First European doctoral programme for legal specialists in hydrogen economy

The European Commission has decided to fund the MSCA Doctoral Network 2021 THERESA. This doctorate network includes 6 PhD positions on the legal dimension of the Hydrogen Economy. Total budget is 1.5M Euro of which 5.5K for the Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen (for 2 PhD positions). Our faculty will also host the other four candidates for their stay abroad period.

Thanks to the long standing collaborations among the Universities of Rovira i Virgili (Spain), Groningen (the Netherlands) and Eastern Finland (Finland), THERESA proposes the first European doctoral programme for legal specialists in the field of the hydrogen economy.

In the context of climate emergency and socio-ecological transition of the Anthropocene, Green hydrogen is a promising energy carrier to facilitate the transition to an energy system based on renewable energies. Hydrogen can replace natural gas as a feedstock and help fossil-based economic sectors for which electrification is not possible, or excessively burdensome, to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, the development of a hydrogen market is characterized by uncertainties and associated economic, societal and environmental risks.

The few existing scholarly legal studies on this subject matter highlights the fragmentation of the regulatory framework applying to hydrogen. THERESA combines the focus on three specific themes of regulatory intervention in the hydrogen economy – 1) reducing sectoral fragmentation to spur socio-environmental sustainability; 2) enabling sustainable circular use of hydrogen; and 3) societal engagement in the hydrogen economy – with three methodological approaches – doctrinal constructivism, empirical legal research and legal comparativism – to advance scientific knowledge and form the doctoral experts needed to contribute to the development of a hydrogen economy. THERESA encompasses a fully-fledged training programme offering substantive, theoretical, methodological and transferable skills to the Early State Researchers.

The Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen is WP-leader for the training programme.

This article was published by the Faculty of Law.