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City:  Cottbus
Date:  Sep 19, 2025

Student Assistant in the Field of District Heating System Optimization and Modelling

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (www.fraunhofer.com) currently operates 76 institutes and research units throughout Germany and is a leading applied research organization. Around 32 000 employees work with an annual research budget of 3.4 billion euros. 

The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Infrastructure and Geothermal Energy IEG conducts research at seven locations in the fields of integrated energy infrastructures, geothermal energy, and sector coupling for a successful energy transition. Our research institute conducts applied research, develops innovative technologies for public and industrial clients, and translates these into marketable products and processes.

The success of the energy transition will be highly influenced by the success of the heating sector transition. Thus, at the Fraunhofer IEG we developed the software Heatopia, a techno-economic optimization tool for district heating systems, which determines the optimal grid design and the size and operating times of all energy transformers and storages in the system. It enables the design of new district heating systems as well as the transformation of existing networks. We are looking for students (internship, master’s thesis or student assistant) with an energy systems modelling background to support us in further developing Heatopia (written in Python) as well as conducting case studies with the software.

The position of student research assistant is based at our site in Cottbus.

 

What you will do

  • Literature research on the modelling of certain technologies and the possibilities of implementing these approaches in a MILP (Mixed Integer Linear Programming)-framework such as Heatopia.
  • Implementation and testing of these energy models.
  • Conduct case and parameter studies to assess the economic performance of certain technologies in district heating systems using Heatopia.
  • Enhancement of result data export and visualization.
 

 

What you bring to the table

  • Being a Master student holding a bachelor’s degree in the field of Energy Engineering or Physics.
  • Experience with energy systems modelling.
  • Programming skills in Python or in a comparable object-oriented, script-based programming language.
  • Ability to work independently and remotely with a high degree of self-motivation.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
  • Strong communication and teamwork skills.
  • Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) would be desirable.
  • Good German and English skills.

 

What you can expect

  • Modern and innovative working environment with well-equipped technical infrastructure
  • Insight into research practice and day-to-day operations of a research organization while still studying
  • Targeted and individual support from internal and external interdisciplinary supervisors
  • Flexible working conditions, including the option for remote work (with at least one on-site meeting per week in Cottbus)
  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge energy software and expand your professional skill set
  • Collaboration in an agile and supportive Scrum team environment

 

 

We value and promote the diversity of our employees' skills and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of age, gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, disability, sexual orientation and identity. Severely disabled persons are given preference in the event of equal suitability. Remuneration according to the general works agreement for employing assistant staff.

With its focus on developing key technologies that are vital for the future and enabling the commercial utilization of this work by business and industry, Fraunhofer plays a central role in the innovation process. As a pioneer and catalyst for groundbreaking developments and scientific excellence, Fraunhofer helps shape society now and in the future. 

Interested? Apply online now. We look forward to getting to know you!

 

If you have any questions regarding this position, please contact:

Paul Mex

Contact by email

 

If you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact:

Philipp Steinborn

Telefon: +49 355 35540 172

Contact by email

Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies IEG 

www.ieg.fraunhofer.de 

 

Requisition Number: 80708                Application Deadline: 12/31/2025

 


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