From Melbourne to Denmark: PhD researchers driving offshore wind innovation

Leveraging Ørsted’s global leadership in offshore wind, the Gippsland project has recently supported two PhD placements at our Denmark headquarters to further local understanding of how the industry will come to life in Australia.

Strengthening MoU partnership

University of Melbourne PhD student, Bastian Moya Ureta, is currently at Ørsted’s head office at Gentofte for a three-month placement examining how offshore wind can integrate into Australia’s evolving energy system.

The placement is part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed between Ørsted and University of Melbourne in 2024, which has been re-signed to reflect the scope of Bastian’s research.

Spending time in Denmark is enabling Bastian to work directly with Ørsted’s experienced engineers to gain real-world insights into international experience.

Bastian, from the University’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, is leading research focused on how offshore wind farms will connect to, and operate within, Australia’s electricity grid.

Bastian says he hopes to contribute in a meaningful way to understanding of local application of offshore wind in Australia

“I hope my research helps bridge the gap between technical design and real market conditions in Australia,” he said.

Caption: University of Melbourne PhD student, Bastian Moya Ureta (left) and Ørsted’ Michel Rezkalla (right) at the Gentofte office in Denmark. Bastian at the front of the Gentofte office.

Supporting offshore wind research

Separately, in late 2025 Ørsted’s Systems Design team were pleased to support self-funded PhD student, Salah Hajtaleb, who spent three months in Gentofte advancing his research into the future of offshore wind in Gippsland.

Salah is a power system engineer from Monash University who is researching how renewable energy sources like offshore wind farms can be better managed to keep electricity systems stable and reliable.

As coal-fired power stations in Gippsland prepare to retire, Salah’s research explores how smarter, software-based solutions could help offshore wind play a stronger role in keeping the local electricity grid resilient and secure.

“Working closely with several experts helped me understand some of the practical aspects and challenges in the development of offshore wind farms, and incorporate these into my controller design approach,” Salah said.

“The placement was a rewarding, impactful and highly insightful experience.”

Caption: Monash University PhD student, Salah Hajtaleb

We congratulate and thank Bastian and Salah on their work to date and hope these placements provide valuable insight that can inform their understanding of the practical challenges of offshore wind development, while contributing to the knowledge needed to support its integration into Australia’s energy mix.