André P.C. Faaij

POSITION: PROFESSOR | ENERGY SYSTEM ANALYSIS TNO UNIT: DIRECTOR OF SCIENCE UNIT “ENERGY TRANSITION" & DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN UNIVERSITY: UTRECHT UNIVERSITY (COPERNICUS INSTITUTE) & UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN (FACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING)   TNO LOCATION: UTRECHT EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: +31628975514

RESEARCH AREA

Key research interest include: Biobased Economy, renewable energy technologies, energy system and scenario analysis and modelling, sustainability assessments of energy systems, alternative transport fuels, decarbonisation of fossil fuels, capture and storage of CO₂, hydrogen economy, waste treatment, material & energy efficiency, technological learning and innovation in energy systems, land use, agriculture, environmental system & impact analysis, socio-economic impact analysis, greenhouse gas balances & accounting, energy and research policies. Ongoing research covers energy system integration questions, modelling, transition processes towards low carbon energy systems and related innovation and policy questions.

With the energy transition progressing,  impacts on the economy, society (e.g. jobs, income effects) on space, the use of (natural) resources and the environment increase, both in a positive (synergies) and negative (conflicts and constraints) way. The ability to understand the full impact of energy system change in an integrated fashion ‘’ex ante’’ has proven to be of vital importance for making informed decisions on all levels and avoiding major conflicts in society on the one hand and maximizing potential benefits of the energy transition on the other. My research interests and priorities contribute to TNO’s objectives by advancing the capabilities and use of state of the art system analyses methods and tools to inform the energy transition across the board.

RECENT RESULTS

• Advancements on energy system modelling with respect to: much improved technical granularity and better inclusion of technological learning, spatial capabilities and impact analyses (both environmental and socio-economic). Such improvements have been realized in global (IAM) models, European scale, national scale (Netherlands as well as various other countries) and regional scale.
• Detailed and integrated insights in how large scale biomass production can be sustainable realized when combined with improvement of agricultural and livestock management, as well as restoration of degraded and marginal lands.
• Detailed process and system analysis on how industrial processes and sectors can be transformed to low and negative carbon facilities, with major attention for BECCS options.
• Major improvements in modelling insights in the preconditions and limiting factors on how hydrogen and PtoX options can be part of energy system transitions over time.
• Improved understanding, modelling and quantification of technological learning in a variety of energy technologies.
• Detailed insights in the optimal lay out and deployment of CCS infrastructures.
• Integral insights in the energy transition in the North Sea region, including spatial, technological, infrastructure and system aspects.

PHD SUPERVISION

• Anna Duden (Government & industry funding; Be-Basic FES): Spatial temporal modeling and analysis of the environmental impacts of biomass production.
• Tjerk Lap (NWO funding): Integrated energy system modelling on the role of the biobased economy in Brazil.
• Herib Blanco (EC funding; Store & Go program): Hydrogen potential in the future EU energy system.
• Edgar Yanez (Industry funding; Ecopetrol): Integrated GHG mitigation strategies for the oil and chemical sector in Colombia.
• Nidia Ramirez (RVO & industry funding; CENIPALMA): Securing sustainability of biomass production in Colombia; sustainable land use and integrated impact analysis.
• Ahmed Younis (RVO funding): Integrated energy system modelling on the role of the biobased economy in Colombia.
• Jinrui Zhang (CSC scholarship): Optimizing LNG infrastructure for short and long term use.
• Bingquan Zhang (CSC scholarship): Sustainable biomass production and supply chains in China.
• Emilia Gome (NUFFIC scholarship): Implementation of hybrid renewable energy systems in Mozambique.
• Berino Silinto (NUFFIC scholarship): Optimizing hybrid renewable energy systems.
• Yanmei Liu (CSC scholarship): Regional optimization of sustainable biomass production on degraded and marginal lands.
• Fan Yang (CSC scholarship): Negative emission industries via deployment of BECCS options.
• Felix Guimaraes Paipe (NUFFIC scholarship): CCS EOR and CCS EGR potentials and deployment scenario’s in Southern Africa.
• Laura Gusatu (EC Marie Curie Training Network – ENSYSTRA): Spatial analysis of the energy transition in the North Sea region.
• Rafael Martinez Gordon (EC Marie Curie Training Network – ENSYSTRA): Advanced energy system modelling of the energy system transition in the North Sea region.
• Srinivasan Santhakumar (EC Marie Curie Training Network – ENSYSTRA): Technological learning in off-shore energy technologies.
• Amirhossein Fattahi: (Industry and govt funding – ESTRAC program): Advancing energy system modelling on national level.
• Manuel Sanchez: (Industry and govt funding – ESTRAC program): Comparing and combining optimization and simulation based energy system modelling.
• Somadutta Sahoo (Industry and govt funding – ESTRAC program): Regionalized energy system modelling.
• Kathelijne Bouw (HanzeHogeschool): Energy system modelling and implementation pathways of low GHG emitting built environment on local and regional scale.
• Sara Hereras (Utrecht University): (PPS funding – WarmingUP) Implementation of sustainable heating options in the built environment

TOP PUBLICATIONS

• LF Gusatu, C Yamu, C Zuidema, A Faaij, A spatial analysis of the potentials for offshore wind farm locations in the North Sea region: Challenges and opportunities, ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 9 (2), 96
• H Blanco, V Codina, A Laurent, W Nijs, F Maréchal, A Faaij, Life cycle assessment integration into energy system models: An application for Power-to-Methane in the EU, Applied Energy 259, 114160
• T Lap, R Benders, F van der Hilst, A Faaij, How does the interplay between resource availability, intersectoral competition and reliability affect a low-carbon power generation mix in Brazil for 2050?, Energy 195, 116948

LINKS

• Google Scholar Citations: https://scholar.google.nl/citations?user=Lr7JucQAAAAJ&hl=nl&cstart=80&pagesize=20
• University website: https://www.rug.nl/staff/a.p.c.faaij/cv
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-faaij-62a19413/?originalSubdomain=nl