MSc Sustainable Energy Technology

The master programme Sustainable Energy Technology (SET) offers a multidisciplinary technical programme with additional subjects from social sciences. Research groups from departments like Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Applied Sciences and Technology Management have specializations that contribute to the multidisciplinary programme. The main focus is on technology, but about one quarter of the programme addresses societal and economical aspects of innovations in energy technology.

Master of Science in SET at the 3TU

The Master’s degree programme Sustainable Energy Technology is organized by the 3TU federation, the collaboration of the three Dutch technical universities: Delft University of Technology (TUD), Eindhoven University of Technology (TUe) and the University Twente (UT). A largely identical programme can be followed at any of the three locations, with subtle differences related to local specializations. Through the cooperation students can profit from the specific strengths of all the three universities in various fields of sustainable energy technology.

The course duration is two years. Each year consists of 60 EC (European Credits). To provide a sound technological basis, the programme starts with a number of basic courses such as physical transport phenomena. The acquired fundamental knowledge in the master is a primary requirement for evaluation of the different technologies and assessment of their feasibility and potential. During the first year an integrating, multi-disciplinary group-project takes place. The year is concluded by an individual integration project or external internship. In the second year, courses deepening the knowledge of specialization are offered to help students in completing their graduation project, which comprises the major part of the year.

Students can choose their MSc assignment from one of the six focus areas:
– Energy from biomass
– Solar energy
– Wind energy
– Hydrogen technology
– Electrical power engineering (not in Twente)
– Energy and society

The local specializations of the three universities are closely related to their strengths in research. Detailed information can be found through the websites, but in general it applies that research on solar energy in Eindhoven focuses on the production of amorphous silicon and polymer solar cells, in Delft on nano-structured 3D and thin film solar cells, and in Twente on the integration of solar energy into products. Research on energy from biomass in Twente emphasizes thermal and chemical conversion processes, in Eindhoven clean small scale conversion units, and in Delft on large scale power generation. Research on wind energy is mainly concentrated in Delft, with some small contributions from Eindhoven in the area of fluid-structure interaction, and from Twente in computational fluid dynamics of wind turbines. Research on hydrogen technology in Twente focuses on the large-scale production of hydrogen, in Delft on the production using sustainable energy and on safe storage, and in Eindhoven on the small- scale production. The field of Electrical Power Engineering and Network Integration is only a subject of research in Delft and Eindhoven.

The acquired knowledge is applied in specialized courses in the field of ‘energy from biomass’, ‘solar energy’, ‘wind energy’, ‘hydrogen as a sustainable energy carrier’ and ‘intelligent electrical networks’. The latter courses provide the in-depth technological background and focus on principles and ongoing research and development, as well as on application of existing technology. Additional courses are provided in which the introduction of technical innovations in modern society is a central element, including societal aspects, economic mechanisms and consumer behaviour.