Laurens de Vries appointed as professor of Complex Energy Transitions

The Executive Board appointed dr.ir. Laurens de Vries as full professor of 'Complex Energy Transitions' as of 27 January 2022.

Throughout his work, Laurens has combined engineering and social sciences, in particular economics, with a view to modelling and managing the transition of the energy system. Through his rigorous integration of the economic factors that shape decisions in the energy transmission and the technological possibilities and constraints for de-carbonization, he provides a unique and essential perspective on managing the complexities of the energy transition. The study and design of the energy transition should be based on a combination of technological expertise, a clear affinity with models and data, and a keen eye for social, economic and environmental reality. By appointing Laurens as a professor in this interdisciplinary domain TPM will be able to continue to take the lead in the international scientific debate on this extremely urgent topic. We congratulate Laurens wholeheartedly on this appointment.

Laurens de Vries: “I am very happy with my appointment and eager to start working in this new position, as there is an enormous amount of work to be done in the energy transition. Now that we know how to produce large volumes of renewable electricity, we need to decarbonize the rest of the economy, the sectors that currently use fossil fuels, such as building, industry and transport. Their main options are electrification, a switch to hydrogen or continued use of fossil fuels combined with carbon capture and sequestration. The choices and timing of decarbonization routes by consumers need to be coordinated with the renewable energy generation sector in order to ensure that the required energy and infrastructure are available in time. At the operational level, the need to balance the variations in renewable energy generation with demand. This requires the development of flexibility options such as demand response and energy storage. My focus is on shaping the governance of this system – market design and regulation – to achieve these goals.”