Internships

• Dates: 1 February to 31 July 2027 (6 months).
• Location: ENERGY-Lab, University of La Réunion, Moufia campus.
• Project: LIGHTEN-IO — INTERREG VI Indian Ocean 2021–2027 funding.
• Supervision: ENERGY-Lab research engineer Mathieu Delsaut; co-supervision: Christian Manzala Kumbi.

Background

The internship contributes to sharing climate data used to assess the potential for green hydrogen production from variable renewable resources in the south-west Indian Ocean. It focuses on LIGHTEN-IO data services and the modernisation of ENERGY-Lab’s IOS-net scientific information system.

Main tasks

• Modernise tools for sharing and accessing environmental data: APIs, backend services, metadata and documentation.
• Develop a service for discovering, querying, visualising and downloading climate, weather and energy data, including high-resolution regional projections.
• Upgrade the THREDDS Data Server: THREDDS/OPeNDAP catalogues, new datasets, selection by variable, time period and geographical area, exports and automated updates.
• Modernise user interfaces and SolarIO, with interactive maps and time series, working on both backend services and web interfaces.
• Ensure software quality and long-term maintainability through version control, testing, documentation, deployment and maintenance.

Personal qualities

• Adaptability, ability to work independently and time management.
• Written and oral communication, English language skills and teamwork in an international environment.
• Open-mindedness, commitment and respect for professional and scientific ethics.

Working conditions

The work is subject to confidentiality requirements. Workspace, a computer, and the necessary documentation and databases will be provided.

How to apply

Send your application before 15 November 2026 to: eszter.boulevart@univ-reunion.fr.

• Start: from 1 February 2027.
• Duration: 4 months, with a possible 2-month extension.
• Location: ENERGY-Lab, University of La Réunion, Moufia campus.
• Project: RÉGÉnR — FEDER funding.
• Supervision: WP3 coordination.

Background

The RÉGÉnR project investigates offshore wind and geothermal resources and their contribution to renewable energy in Réunion. Within this non-interconnected island electricity system, the internship examines complementarity between offshore wind and solar photovoltaics to better understand production smoothing and flexibility needs.

Objective

Assess wind–solar complementarity using WP1 results and EDF open data on generation and demand. An exploratory extension to geothermal energy may be undertaken if WP2 results are available; it is not a core deliverable.

Main tasks

• Review the literature on methods for assessing energy complementarity.
• Collect and harmonise time series, addressing time steps, time zones and missing values.
• Analyse complementarity at hourly, daily and seasonal scales, particularly under trade-wind and cyclonic conditions.
• Quantify correlations, variability, rapid changes in generation and simultaneous low-generation events.
• Analyse residual demand, demand coverage and implications for storage and flexibility.
• If data are available, examine the complementary contribution of geothermal energy.

Deliverables

• Harmonised time series, indicators, tables and figures.
• Documented, reproducible scripts and datasets.
• Internship report and presentation; possible contribution to a scientific publication.

Candidate profile

• Second-year Master’s student or final-year engineering student in energy, geography/geomatics, environmental sciences or Earth sciences.
• Proficiency in Python, particularly pandas/xarray, and statistics applied to time series.
• Interest in renewable energy and island systems; experience with meteorological data is appreciated.
• Ability to read scientific literature in English and write in French; rigour, independence and teamwork.

Working conditions

Confidentiality and scientific ethics must be respected. The necessary computing and documentary resources will be provided.

How to apply

Send a CV and cover letter to Prof. Béatrice Morel: beatrice.morel@univ-reunion.fr. Email subject: “Stage RÉGÉnR – complémentarité”.

• Start: from 1 February 2027.
• Duration: 4 months, with a possible 2-month extension.
• Location: ENERGY-Lab, University of La Réunion, Moufia campus.
• Project: RÉGÉnR — FEDER funding.
• Supervision: WP1 coordination.

Background

The RÉGÉnR project investigates renewable energy potential in Réunion. The internship contributes to identifying and ranking suitable offshore wind areas around the island by combining GLAES geospatial analysis and multicriteria analysis. The volcanic setting and deep waters call for particular attention to floating offshore wind.

