PhD Defence Announcement: Sebastian Zainali
The Agrivoltaic Nexus – Modelling and Optimising Water, Energy, Economy, and Food Trade-offs
SOLVE PhD candidate Sebastian Zainali will publicly defend his doctoral thesis at Mälardalens universitet in the field of Energy and Environmental Engineering.
Read the thesis:
The Agrivoltaic Nexus: Modelling and Optimising Water, Energy, Economy, and Food Trade-offs
Event Details
- Date & Time: 30 January 2026, 09:15
- Venue: Delta, Västerås Campus, Mälardalen University
- Doctoral subject: Energy and Environmental Engineering
- Language: English
Thesis Overview
Agrivoltaic (APV) systems — where photovoltaic modules and agricultural production share the same land — offer a promising approach to addressing land-use competition between food and renewable energy.
In this thesis, Sebastian Zainali develops an integrated modelling framework to analyse and optimise water use, energy generation, economic performance, and food production in agrivoltaic systems. The work combines energy system modelling, optimisation techniques, and scenario analysis to evaluate trade-offs and synergies across different contexts.
Opponent and Examination Committee
- Opponent:
Professor Greg Barron-Gafford, University of Arizona, USA - Examination Committee:
- Professor Uffe Jørgensen, Aarhus University, Denmark
- Docent Janne Halme, Aalto University, Finland
- Professor Viktoria Martin, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
- Deputy member:
Docent Valentina Zaccaria, Mälardalen University