News

Challenge-based, interdisciplinary, and society-oriented education. That’s what the Summer Schools are all about, co-organized by the Schools for Science & Society. The participants and lecturers, each with very different backgrounds, bring together a wide range of perspectives. ‘That diversity leads to a broad range of solutions to societal challenges.’

We look back on a successful 9th edition of Wind meets Gas — the largest hydrogen and offshore energy event in the Northern Netherlands! This year’s theme tackled the energy trilemma: how to make energy greener, more affordable, and secure at the same time.

The UTOPYS consortium, including Michele Cucuzzella, Nima Monshizadeh and Ashish Cherukuri from ENTEG, will develop the world’s largest research cluster for real-time energy system studies, supported by a €16.5 million NWO grant. ENTEG contributes its expertise in advanced control and optimization of energy systems, driving innovation in grid resilience, stability, and sustainable operation.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) is investing a total of €197 million in 11 projects of great value to science. One of these projects is led by UG Professor Moniek Tromp, while eight other projects involve researchers from the UG and UMCG as consortium partners.

Hydrogen is increasingly promoted as a clean energy carrier that could help replace fossil fuels in key sectors. Yet its success depends not only on technological innovation or cost, but also on whether the public finds hydrogen acceptable — and whether people trust the institutions producing it.

Exciting days in Hamburg! The University of Groningen (UG) along with several regional  partners, joined hundreds of innovators and researchers as an exhibitor at Hydrogen Technology World Expo.

As the world marks UN World Cities Day, a new international study warns that the construction sector’s carbon footprint could double by 2050, putting global climate goals at risk. Prajal Pradhan, affiliated with the Wubbo Ockels School for Energy and Climate, is one of the lead authors and highlights the urgent need for change in how we build our cities.

The projects NextGenOffshore, ‘Educating the Next Generation of Offshore Renewable Energy Professionals’ and ETHYC, ‘Education and Training for HYdrogen eCosystems’, have been successfully selected as part of the ENLIGHT Thematic Networks initiative.

On 19 September, Silke Goldberg, world specialist in the field of energy, was appointed professor by special appointment of Energy Law in the North Sea at the Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen.

Coral reefs worldwide are dying off so rapidly that we have now reached the first climate tipping point, researchers reported last week. Sancia van der Meij, marine biologist at the University of Groningen, researches various species inhabiting coral reefs and is deeply concerned.

An €800 million programme funded by the Dutch National Growth Fund aims to stimulate the Dutch battery ecosystem and make a global impact. Scientists from the University of Groningen contribute to this programme, designing and building the batteries of the future.

A great deal of research is required to develop the best or cleanest batteries. But how does a battery actually work?

This is a three-year project funded by the Dutch research foundation NWO and the South African research foundation NRF. The research introduces the concept of Water-Energy-Food (WEF) communities, inspired by EU legislation for energy communities to produce their own renewable energy.

Met de aankomst van de BaseLoad Power Hub in de Eemshaven is een nieuwe mijlpaal voor de Nederlandse energietransitie en voor de ontwikkeling van de Groningen Hydrogen Valley bereikt.

The sold-out European Researchers' Night, a science festival for all the curious, provided a rich palette of science last Friday. This year, the programme was organised a bit differently, with activities comfortably spread across four floors Forum Groningen and its rooftop. Covering topics from tinnitus and biodiversity to destructive leaders and data washing, here’s a recap of the multifaceted Night.

The University of Groningen has signed a letter of intent with the University of La Guajira (Colombia). University President Jouke de Vries signed the letter of intent in Groningen this afternoon. With the signing, the universities aim to strengthen cooperation in areas such as green hydrogen, solar energy and related sustainable technologies.

Klaus Hubacek analyses the effects of various green solutions to reduce CO₂ emissions — such as planting more trees, sharing cars, or working less — to find out whether they realize their intended outcome. Spoiler: almost everything has a downside, yes, even planting trees in some cases.

We live in an era of destructive leaders. During European Researchers’ Night, Alette Smeulers, professor of international crimes, delves into the minds of so-called ‘strongmen’. What makes their leadership so destructive, and how can we understand what drives them? A preview of the science festival on September 26.

‘Fortunately, seawater absorbs carbon dioxide (CO₂). If it didn’t, things would have been over and done with already,’ according to climate and ocean researchers Richard Bintanja and Rob Middag. But what actually happens to the ocean's carbon absorption as the climate changes?

Earth's natural carbon cycle becomes unbalanced if we, humans, continue to release extra carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere. In this overview article about the carbon cycle, you can find out how Earth generally keeps itself in balance and how we, humans, have upset this balance over the past two hundred years.

In the year 2000, Harro Meijer, Professor of Isotope Physics at the University of Groningen, set up the Lutjewad Measurement Station near Hornhuizen. There, researchers from Groningen are mapping where CO₂ in the atmosphere originates and where it ends up.

According to biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra, bird nests tell the story of a rapidly changing world while also holding up a mirror to us humans. During the European Researchers’ Night, an annual science festival that brings science closer to the public, he will share his remarkable stories as a guest speaker. Here’s a preview of the festival on 26 September.

On September 3rd, the University of Groningen launched its new minor programme, ‘Climate Change and Inequality’, with an inaugural cohort of 11 students.

All too often, sustainable transitions still have to do with bare facts and figures, according to Goda Perlaviciute, an academic at the University of Groningen. Late last year, she was appointed Professor of Public Acceptability of Sustainable Transitions. In her research, Perlaviciute focuses on human values. ‘It is my mission to improve the inclusion of these values in sustainability policy’.

From August 24 to 31 this year, the student team Top Dutch Solar Racing will participate in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. This page will keep you up to date on the latest developments during and around the race.

Three experts from the University of Groningen have been selected as authors for the Seventh Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Prajal Pradhan has been appointed as Coordinating Lead Author, Klaus Hubacek and Linda Steg as Lead Authors.