News overview

Birds have no vertical fin and also don’t seem to deliberately create asymmetric drag. ESRIG's David Lentink and colleagues designed PigeonBot II to investigate how birds stay in control without such a stabiliser. The latest design, which includes 52 real pigeon feathers, has been updated to include a bird-like tail – and test flights have been successful.

With eight billion people, we use a lot of the Earth’s resources in ways that are likely unsustainable. Klaus Hubacek, Professor of Science, Technology and Society at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, takes stock of the situation. How much land, water, and other resources does our lifestyle require? And how can we adapt this lifestyle to stay within the limits of what the Earth can give? It is possible, Hubacek shows, but it will require policies based on scientific evidence.

Researchers from the University of Groningen, including ESRIG members Iris Westra, Bert Scheeren, Wouter Peters and Harro Meijer, were able to design a novel measuring methodology that gained them insight in the current loss rates of atmospheric hydrogen at a chemical park in Delfzijl (The Netherlands).

Within the current energy transition, the pivotal role of hydrogen "the energy carrier", is expected to increase, and with that the release of anthropogenic hydrogen emissions into the atmosphere resulting in an indirect enhanced global warming effect. Since current hydrogen emissions along the entire value chain are unknown it is important to bridge the gap between model predictions and reality, by offering a state-of-the-art-high precision hydrogen analysis system to provide empirical data from atmospheric hydrogen concentration. A study on this has been published recently in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

Researchers from the University of Groningen and KNMI, including ESRIG members Lieke van der Most and Richard Bintanja, have gained insight into the influence of weather on electricity production in five European countries.

With more renewable energy in Europe, our electricity system is becoming more sensitive to weather and climate. Wind and solar power, as well as hydropower, depend on weather. A study on this is published today in the journal Nature Energy. The study identifies which combination of weather conditions increases the risk of a so-called energy drought.

In Yogyakarta this week, the University of Groningen (UG) and Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) launched a new initiative, the hub for Future Human Welfare , with a joint summer school held on campus at UGM. The summer school, entitled “Hydrogen's Role in Energy Transition: Perspective and Challenges”, is organized in connection with the Wubbo Ockels School for Energy and Climate and Professor Aravind Vellayani from the Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen ( ESRIG ) was one of the attendants.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded a Veni grant to Biomimetics post-doc researcher Ariana Gayout.

Asia Pacific Student Short-Video Competition for Climate and Sustainable Development in Cities

Hydrogen is an indirect greenhouse gas: by reacting with other compounds in the atmosphere, it may contribute to global warming in several ways. That is why researchers of the research group led by Professor of Isotope Physics Harro Meijer of the University of Groningen measure hydrogen leaks at Chemical Park Delfzijl.

Could hydrogen replace natural gas in the future? Aside from the question of whether this would always be the best choice for specific applications, the infrastructure that we are now using to store and transport natural gas is not readily usable for hydrogen. Because hydrogen is a much smaller molecule than natural gas, it can easily leak. Even worse, despite its small size, hydrogen can affect larger materials and make them as brittle as glass.

Professor of Energy Conversion Aravind Purushothaman Vellayani is working on systems that use hydrogen to produce electricity – for large factories, for instance. But even your car or your toilet could be capable of producing electricity from hydrogen. Aravind: ‘The technology is available, but for commercial applications, it is often still too expensive. So, this is where science has a part to play: bridging the gap from fundamental knowledge to applications.’ 

Read the full article in the FSE Science Newsroom.

The albatross, one of the world's most studied birds, inspired a significant improvement in wind turbine blade design. By studying the wings of this fascinating bird, wind turbines can now operate at lower wind speeds resulting in increased energy production. Eize Stamhuis (Associate Professor of Experimental Marine Zoology & Biomimetics at ESRIG/FSE) is involved in the Albatrozz project, together with the companies RG Projects and EmpowerMi.

Read the full article at the website of TKI Offshore Energy or visit the Albatrozz project website.

The research group IREES of the of the Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (Faculty of Science and Engineering, UG) is part of a consortium that has been awarded a NWO-KIC grant for research into sustainable forms of sharing and repairing. The project, led by Wageningen University, is granted with a total amount of 1,3 million euros.

Last week, ESRIG employee Theo Woudstra was appointed as a Member in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

(source: Omroep West )

'Future for Nature' brings controversial stories about nature and nature conservation in the Low Countries. Listeners get to know inspiring people better and get a look behind the scenes of nature lovers. The host of this podcast, Anthonie Stip, guides the listeners through a nature topic in each episode, with an eye for history and backgrounds. This podcast is produced by The Butterfly Foundation and the latest episode features Henny van der Windt, Associate Professor at ESRIG IREES. 

Aravind Purushothaman Vellayani, professor and chair of Energy Conversion at the University of Groningen, has been appointed director for hydrogen economy at the Wubbo Ockels School for Energy and Climate from February. As director, he wants to focus above all on interfaculty and interdisciplinary cooperation.

