-time simulators, etc.).