Postdoctoral Researcher for Climate Mitigation Transitions in Industrial Clusters

To achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in an energy-intensive industry in a couple of decades’ time, we are looking for new critical thinkers. As a Postdoctoral Researcher, you will investigate societal readiness for industrial decarbonisation in the North Sea Port area. This way, you contribute to realising a key environmental challenge in a societally responsible way.

The Department of Environmental Science seeks a Postdoctoral Researcher for a research project on societal readiness for industrial decarbonisation. The position is part of the EU-funded (Horizon 2020) 'C4U' project with partners from eight European countries. The C4U project focuses on advancing novel CO2 capture technologies in a steel plant, and realising CCUS in a societally responsible way within the North Sea Port area, a cross-border industrial cluster in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In this project you will work on one of the key challenges in addressing climate change: how to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in energy-intensive industry in a couple of decades’ time. Industry accounts for nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and it is notoriously difficult to reduce those emissions. One of the mitigation options is the capture and transport of CO2, and its storage in geological formations or in long-lived products. While many industries, such as the steel industry, look at CCUS for relatively short notice emission reductions, CCUS and other mitigation options require societal support and governmental policy aligned with feasible business model innovations.

The research work will be focused on policy analysis, stakeholder mapping (including business, government and societal stakeholders), and developing business model innovations. You will be working together with two PhD candidates, one working on life cycle assessment for use in industrial cluster climate policy, and the other on societal readiness using system dynamics and group model building techniques. The vacant position comprises the following tasks:

• Identify which policy frameworks and instruments for implementing CCUS are needed and how they should be developed, taking into account current and expected business model innovations. This includes taking stock of current CCUS and industrial climate policy instruments, comparative policy analysis in various, mostly European, countries, identifying and analysing stakeholder interests, and co-creating and communicating policy recommendations with governmental and non-governmental actors.
• Using stakeholder analysis to determine key aspects for CCUS and other industrial decarbonisation options in a steel plant in an industrial cluster. This includes desk research and literature study on CCUS challenges, identifying key barriers, enablers, and stakeholders for CCU and CCS, determining the business model innovation framework and scenarios, and identifying and shortlisting innovative business models.
• Writing scientific articles and contributing to the progress of the C4U project.

The Radboud C4U research team is rooted in two faculties: the Faculty of Science and the Nijmegen School of Management. Together with the supervisors and PhD candidates, you will form an interdisciplinary team working on the common goal of improving climate policy for industry.