NWO-KIC grant awarded to ENP - ShaRepair

Professor Nasser Kalantar explains the benefits of nuclear energy in the media

Associate professor Machteld van den Broek hosts IEAGHG CCS Cost Network meeting 

Vacancy: Tenure Track Assistant Professor Food-Energy-Water Nexus (1.0 Fte)

Wobbling blades cause a breakthrough in wind energy

Never before has so little sea ice been measured around Antarctica

ESRIG Professor Wouter Peters appointed as a member of the Scientific Climate Council (WKR)

A tribute from em. professor Ton Schoot Uiterkamp to late professor Berendsen

the North Sea, the ice age and isotopes

ESRIG scientist Sanderine Nonhebel amongst most talented women

Professor Klaus Hubacek: Unnecessary burden of war. Governments react inefficiently to soaring energy prices

Professor P.V. Aravind, Professor Machteld van den Broek, Ir. Theo Woudstra and PhD Longquan Li have a new publication in 'ScienceDirect'

New publication of professor Klaus Hubacek and co-authors: EU consumers 'export' environment damage

Associate professor Sanderine Nonhebel in the national media; supermarkets will stop flying in fruit and vegetables, but does that really help the climate?

ESRIG researchers Mike Dee and Margot Kuitems develop New carbon dating method which makes it to the Nature’s ‘Technologies to Watch’ list

New publication of associated Professor Machteld van den Broek and co-authors; Effect of modelling choices in the unit commitment problem

Dr. Franco Ruzzenenti speaks at meeting about energy complexity

Associate Professor Sanderine Nonhebel was at the National Protein Debate

Hon. Professor Rob Middag was on the national radio

Dr. Johannes Miocic is Outstanding Early Career Scientist

Professor Klaus Hubacek and co authors publish new findings about the impact of carbon taxatation and revenue redistribution on poverty and inequality

Professor Machteld van den Broek teaches Lions

ESRIG is the proud owner of the only existing Gas Chromotograph in the Netherlands

Dr. Rene Benders explains his longtime research

Hydrogen Promise or Hype? Professor Machteld van den Broek participates in a Studium Generale on Hydrogen

ESRIG celebrates two researchers on Highly Cited Researchers 2022 List

Splendid ESRIG symposium celebrates 10 th Anniversary

Inspiring excursion to the historic landscape of the Drentse Aa

Professor Klaus Hubacek and co authors publish new findings about the impact of carbon taxatation and revenue redistribution on povery and inequality

CIO lab dated specific material from the sword of Grutte Pier

Professor Klaus Hubacek and co authors publish new innovative study: can U.S. multi-state climate mitigation agreements work? 

Professor Nasser Kalantar-Nayestanaki New ESRIG  Director

Inaugural lecture: Prof. dr. Rob Middag - Friday 28 October 2022 at 16:15h

Prestigous Rosalind Franklin programme vacancies

We are looking for a Tenure Track Assistant Professor (Education) ‘Energy, Environment and Society’ (222643)

Associate Professor Sanderine Nonhebel was in the national news regarding the high amount of water needed to grow advocados

Associate Professor Ulrike Dusek, and other UG research-consortia, have been awarded with substantial NWO grants 

Professor Klaus Hubacek, Dr. Yuli Shan and co authors publish new innovative study; China’s cities are leading the way on carbon reduction

Please mark your calendar for the inspiring ESRIG Symposium on 10 November 2022

PhD position: Innovative financial instruments for sustainable landscapes (222540)

Vacancy for a Tenure Track Assistant Professor with education profile 'Hydrogen and Fuel Cells' We are looking for an early-career academic who is interested to start a tenure track with a focus on education, and who can strengthen our teaching and research in the field of hydrogen and fuel cells.

Read the full vacancy 

By resolution of their Council in February 2022 the leading Academy of Social  Sciences in the United Kingdom has recently confermed the honorable Award to Prof. Dr K.S. (Klaus) Hubacek as their Fellow. Therefore a certificate will be presented to him at the Academy President’s Lunch on Tuesday 28 June 2022 at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford.

The Rudolph Agricola School for Sustainable Development has been awarded one of the PhD positions on the research proposal called: 'Innovative financial instruments for sustainable landscapes. This research proposal is about the use of “green finance” and new financial instruments to promote the conservation of natural ecosystems and protect biodiversity' by prof. dr. Bert Scholtens, prof. dr. Klaus Hubacek and prof. dr. Frans Sijtsma.

Associate Professor Henny van der Windt retired this year. Henny van der Windt has worked continuously at the University of Groningen (UG) since 1981. In this context, on 17 June 2022 there was a pleasant and interesting farewell in the form of a symposium at the Energy Academy Europe where various well-known speakers contributed with regards to the field in which Henny van der Windt worked.

Two large consortia of Dutch companies and knowledge institutes in the mobility and transport sector will receive 47 million euros in government funding to realize breakthroughs in electrification and hydrogen applications in automotive, maritime and air transport . That is what t he Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate announced on November 29th . By working together, the parties involved want to make the Netherlands a frontrunner in green and clean mobility. Together they contribute over 26 million euros .

Retirement? What's that? #5. Interview by UKrant.nl with Honorary Professor Ton Schoot Uiterkamp. Ton is one of various retired UG professors who doesn’t know how to quit. The now seventy-seven-year-old professor of environmentology chairs the Senior Academy Society (SAS), still assesses PhD candidates’ work, and regularly teaches.

With the Awards, the faculty rewards a student and a researcher who have made a special achievement in connecting scientific research to social, economic or professional practice.

