Energy and Resources track
World-wide technological innovations for the future management of energy and resources
- How will global energy demand develop in the coming decades?
- How do climate change and depletion of fossil fuel reserves interact?
- What are the potentials for renewable energy, energy efficiency improvement and clean fossil energy?
- Wind, nuclear, solar power? What is the role in the 2030 energy supply system?
- What is the role of material efficiency and product design in a sustainable society?
- What are the opportunities and barriers for the uptake of new innovative energy technologies?
Does recycling help reduce the environmental impact? - How can energy and climate policy affect the transformation to a sustainable energy system?
- When does solar energy become competitive?
If these questions interest you, then the Energy and Resources track is likely to be the Master programme for you.
The key challenge: how to influence the development of energy and material systems?
Energy and resource production and use are a key factor in the transformation of our industrial society towards a more sustainable development pattern. The current system is clearly not sustainable, as the energy and materials system are the key contributors to the declining environmental quality, while the current system also builds on finite resources.
Transformation of our energy and material system
The transformation of our current energy and material system is hence an important theme. It needs to be understood from a systems perspective, as it interacts with society, economy and the environment in many complex ways.
Combining knowledge
The Master Track Energy & Resources will take a systems perspective using a multi-disciplinary to provide both width and depth. This combines knowledge from geosciences, environmental sciences, innovation studies, economics, policy analysis, and engineering. This will include:
- Environmental impacts and adaptation (e.g. climate change)
- Future availability of mineral and fossil resources
- Renewable energy opportunities such as biomass (spatial aspects), geothermal, wind, and solar energy
- Supply side opportunities (including CO2 sequestration, cogeneration, grid integration)
- Demand side energy and material use, and efficiency opportunities
- Innovation theory, technological change, and technology transfer
- Technology assessment
- Policy and governance
- Energy and resource economics
Generate insights into opportunities
Graduates will be well placed to apply knowledge, methods, and tools of the natural and social sciences to analyse energy and material systems, and to generate insights into opportunities for the transformation to a more sustainable system. You will be able to apply a variety of methods to address sustainability issues of energy and resources in a multidisciplinary context and team.
Courses
We offer specific courses that aim to gain a deeper knowledge of natural science, for example in the field of energy conversions or life-cycle analysis. In addition, our courses focus on gaining insight in the context of sustainable development.
Check out the course outline – including descriptions of the courses.
Enrolment is September is recommended.
Interested in this Master's programme?