Signature projects

On this page you can find an overview of our Signature Projects. With our Signature Project Grant, we aim to spur radical innovation in university practices, enhancing maximal impact. These projects are challenge-based, interdisciplinary in nature (preferably cross-community) and directed at fostering the radical innovation that Pathways to Sustainability seeks to achieve. We encourage out-of-the-box thinking as to the aims and format of, and collaboration within, such projects.

Our Signature Projects

  • Whose Ocean?

    The ocean is crucial to life and climate, but its voice is barely heard in law and policy decisions. While the UN explicitly speaks about “our ocean”, it is completely unclear who the “our” refers to. This project will produce a charter and organize an assembly to give the ocean a meaningful voice in international and national discussions, inspired by similar initiatives, bringing together academics, with artists and writers.

  • Conceptualizing Ecocide

    In the current era of unprecedented threats to the environment, the push to make Ecocide an international crime is gaining momentum. This project explores how the concept of Ecocidecan create breakthroughs in biodiversity protection, with a keen eye for indigenous rights. Next to a Knowledge Hub and policy briefs, it aims to use mock trials (simulations of a legal trial using real examples) as experimental and creative test setting.

  • Rethink Hydrogen

    The North Sea is considered a hotspot for production of green hydrogen as it offers ideal conditions, being situated in close proximity to market demand. But currently, researchers, politicians and the wider public have a limited overview of the known and unknown aspects of hydrogen production. This project team proposes to take up the challenge to develop a holistic view on hydrogen production in the North Sea by identifying and quantifying critical relationships, to close knowledge gaps and develop an interface between complex academic knowledge and the societal debate on the future role for green hydrogen.

  • Shared qualities of renewable energy communities

    Renewable energy communities are expected to play an important role in the European energy transition. However, concerns are expressed on how all RECs can maintain a steady level of quality. The research team aims to investigate whether standardisation is an appropriate tool for providing the intended quality, how standardisation should occur, and what minimum requirements should be.

  • Resourcefulness

    The energy transition is causing a steep increase in mining of ‘critical minerals’ such as graphite, lithium, and cobalt, essential for low-carbon technologies. The key question this project aims to answer is: what financial practices can we envisage that would make that finance institutions would contribute to making sure new resource extraction results in a just energy transition? This project will map the flows of critical materials and finances, look into sustainable mining initiatives and investigate financial flows in a journalistic style.

    Photography by Tom Hegen.