In Science is the University of Groningen podcast where we interview researchers and bring you the latest news and reports from the academic community in Groningen. Our guest this episode is Mike Dee. He's an associate professor of Isotope Chronology at our Centre of Isotope Research. Wim, Tina and Arjen interview him on how he and Margot Kuitems were able to show that Europeans were already active in the Americas in 1021 AD.

Like snowflakes, no two branches are alike. They can differ in size, shape and texture; some might be wet or moss-covered or bursting with offshoots. And yet birds can land on just about any of them. This ability was of great interest to the labs of Stanford University engineers Mark Cutkosky and David Lentink – now at University of Groningen in the Netherlands – which have both developed technologies inspired by animal abilities.

Shan received the prize for his impressive work and its great outreach.

ESRIG is proud to announce that two of our academics, Klaus Hubacek and Yuli Shan, have been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers™ 2021 list from Clarivate.

Prof. PV Aravind has been awarded with a grant of EUR 200,000 for the Powering Agrifood project . The main focus will be on energy system opportunities in the agricultural and the food processing industries. Powering AgriFood is a 2-year research project executed by the University of Groningen and AVANS UoAS scientists. All partners provide expertise on the system study or exploitation from the relevant perspectives.

At the Energy Conversion research group, in close collaboration with TU Delft, a postdoctoral researcher will be appointed for a period of 18-months.

Columbus was not the first European to reach the Americas. The Vikings got there centuries beforehand, although exactly when has remained unclear. Here, an international team of scientists show that Europeans were already active in the Americas in 1021 AD.

The Vikings sailed great distances in their iconic longships. To the west, they established settlements in Iceland, Greenland and eventually a base at L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada. However, it has remained unclear when this first transatlantic activity took place. Here, scientists show that Europeans were present in the Americas in 1021 AD - precisely 1000 years ago this year. This date also marks the earliest known point by which the Atlantic had been crossed, and migration by humankind had finally encircled the entire planet.

The increasing amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is causing our climate to warm at an alarming rate. The consequent changes are unprecedented, and difficult to predict due to the complexity of the Earth system. While we know that half of the carbon emissions released to the atmosphere by fossil fuel usage are re-captured by the ocean and land ecosystems, we still lack knowledge when it comes to the exact size, nature and stabilities of these carbon sinks and how these will be affected by climate change. How these sinks operate in detail, and if they indeed continue to work is vital information for societies, that must decide on pathways to climate neutrality.

With a contribution of €3 million from the Nationaal Programma Groningen (Groningen National Programme), the training programme ‘Waterstof Werkt’ (Hydrogen Works) can begin. The University of Groningen is one of the partners that, together, will develop a broad training programme in the area of hydrogen.

De aanvoer van olie en gas stagneert, de prijzen stijgen en de klimaatverandering duurt voort. Voorstanders roepen dat kernenergie onafwendbaar is. Zitten we echt aan kernenergie vast als achtervang, als we willen verduurzamen?

De aanvoer van olie en gas stagneert, de prijzen stijgen en de klimaatverandering duurt voort. Voorstanders roepen dat kernenergie onafwendbaar is. Zitten we echt aan kernenergie vast als achtervang, als we willen verduurzamen?

On Friday October 1, Simone Gazagnes successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled "Vast and fast data in the era of large astrophysics and particle physics experiments". He received his doctorate degree 'cum laude'. A big congratulations on behalf of all ESRIG colleagues.

On Friday October 1, Simone Gazagnes successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled "Vast and fast data in the era of large astrophysics and particle physics experiments". He received his doctorate degree 'cum laude'. A big congratulations on behalf of all ESRIG colleagues.

Vogels vliegen veel efficiënter dan drones. Maar hoe dan? Luchtvaartingenieur en bioloog David Lentink bestudeert vogels om nieuwe manieren van vliegen te ontdekken en ook om de biomechanica van de vogelvlucht beter te begrijpen. Hij verruilde onlangs de Amerikaanse Stanford University voor Groningen, omdat hij hier zijn liefde voor techniek én biologie kan combineren. Lentink is een mooi voorbeeld van een interdisciplinair onderzoeker en ook van vele andere biomimicryonderzoekers aan de RUG die hun inspiratie halen uit de natuur.

On 1 September 2021 Rob Middag has been appointed as honorary professor in Marine Trace Metal Biogeochemistry within the CIO Oceans research group. As a chemical oceanographer, Rob Middag's research focusses on the role of metals in marine ecosystems. "I look forward to the opportunities to strenghten contact with my research colleagues. But also the possibility of inspiring and involving the next generation of marine scientists through education."

In the Netherlands, hundreds of energy cooperatives try to accelerate the energy transition by developing plans for collectively owned wind and solar projects. Dur-ing the last 5 years so-called buurtwarmte (“neighborhood heat”) cooperatives were founded to realize collective sustainable district heating systems. We have studied 4 front runners, in Amsterdam, Den Haag, Groningen and Wageningen, together with colleagues of de Hanzehogeschool, TNO and a local energy coop-erative. We were interested in the question to what extent Dutch local energy cooperatives are able to develop and realize collective heating networks. Eventu-ally each of our four cases was able to develop a heating system plan and two of them are in the pre-engineering stage, but it turned out to be far from easy to develop such a system. We identified five main problems.

