General information
Organisation
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.
The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
Reference
SL-DES-25-0930
Thesis topic details
Category
Miscellaneous
Thesis topics
Effectiveness and robustness of the market design of low carbon electricity markets: the case of investment in new nuclear
Contract
Thèse
Job description
The subject deals with the role of nuclear power in a low-carbon energy system, helping to lower the costs of the electricity system in the face of the penetration of timed renewable energies (wind, solar). Despite its systemic benefits, nuclear power is struggling to generate sufficient revenues in today's electricity markets, due to price volatility and declining load factors. Models show that very high prices during periods of load shedding could compensate for these losses, but such hypotheses remain to be proven. What's more, any construction contingencies (delays, extra costs) accentuate the risks for investors. To deal with this, suitable economic instruments are proposed: contracts for difference (CfD), capacity mechanisms, and regulated asset bases (RAB). The thesis aims to assess the effectiveness of these instruments through several steps: (1) long-term modeling of a low-carbon interconnected power system, (2) evaluation of the profitability of nuclear power in an “Energy only” market, and (3) modeling integrating these regulatory mechanisms to test their ability to cover construction and operating risks. Finally, tools such as real options or futures markets will be explored to address the uncertainties associated with the mass deployment of new nuclear reactors, from a national energy policy perspective.
University / doctoral school
Sciences de la Décision, des Organisations, de la Société et de l’Echange (SDOSE)
Paris-Dauphine
Thesis topic location
Site
Saclay
Requester
Position start date
01/10/2025
Person to be contacted by the applicant
CANEL Jérôme
jerome.canel@cea.fr
CEA
DES/I-tésé
CEA-Saclay
07-80-58-96-84
Tutor / Responsible thesis director
KEPPLER Jan-Horst
jan-horst.keppler@dauphine.psl.eu
UMR 8007-260, LEDa, Université Paris Dauphine
LEDa (UMR 8007-260)
Université Paris-Dauphine
Place du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny
75775 Paris cedex 16
01 44 05 45 13
En savoir plus
https://www.cea.fr/energies/i-tese/Pages/accueil.aspx