André Faaij

Research area

His 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 and industrial transformation across the board.

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, resource use, society (e.g. structure of the economy, 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 and industrial transformation 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.

Other roles

He is a member of a variety of (inter) national expert groups in energy policy, biobased economy, research and strategic planning. Advisor for governments, international bodies as the EC, IEA, the UN system (including UNIDO, UNEP, FAO), GEF, OECD, WEF, IAEA, WEC, the energy sector & industry, strategic consultancy, NGO’s. This includes the chairman position of the Netherlands Energy Research Alliance: Our People – NERA- Netherlands Energy Research Alliance and Executive Board member of the European Energy Research Alliance: EERA - News (eera-set.eu).

Facts & figures:

• ~400 titles published in peer reviewed scientific journals, >150 reports, 8 books & Special Issues, >40 book chapters, >200 conference papers and >300 other publications and interviews.
• Broad experience with > 100 projects and programmes for EC, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), governments, international bodies and private sector. ~70 MEuro research budget acquired to date for own research.
• Supervised 60 Ph.D.-trajectories to date, >20 ongoing. Supervised >80 Master students.
• >500 presentations at national and international events. Numerous television and radio interviews, organized workshops, conferences e.g. via memberships of organizing and scientific committees.
• Hirsch index: 92 (Scopus); 121 (Google Scholar).
• Listed as ‘highly cited researcher’ by Clarivate Web of Science (previously Thomson Reuters) since 2012 (top 1% of research field).
• As IPCC member, awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize for the IPCC in 2007.
• Appointed ‘’Young Global Leader’’ (YGL) in the World Economic Forum (2009).
• Nominated for the ENI Award 2014 on Renewable Energy (dubbed: ‘Nobel Prize of Energy Research’) and for the Leigh Ann Conn Prize – University of Louisville – US (2019).
• The Linneborn Prize; established in 1994 for outstanding  contributions to the development of energy from biomass (June 2015).
• Listed as Top Scientist at Research.com: # 150 globally for Environmental Sciences and # 72 globally for Engineering & Technology. For the Netherlands #6 and #4 respectively (2024).