04 June 2018

NTNU and IIASA tighten collaboration on climate research in world leading network

Volker Krey has been appointed as an adjunct professor in the Industrial Ecology (IndEcol) Programme and will join the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Energy Transition initiative, strengthening the scientific ties between the two institutions. 

© OLE MARTIN WOLD | Flickr

© OLE MARTIN WOLD | Flickr

The NTNU Energy Transition Initiative is a world leading research program focusing on strategies for the transition to a future sustainable energy system. The initiative brings together world leading research groups at the interface between climate policy and energy policy, and the interaction between the two will be central in the transition to a sustainable future.  

“The cooperation with IIASA, and Volker Krey’s appointment at NTNU, further strengthens the initiative’s knowledge building ambition,” says Asgeir Tomasgard, director of the NTNU Energy Transition Initiative.  

Krey already has a strong association with NTNU, having presented at both 2017 and 2018 NTNU Energy Transition conferences and at several workshops within the Energy Transition Initiative. His main research interest is the integrated assessment of climate change and the linkages to a broader suite of sustainable development objectives, including reduced air pollution and water use as well as improved energy access and food security. His work focuses on the development and application of integrated assessment models (IAMs) with different regional focuses (national to global scale) and time horizons. Over the past few years, he has been overseeing the development of the MESSAGE model at IIASA and its recent release as an open source tool.  

“I am excited to join NTNU and collaborate with world class researchers in industrial ecology and energy transition research. In addition, I am looking forward to working with talented students at NTNU on interdisciplinary research related to sustainable low-carbon energy systems,” says Krey.  

It is Krey’s expertise in IAM that particularly excites Anders Hammer Strømman, IndEcol Programme Director.  

“Having Volker Krey in our group will facilitate research collaborations at the interface between IAMs and Industrial Ecology (IE),” says Strømman. “We see this collaboration with the IAM community as an important component in improving our ability to better understand the transition trajectories our society may follow. The circular economy aspects of energy transition, and understanding the implications on materials, as society transitions to renewable energy, offer particular areas for research synergies and collaborations between IAM and IE.  

“Volker is internationally renowned and highly regarded in the IAM world, and brings an important complementary competence to the work we are doing at IndEcol. Together, we can help understand the role of circular economy in mitigating climate change”.

About the NTNU Energy Transition Initiative

The NTNU Energy Transition Initiative is a research program focused on strategies for the transition to a future sustainable energy system – exploring different alternatives for the future energy mix and corresponding transition pathways that may lead us to a low carbon society. The program is hosted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, which is Norway’s leading university with 40 000 students, 10% international students, and participates in all the Norwegian Research Centres for Environmentally Friendly Energy. The initiative organizes the annual Energy Transition Conference, with 500+ participants from academia, industry and government.


Find out more.

About the Industrial Ecology Programme (IndEcol)

The Industrial Ecology Programme is an interdisciplinary research group that specializes in environmental sustainability analysis, supporting the global community in realizing sustainable development goals. It established the world’s first PhD program in Industrial Ecology in 1998 and contributes regularly to reports by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).


Find out more.


Print this page

Last edited: 10 July 2018

CONTACT DETAILS

Volker Krey

Research Group Leader and Principal Research Scholar Integrated Assessment and Climate Change Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

Principal Research Scholar Sustainable Service Systems Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313