David Lentink, an aerospace engineer and biologist, studies birds in order to find new ways to fly, and also to better understand the biomechanics of bird flight. He recently moved from Stanford University to the University of Groningen, one of very few places where he can combine his love for engineering with his love for biology. Lentink is a fine example of the many UG researchers who take their inspiration from nature.

New Biomimetics research group joined the ESRIG institute. The Biomimetics group studies how organisms evolved to function successfully in their complex environments as inspiration to improve technology and engineering design. Their focus is primarily, but not exclusively, on aquatic and aerial behaviours including feeding, swimming and flight. Informed by scientific findings, they develop new biomimetic and bioinspired solutions for engineering and societal challenges. The technological focus is on energy harvesting, energy use efficiency, environmental cleanup and autonomous robotics. To accomplish these research and innovation goals and translate their findings to society, the group collaborates with leading scientists, engineers and companies locally, nationally and globally. To engage students as well as the general public, the group offers exciting research experiences, organizes national outreach projects and helps the international media disseminate our discoveries and innovations.

Van der Waal, die in maart is gepromoveerd op een onderzoek naar de rol van lokale energiecollectieven, stelt dat een klankbordgroep niet per se betekent dat het proces eerlijker is. Je zet bewoners in zo’n groep met vertegenwoordigers van een projectontwikkelaar en anderen die, bijvoorbeeld vanuit een gemeente, daar fulltime aan werken. Een bewoner moet proberen dat allemaal bij te houden in de avonduren. Dan is de kans aanwezig dat die onder de tafel wordt gepraat. Echte participatie is meer dan een groep bij elkaar brengen en een beetje aanhoren wat mensen te zeggen hebben en wat hun voorkeuren zijn. En daar vervolgens mee doen wat minimaal aanvaardbaar is.

As a PhD scholarship student, you will develop your own research project in consultation with the associated supervisor(s). You will conduct independent and original scientific research, report results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and ultimately a PhD thesis. The PhD thesis has to be completed within four years. Being part of a cutting-edge research program, you will receive training in the form of hands-on instruction, advanced courses, summer/winter schools, as well as complementary workshops on generic research and transferable skills. Special attention is paid to training activities directed towards your future (academic or non-academic) career after the PhD trajectory, in the context of our Career Perspective Series.

Wee are looking for a PhD candidate who will perform measurements of (n,xn) cross sections using GAINS spectrometer at the GELINA facility. These cross sections are required for improvement of the current nuclear databases. In the nuclear-energy applications these databases are used to model range of processes from a critical zone of the reactor to a shielding of the core and radioactive waste. Improvement of the modelling precision might potentially reduce construction costs of a nuclear reactor, since less conservative estimation of building material would be required.

The ESRIG Institute is exciting to welcome a new member to our group. As of March 1, Prof.dr.ir. D. (David) Lentink joined our institute within the Ocean Ecosystems research group.

Interview door Dagblad van het Noorden: RUG-hoogleraar kernenergie Nasser Kalantar-Nayestanaki: klimaatdoelen halen we niet met alleen windmolens en zonnepanelen. Drastische maatregelen zijn nodig.

Interview door Dagblad van het Noorden: RUG-hoogleraar kernenergie Nasser Kalantar-Nayestanaki: klimaatdoelen halen we niet met alleen windmolens en zonnepanelen. Drastische maatregelen zijn nodig.

Down in the deep dark waters of the North Sea lies Doggerland, which disappeared thousands of years ago due to the rising sea levels. Groningen archaeologists are trying to find out how the area’s inhabitants dealt with the rising water.

The grant of EUR 750,000 is for his project ‘The role of heterogeneity in controlling the geomechanical behaviour of sandstone reservoirs’.

Primary production in the Southern Ocean (SO) is limited by iron availability. Hydrothermal vents have been identified as a potentially important source of iron to SO surface waters. Here we identify a recurring phytoplankton bloom in the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll waters of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Pacific sector of the SO, that we argue is fed by iron of hydrothermal origin. In January 2014 the bloom covered an area of ~266,000 km2 with depth-integrated chlorophyll a > 300 mg m−2, primary production rates >1 g C m−2 d−1, and a mean CO2 flux of −0.38 g C m−2 d−1. The elevated iron supporting this bloom is likely of hydrothermal origin based on the recurrent position of the bloom relative to two active hydrothermal vent fields along the Australian Antarctic Ridge and the association of the elevated iron with a distinct water mass characteristic of a nonbuoyant hydrothermal vent plume.

Echo chambers in science describe the amplification and repetition of information within closed networks. Frequently used data sources can cause echo chambers as scientists keep reading similar outputs from different sources, creating false perceptions of certainty and variety of data sources. We show this effect by studying the scientific and grey literature on water use by electricity systems. The power sector is the largest contributor to anthropogenic carbon emissions and the second largest water consumer. We have assessed the scope and references of 2,426 papers and created a citation network to trace original data sources. Most data sources used for the last 30 years originate from a few old US publications, recently also Chinese, that echo through publications. This echo effect, also reflected in recent scientific publications, creates a confirmation bias, also facilitating double counting of the water intensities of electricity generation. This example from sustainability science warns of the risk of echo chambers in other scientific disciplines.

ESRIG newsletter | November 2020

As far back as the sixth century, relics attributed to the apostles Philip and James have been held in the Santi Apostoli church in Rome. However, research suggests that the thighbone, originally thought to be that of James the Apostle, does not belong to this saint but actually to someone who lived 160 to 240 years later.

