Postdoc Position in Human Geography: The Geopolitics of EU Energy Externalities
The Department of Geography, Spatial Planning and Environment (GPM) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to develop and carry out a research project on the theme of ‘The geopolitics of green hydrogen: the case of South Africa and the Netherlands’. The research is funded by start-up and incentive grants and will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Noura Alkhalili.
In broad terms, the research is concerned with green finance; energy partnerships and trade; investment strategies; and material infrastructure as they relate to the EU’s plans to diversify its energy supply and achieve energy security and decarbonisation by 2050 in compliance with the European Green Deal (EGD). Within this thematic scope, this research is concerned with the extra-territorial repercussions of the EU’s energy policy and energy trade, as well as with emerging energy frontiers, specifically the green hydrogen frontier. The research will focus on plans to export green hydrogen from South Africa to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Hence, this research puts emphasis on the South Africa-Netherlands energy relations during current green energy transitions and connects this focus to the wider enduring colonial legacies of the EU.