Objective

Support the WP1 research engineer on task 1.1 by integrating wind potential, bathymetry, environmental constraints and maritime uses. Distinguish exclusion criteria from preference criteria when ranking areas.

Main tasks

• Review the literature and adapt site-selection methods to Réunion’s maritime context.
• Collect and harmonise data on wind, depth, slope, protected areas, biodiversity, shipping, fishing, cables and grid connections.
• Implement GLAES and test exclusions for floating offshore wind. The initial depth range of 300 to 1,000 metres is a hypothesis to be justified and tested.
• Build a multicriteria analysis, particularly using MCDA/AHP, and assess sensitivity to weighting.
• Account for cyclonic conditions, notably using IBTrACS, and territory-specific constraints.
• Estimate eligible areas and potential installed capacity under different turbine-spacing assumptions, making uncertainties explicit.

Assessment criteria

• Technical criteria: depth, slope, distance to the coast and to the grid.
• Environmental criteria: protected areas, reefs, seagrass beds, breeding areas, cetaceans and seabirds.
• Maritime uses: shipping, fishing, cables and pipelines.
• Cyclone exposure and scenario sensitivity.

Deliverables

• Eligibility and ranking maps, with scenarios for fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind.
• Estimates of suitable areas and potential installed capacity.
• Documented scripts and data, a report and a presentation; a possible exploratory scientific contribution.

Candidate profile

• Second-year Master’s student or final-year engineering student in energy, geography/geomatics, environmental sciences or Earth sciences.
• GIS skills: QGIS and/or Python/GeoPandas.
• Knowledge of GLAES and multicriteria analysis is appreciated.
• Interest in offshore wind, environmental issues and maritime uses.
• Ability to read scientific literature in English and write in French; rigour, independence and teamwork.

Working conditions

Confidentiality and scientific ethics must be respected. The necessary computing and documentary resources will be provided.

How to apply

Send a CV and cover letter to Prof. Béatrice Morel: beatrice.morel@univ-reunion.fr. Email subject: “Stage RÉGÉnR – éolien offshore”.

• Start: from 25 January 2027.
• Duration: 4 months, potentially extended to 6 months in collaboration with PERSEE, Mines Paris, in Sophia Antipolis.
• Location: ENERGY-Lab, Saint-Denis, Réunion Island, France; remote collaboration is possible.
• Project: OPUS-H2 — European FEDER-FSE+ Réunion funding, managed by the Réunion regional authority.

Topic

Zero-dimensional modeling for a PEM fuel cell digital twin.

Background

The internship builds on AlphaPEM, developed during Raphaël Gass’s doctoral and postdoctoral research. The aim is to extend this dynamic PEM fuel cell model with physics-based 0D submodels, providing a flexible architecture that balances computational efficiency and predictive accuracy. The work will be conducted in close collaboration with Raphaël Gass.

Main objectives

• Develop physics-based 0D component models using Nóbrega’s transport-resistance methodology for heat, gaseous species, membrane water and liquid water.
• Integrate the 0D submodels alongside the existing 1D and 1D+1D formulations in AlphaPEM.
• Enable flexible model resolution for the whole system or for individual components.
• Cross-validate model accuracy against experimental data.
• Document the methodology and results for a scientific publication, with the intern as a co-author.

Additional objectives

If time permits, develop modular YAML/JSON configuration files and default templates to select submodels for control-oriented or high-fidelity simulations.

Candidate profile

• Master’s degree in energy engineering, chemical engineering, applied mathematics or computer science.
• Strong Python programming skills and knowledge of differential equations and numerical methods.
• Knowledge of thermodynamics and heat transfer is appreciated.
• Experience with Git is required for collaboration on the open-source project.
• Good command of English for scientific reading; French is appreciated but not mandatory.

Contacts

• Dr Raphaël Gass : raphael.gass@femto-st.fr
• Pr Michel Benne : Michel.Benne@univ-reunion.fr
• Dr Pedro Affonso Nóbrega : pedro.affonso_nobrega@minesparis.psl.eu

How to apply

Send your CV, a cover letter explaining your interest in hydrogen modeling, and your latest academic transcripts to the contacts above. Include links to relevant GitHub repositories or scientific publications, if available.