Expectations for energy storage are high but large-scale underground hydrogen storage in porous media (UHSP) remains largely untested. This article identifies and discusses the scientific challenges of hydrogen storage in porous media for safe and efficient large-scale energy storage to enable a global hydrogen economy. To facilitate hydrogen supply on the scales required for a zero-carbon future, it must be stored in porous geological formations, such as saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. Large-scale UHSP offers the much-needed capacity to balance inter-seasonal discrepancies between demand and supply, decouple energy generation from demand and decarbonise heating and transport, supporting decarbonisation of the entire energy system. Despite the vast opportunity provided by UHSP, the maturity is considered low and as such UHSP is associated with several uncertainties and challenges. Here, the safety and economic impacts triggered by poorly understood key processes are identified, such as the formation of corrosive hydrogen sulfide gas, hydrogen loss due to the activity of microbes or permeability changes due to geochemical interactions impacting on the predictability of hydrogen flow through porous media. The wide range of scientific challenges facing UHSP are outlined to improve procedures and workflows for the hydrogen storage cycle, from site selection to storage site operation. Multidisciplinary research, including reservoir engineering, chemistry, geology and microbiology, more complex than required for CH4 or CO2 storage is required in order to implement the safe, efficient and much needed large-scale commercial deployment of UHSP.

Extreme weather events are projected to change due to climate change, the risk to societies are therefore also changing. In a new study , Dr. Karin van der Wiel (KNMI) and Prof. Richard Bintanja (KNMI, Univ. Groningen) demonstrate that the increased occurrence of monthly extreme heat events is predominantly caused by a warming mean climate. In contrast, future changes in monthly heavy rainfall events depend to a considerable degree on changes in climate variability. Examining the origin of changes in extreme events, changing mean or changing variability, provides valuable insights into the processes driving these important climatic changes.

The lockdowns that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, in the recovery phase, emissions could rise to levels above those projected before the pandemic. It all depends on how the stimulus money that governments inject into their economies is spent.

ESRIG newsletter | November 2020

Research institutes GELIFES and ESRIG of the University of Groningen and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) are intensifying their collaboration. They will join forces in order to help resolve important societal problems of sustainability; provide the basis of a world class scientific alliance in education and research into oceans and coastal systems; enhance the chances to secure external funding; and provide a strong connection to the northern Netherlands.

SuSo PhD Grant for PhD student Dan Wang: Each year PhD students from the University of Groningen can apply for the Sustainable Society PhD Grant. This grant is intended to enable PhD candidates to gain relevant experience during their doctoral programme, to broaden their network and to further promote their research. The aim is to enable them to acquire additional experience on top of their regular activities. In total 9 PhD students received a grant this year. These grants were awarded during a digital Grant Ceremony on 12 November 2020. Winners were asked to prepare a pitch to present their research during the ceremony. The PhD candidate with the best and most persuasive pitch will receive a bonus prize: the possibility to visualize his/her research by a professional designer. This visualization will serve the goal of increasing and stimulating the visibility and impact of PhD research.

ESRIG is proud to announce that 3 of our academics have been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers™ 2020 list from Clarivate.

ESRIG newsletter | November 2020

In het snel opwarmende noordpoolgebied smelt het zee-ijs steeds verder weg. In september benaderde het zee-ijsoppervlak het laagterecord van 2012 (figuur 1). Hoewel de langjarige trend in zee-ijs overduidelijk omlaag gaat, zijn records vooral afhankelijk van de sterkte van de variaties van jaar tot jaar.

In China, approximately 10 billion online food orders were served to over 400 million customers in 2018. Together with colleagues from China and the UK, Yuli Shan, an environmental scientist at the University of Groningen, found that reusable tableware can substantially reduce packaging waste and life cycle environmental emissions.

De natuurbranden in het Arctische gebied deze zomer waren zeer uitgebreid en intens, vooral in Siberië. Hiermee steekt 2020 samen met 2019 ver uit boven voorgaande jaren wat betreft de uitstoot aan luchtvervuiling die met deze branden samenhangt (figuur 1), dat meldt de Europese instantie Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS).

The Internet facilitates connections between a range of Dutch actors with a stake in the energy transition, including governments, environmental organizations, media outlets and corporations. These connections tease a hyperlink network affecting public access to information on energy transition issues. Despite its societal relevance, however, the characteristics of this network remain understudied. The main goals of this study are to shed some light on the topological characteristics of the Dutch energy transition hyperlink network and reveal the main topics discussed in the network. To do so, we longitudinally collected data from the interactions between key Dutch actors with a stake in the energy transition. Then, these data were analyzed by employing a mixed-method approach, social network analysis and topic modeling. The results of the social network analyses reveal the existence of a sparse network in which few private companies and associations emerge as the most authoritative actors and brokers. Furthermore, our analyses show substantial differences among the communication agendas of the organizations of the Dutch energy transition hyperlink network; while public institutions focus on global, national and local policy issues, private companies, associations and NGOs pay much more attention to employment issues.

