"We must address the climate problem collectively."

Since May 2016 Gert Jan Kramer is Professor of Sustainable Energy Supply Systems at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University. From 1 January 2018 onwards Gert Jan is head of the Energy & Resources group within this institute. His interest is in the energy transition as a technical and a socio-technical phenomenon. Gert Jan is hub leader of 'Deep Decarbonisation: Towards Industry with Negative Emissions’, a hub of the strategic theme Pathways to Sustainability. 

 

Research focus: future energy technology

Kramer's research focuses on assessing and estimating future energy technology, with a focus on the role of CO2 in the future energy system and energy transition. In his research, he models possible energy systems and not only takes into account technological developments, but also how actors (for example consumers and companies) influence a possible energy transition.

• His research themes are:
  Ex ante assessment of future energy technologies, with a particular focus on the role of carbon in the future energy system. This includes BECCS (BioEnergy Carbon Capture and Storage) and Solar Fuels.
• Agent Based Modelling of the energy transition, working from the understanding that the transformation of the energy system will not solely be determined by technologies, but also by how actors (consumers, investors, regulators, etc.) act and interact to deploy these. 
• The energy transition in the Netherlands, with an emphasis on the energy-transformation of Industry.

On June 26, 2025 Hiske Arts published an opinion article in DUB in which she criticizes the Sustainable Industry Lab and challenges the scientific integrity of Sanne Akerboom and me. A short response by Sanne and me follows the article. It references this website for a more extensive rebuttal, which can be found here (in Dutch - and as soon as anyone tall me how to upload a file to my webpage).