UGent: Ghent Institute for International Studies / Centre for Sustainable Development

General expertise of the research group

GIIS is conducting research into six distinctive research areas in two overarching domains: security & foreign policy, and the development of the multilateral system. At CDO, scientific researchers from different disciplines (political scientists, economists, educational scientists, (bio)engineers, sociologists, environmentalists, physicists, urban planners, etc.) work together to conduct research on sustainable development. Taking sustainable development in its multiple dimensions (economic, social, physical-ecological, institutional and ethical) as a guiding – though not determining – perspective, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity are key aspects of research conducted at CDO.

Specific hydrogen- related expertise & research topics

• Geopolitics and international governance of H2
• Political analysis, socio-technical system innovation, governance of transitions such as the transition of the energy-intensive industry

Participating in FL/B/EU funded projects with H2 related research

• See website: research.ugent.be

International collaborations:

• International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – geopolitics of the hydrogen economy

Main relevant publications

1. See website: biblio.ugent.be
2. Dejonghe, M., Van de Graaf, T., & Belmans, R. (2023). From natural gas to hydrogen: Navigating import risks and dependencies in Northwest Europe. Energy Research & Social Science, 106, 103301.
3. Dejonghe, M. (2023). Risky Business? Evaluating Hydrogen Partnerships Established by Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium. Sustainability, 15(24), 16876.
4. Van de Graaf, T. (2022). Hydrogen’s Decade. Finance and Development, 59(4), 21-23.
5. IRENA (2022). Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor. Abu Dhabi: IRENA. (Lead author: T. Van de Graaf)
6. Van de Graaf, T. (2021). “Clean Hydrogen: Building Block of a New Geopolitical Landscape,” Energy and Geostrategy, Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies.
7. Van de Graaf, T. (2021). “The next prize: geopolitical stakes in the clean hydrogen race,” In Oxford Energy Forum (No. 126, pp. 30-34).
8. Van de Graaf, T., Overland, I., Scholten, D., & Westphal, K. (2020). The new oil? The geopolitics and international governance of hydrogen. Energy Research & Social Science, 70, 101667.