China has a rapidly growing online food delivery and takeaway market, serving 406 million customers with 10.0 billion orders and generating 323 kilotonnes of tableware and packaging waste in 2018. Here we use a top-down approach with city-level takeaway order data to explore the packaging waste and life-cycle environmental impacts of the takeaway industry in China. The ten most wasteful cities, with just 7% of the population, in terms of per capita waste generation, were responsible for 30% of the country’s takeaway waste, 27–34% of the country’s pollutant emissions and 30% of the country’s water consumption. We defined one paper substitution and two sharing tableware scenarios to simulate the environmental mitigation potentials. The results of the scenario simulations show that sharing tableware could reduce waste generation by up to 92%, and environmental emissions and water consumption by more than two-thirds. Such a mechanism provides a potential solution to address the food packaging waste dilemma and a new strategy for promoting sustainable and zero-waste lifestyles.

Er worden in Zeeland wel vaker oude botresten gevonden, maar niet vaak zijn het er zo veel als onlangs in Terneuzen. Bij de bouw van een sluis hebben onderzoekers resten van verschillende diersoorten gevonden die ongeveer 30.000 jaar geleden leefden bij wat nu Zeeuws-Vlaanderen is.

Making energy systems more efficient and sustainable has driven the career of Prof. P.V. Aravind. As a student, it led him to come to Europe to study for an MSc at the University of Oldenburg (Germany) and a PhD at Delft University of Technology, where he subsequently started his own research group. In September 2019, he moved to the University of Groningen to work, among other projects, on reversible fuel cells that can convert fuel into electricity and vice versa. ‘My dream is to create negative emission power plants and reversible fuel cells are helpful in many ways.’

Als gevolg van de opwarming smelt het zee-ijs rond de Noordpool langzaam weg: het huidige ijsoppervlak is 's zomers zo'n 40 procent kleiner dan veertig jaar geleden. Zet die opwarming door, dan wordt een ijsvrije Noordpool onvermijdelijk. Maar wanneer? Britse onderzoekers denken dat het al over vijftien jaar zover zal zijn.

A new study “The Unintended Side Effects of Bioplastics: Carbon, Land and Water Footprints” conducted by a multinational team of environmental scientists demonstrate that replacing all petrochemical plastic packaging with bioplastics is not feasible as this would lead to burden-shifting of environmental impacts. The assessment carried out in the study shows that increased use of bioplastics will result in significant growth of land and water use.

Het CO2-meetstation Lutjewad van het Centrum voor Isotopen Onderzoek (CIO), is opgenomen in een boek en wandelroute app van Voorland Groningen; wandelingen door het Antropoceen.

No one knew why the mysterious fortress of Por-Bazhyn had been built or why it had never been used. But this week, UG scientists presented the solution to the mystery, thanks to a new method of carbon dating.

Het bouwjaar van een mysterieus complex op de grens van Rusland en Mongolië is zeer nauwkeurig vastgesteld met een combinatie van koolstofdatering en het tellen van jaarringen in een boomstam. Het Oeigoerse klooster van Por-Bazjyn is gebouwd in 777 na Christus, tijdens de turbulente heerschappij van Tengri Bögü Khan, zo concluderen wetenschappers van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Ze publiceerden hun bevindingen afgelopen maandag in PNAS.

Dating archaeological objects precisely is difficult, even when using techniques such as radiocarbon dating. Using a recently developed method, based on the presence of sudden spikes in carbon-14 concentration, scientists at the University of Groningen, together with Russian colleagues, have pinned the date for the construction of an eighth-century complex in southern Siberia to a specific year. This allows archaeologists to finally understand the purpose for building the complex – and why it was never used. The results were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 8 June.

Temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement. Government policies during the COVID-19 pandemic have drastically altered patterns of energy demand around the world. Many international borders were closed and populations were confined to their homes, which reduced transport and changed consumption patterns. Here we compile government policies and activity data to estimate the decrease in CO2 emissions during forced confinements. Daily global CO2 emissions decreased by –17% (–11 to –25% for ±1σ) by early April 2020 compared with the mean 2019 levels, just under half from changes in surface transport. At their peak, emissions in individual countries decreased by –26% on average. The impact on 2020 annual emissions depends on the duration of the confinement, with a low estimate of –4% (–2 to –7%) if prepandemic conditions return by mid-June, and a high estimate of –7% (–3 to –13%) if some restrictions remain worldwide until the end of 2020. Government actions and economic incentives postcrisis will likely influence the global CO2 emissions path for decades.

A cautious approach to easing lockdown restrictions that reduces the risk of later lockdowns may be better for the global supply chain in the long run, according to a new modelling study by a global team with partners from Europe, the UK, the US and China.

The paper, published today in Nature Human Behaviour , is the first peer-reviewed study to comprehensively assess potential global supply chain effects of Covid-19 lockdowns, modelling the impact of lockdowns on 140 countries, including countries not directly affected by Covid-19.

Climate change caused by carbon emissions is the leading global environmental problem today. Mitigating carbon emissions and adapting to climate change requires the integration of different types of approaches to support the transformation of society towards sustainability.

Prof. Eize Stamhuis of the University of Groningen, together with industrial partners EmpowerMi and RG-projecten, has received a grant of over EUR 1 million from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. The grant is for the modification and testing of a wind turbine according to Stamhuis's Albatrozz principle. This wind turbine, located in the Noordoostpolder, will have blades with partially oscillating ends. The research and testing on an existing commercial-scale wind turbine (850 kW) will take approximately two years. With the special oscillating blades, an efficiency increase of 5 to 25% at low wind speeds is envisaged. This unique technological concept can therefore have a major impact on making energy management more sustainable.

