Summary
PhD Title: "Understanding the role and value of key low-carbon technologies in achieving cost-effective and equitable mitigation"
Supervisors: Dr Ajay Gambhir, Dr Tamaryn Napp, Dr Adam Hawkes
I am a PhD candidate based at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, and am part of the 5th cohort of the 'Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet' (SSCP) Doctoral Training Partnership, funded by NERC. My research is focused on the use of energy system modelling to understand the value of different low-carbon technologies in mitigation pathways.
Tackling dangerous climate change will require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes to all areas of society. There are however, a wide range of different low-carbon technologies which could play different roles in reducing emissions. Given this need for immediate and significant action, and the wide range of different pathways that policymakers could embark upon, there is a need to better understand the relative value of different low-carbon technologies. This can help policymakers understand what constitutes a 'key' technology or strategy for decarbonisation, allowing R&D funding and policy support to be focused on critical junctures in the energy system.
My thesis focuses on valuing the contribution of key low-carbon technologies to mitigation, by exploring their ability to contribute towards cost-effective and equitable mitigation. Using energy system modelling tools such as TIAM and the UK TIMES model, as well as non-modelled approaches to futures analysis, I am exploring this question through a set of technology cases studies, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), renewables, hydrogen and carbon dioxide removal (CDR).
I am interested in working in UK climate policy, and as part of my PhD have worked closely with the Climate Change Committee (CCC) on the Net Zero and Sixth Carbon Budget reports, WWF on an ambitious and feasible NDC for the UK, and the All-Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group (APPCCG) on tracking UK climate policy development in the run-up to COP26.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Grant N, Hawkes A, Napp T, et al., 2021, Cost reductions in renewables can substantially erode the value of carbon capture and storage in mitigation pathways, One Earth, Vol:4, ISSN:2590-3322, Pages:1588-1601
Grant N, Hawkes A, Mittal S, et al., 2021, The policy implications of an uncertain carbon dioxide removal potential, Joule, Vol:5, ISSN:2542-4351, Pages:2593-2605
Grant N, Hawkes A, Mittal S, et al., 2021, Confronting mitigation deterrence in low-carbon scenarios, Environmental Research Letters, Vol:16, ISSN:1748-9326