News item ESRIG: new name for IVEM and SSG.

The New York Times: How the World’s Squarest Fish Gets Around
Ocean Ecosystems, ESRIG

Last week the department of Alumni Relations & Fundraising from the University of Groningen arranged a brainstorm with alumni from Biomedical Engineering, Medicine, Artificial Intelligence and other partners to discuss and share knowledge about the development of low-cost portable ventilators and the associated online training to assemble them.

Article in Royal Society Open Science: Modulating yaw with an unstable rigid body and a course-stabilizing or steering caudal fin in the yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus) | Eize Stamhuis.

Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, ESRIG
Ocean Ecosystems

Around the globe, coal-fired power stations, metal foundries and small-scale gold mining are responsible for the emission of the heavy metal mercury. In the Arctic the mercury is causing a lot of damage to people, animals and the environment. UG scientist Frits Steenhuisen is conducting research into this.

ESRIG news: Article in Nature | The future of summer heat waves | Richard Bintanja.

ESRIG news: European Patent further accelerates wind energy research at the UG

Fallout from coronavirus outbreak triggers 25% decrease in China's carbon emissions |CBC interview with Klaus Hubacek

Jaar tot jaar variaties in Arctische neerslag nemen sterk toe | Richard Bintanja, Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen | ESRIG.

Article in Scientific Data: Chine CO2 emissions accounts 2016-2017 | Yuli Shan and Klaus Hubacek. Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, ESRIG.

KNMI specials 05 | Weer en klimaat in het noordpoolgebied | Richard Bintanja

KNMI specials 04 | De koudste plek op aarde smelt | Richard Bintanja, Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, ESRIG

Cities dominate global anthropogenic carbon emissions. Here, we develop an approach to interpret carbon footprints of cities by focusing on their system boundaries, double counting recognition, spatial paths and policy sensitivities. Using four megacities in China as a case study, we quantify and map urban carbon footprints from various accounting perspectives: territorial carbon emissions, community-wide infrastructure carbon footprint, consumption-based carbon footprint, wider production carbon footprint, and full-scope carbon footprint. We find that the megacities’ infrastructure carbon footprints are dominated by electricity-related emissions, whereas their consumption-based carbon footprints are significantly impacted by imports of both electricity and other products and services. Over 55% of the full-scope carbon footprints (sums of all three scopes) of Beijing and Shanghai can be attributed to upstream emissions, while in Chongqing and Tianjin territorial emissions are more important. Key urban infrastructure contributes over 70% to the total carbon emissions in import supply chains, determining the spatial paths and the carbon intensities of imports for these megacities. The main destinations of outsourced carbon emissions across the country from the megacities are found to be similar due to market domination of bulk suppliers of infrastructure-related and other carbon-intensive products. In addition, double counting of certain footprint indicators is considered small in this case, but could be amplified with increasing number of cities being assessed.

Urban activities have profound and lasting effects on the global carbon balance. Here we develop a consistent metabolic approach that combines two complementary carbon accounts, the physical carbon balance and the fossil fuel-derived gaseous carbon footprint, to track carbon coming into, being added to urban stocks, and eventually leaving the city. We find that over 88% of the physical carbon in 16 global cities is imported from outside their urban boundaries, and this outsourcing of carbon is notably amplified by virtual emissions from upstream activities that contribute 33–68% to their total carbon inflows. While 13–33% of the carbon appropriated by cities is immediately combusted and released as CO2, between 8 and 24% is stored in durable household goods or becomes part of other urban stocks. Inventorying carbon consumed and stored for urban metabolism should be given more credit for the role it can play in stabilizing future global climate.

On Friday, December 20 2019, Herib Blanco Reaño successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled Hydrogen potential in the future EU energy system. A multi-sectoral, multi-model approach. He received his doctorate degree 'cum laude'. A big congratulations on behalf of all ESRIG colleagues. Herib conducted his research at the Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences - IVEM of the University of Groningen, the Joint Research Center, part of the European Commission, in Petten and at the International Energy Agenda in Paris, France.

UK | Freak solar flares that may destroy us all | ECHOES project

Post-doc Fuel Cell systems (1.0 FTE) (219566)

Sándor Kruse wins Rachel Carson thesis award 2019

ESRIG nieuws: Tijdschrift De Ingenieur: Is E10-brandstof echt beter voor het Milieu?| Sanderine Nonhebel

Article in Nature: Carbon and health implications of trade restrictions | Klaus Hubacek, Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences, IVEM

Great result: Top Dutch Solar Racing team finished 4th in Bridgestone solar race

Article in Geosciences: Validation of Stratification-Driven Phytoplankton Biomass and Nutrient Concentrations in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean as Simulated by EC-Earth | Ocean Ecosystems

Top Dutch Solar Racing Team, UoG, ESRIG

Uitzending EenVandaag, Sanderine Nonhebel, Aan de benzinepomp: Euro95 wordt E10, maar niet alle auto's zijn geschikt hiervoor.

New book release: Local Consumption and Global Environmental Impacts | by Kuishuang Feng, Klaus Hubacek, Yang Yu

The official opening of the 406th academic year of the University of Groningen takes place on the afternoon of Monday 2 September 2019 in the Martinikerk. Rector Magnificus Cisca Wijmenga will be leading this festive ceremony for the first time. The ceremony runs from 4 to 5.30 p.m. and will be held in English.

ESRIG news: Cold winters not caused by Arctic climate change.

Lutjewad ICOS broeikasgassen CO2

ESRIG newsitem: NIOZ press release: North Sea seaweeds: DIP and DIN uptake kinetics and management strategies | Alexander Lubsch

Science Linx: Modelling an inconvenient truth about carbon footprints | Klaus Hubacek

How is it possible that an albatross doesn’t crash and die when it lands? And how come its large wings don’t break due to air resistance? That is what you would expect, according to the laws of aerodynamics. However, Professor Eize Stamhuis has discovered that albatrosses land safely by making wiggly wing movements. What is more, he sees a possible application of this oscillation technique to make the blades of wind turbines more efficient. To protect his intellectual property (IP), he has applied for a patent. He has also attracted interest from industries working on aerodynamics. So, how does he work?

ESRIG nieuws: DvhN: ‘Onnodig dat aanleg van zonneparken stagneert’.

ESRIG nieuws: DvhN: Promovendus Miedema: 'Elektrische auto’s gaan broeikaseffect niet dempen'

ESRIG news article: UK: The possibilities are overrated. Technology won't save us | J.H. Miedema

ESRIG nieuws: BNR Nieuwsradio: 'Alleen maar inzetten op elektrisch rijden leidt tot meer uitstoot' | Jan Hessels Miedema

Siberian 'unicorn' walked with early humans

Why it rains more in the Arctic

ESRIG news: Vacancy Tenure Track Assistant Professor Energy Systems and Scenario (1.0 FTE) (218475)

ESRIG news: PhD Scholarship in Energy and Environmental Studies: energy-complexity nexus (B066218)

ESRIG news: National Roadmap: 138 million euros for ten top research facilities

ESRIG news: Impression of ESRIG symposium 2018

ESRIG nieuws: Artikel in Boerstraat 5: Weergek, wetenschapper en waarschuwer, Richard Bintanja.

Drier soil leads to more extreme heat waves

ESRIG nieuws: Opinie DVHN: Week zonder vlees, maar met wat dan wel? Sanderine Nonhebel ESRIG/IVEM

homepagenews, general, research, FSE, klimaat/climate, environment, climate change, sustainability, ​ Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen etc

ESRIG nieuws: Artikel in Trouw: Blijven we aardappels poten, of gaan we ze zaaien?

CIO PhD position Improving gross carbon flux estimates with AirCore COS measurements (217496)

The composition of unicellular marine life is changing as a result of melting Antarctic sea ice. This influences the entire food chain and deep-sea carbon storage – and thus the climate. Patrick Rozema (University of Groningen) studied this phenomenon during two field seasons on Antarctica. On 1 December – Antarctica Day – he will defend his PhD thesis.

RUG-promovendus Franke van der Molen winnaar van Waddenacademieprijs 2017

ESRIG nieuws Franke van der Molen winnaar Waddenacademieprijs 2017

ESRIG news The Ocean Grazer project

UK artikel: De man die ouderdom kan meten

ESRIG nieuws: DVHN: Koninklijke onderscheiding voor hoogleraar Hans van der Plicht

On Friday 6 October 2017, after an international symposium to mark his retirement, Prof. Johannes (Hans) van der Plicht has been presented with a Royal Decoration. He has been appointed Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

second prize for MSc EES student Andries de Vries

Energy Academy Europe opens in style, ESRIG news

NOS nieuws: Avocado: goed voor jou, door de hype minder voor het milieu

Postdoc in the Detection and Pattern Matching of Past Radiation Impacts 1.0 fte (217146)
ECHOES, ESRIG, CIO

Strong warming leads to increases in Arctic rainfall, Richard Bintanja, ESRIG

Richard Bintanja honorary professor Climate and Environmental Change

Univeristy of Groningen wins international BREEAM Award for Energy Academy Europe’s sustainable education building

In focus: Dr. Eize Stamhuis

Obituary Prof. Gerard Dijkema

DVHN: Overleg is niet oplossing voor alle problemen waddengebied, Franke van der Molen

Prof. Gerard Dijkema passed away

Joint knowledge helps to control conflicts in the Wadden Sea region, Franke van der Molen

Wij zijn verhuisd, SSG

Aagje van Meerwijk winnaar van de Rachel Carson Milieuscriptieprijs 2016!

Artikel in NRC next: De laatste jagers in Doggerland, Prof. Hans van der Plicht

New Energy Academy building in Groningen all ready for teaching and research into Energy

Geoservice and ESRIG nominated for 2016 Dutch Data Prize

Sjaak Swart The potato - from tuber to seed

PhD ceremony Vahideh Faghihi: Water enriched in the rare stable isotopes Preparation, measurement and applications

Promotie Sanne Palstra, CIO

Promotie Charlotte van Leeuwen: Highly precise atmospheric oxygen measurements as a tool to detect leaks of carbon dioxide from carbon capture and storage sites

Winners Let's Gro

Inaugural lecture and mini-symposium Prof. Dr. Klaas Timmermans on 10 November 2015

Promotie Maria

Winnaars Rachel Carson Milieuscriptieprijs 2014