This thesis examines the impacts and challenges of water use of electric power system. This thesis found that there are large differences in water use of electricity technologies, with hydropower and thermal power being two large water users.

Promotor: W.Th.F. den Hollander, Co-promotor: F.R. Nardi

During the development of the Humanities Campus, many aspects of sustainability are combined. For example:

Promotors: Prof.dr. J. Zaanen, Prof.dr.ir. H. Hilgenkamp

This dissertation focused on computational methods based on first principles calculations using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) framework. Emphasis was laid on affordable methods that can provide a tradeoff between computational expense and accuracy.

Heterogeneous catalyzed processes are highly significant to the chemical industry. Dissociative chemisorption (DC) of molecules on surfaces is always considered as a step with a high degree of rate control for heterogeneous catalysis.

Phase 2A of the Gorlaeus Building has, like phase 1, been developed and delivered according to high sustainability standards. The building has achieved a BREEAM-NL Very Good certification.

The dissociative chemisorption of a molecule on a transition metal surface represents a rate-limiting step in many heterogeneously catalyzed processes, whereby most chemicals are made. In spite of the importance of this reaction, an accurate first principles approach to modeling it does not yet exist.…

The Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) offers a unique tailor-made programme in Chemistry. You can customize the programme to your own interests and ambitions with the help of your own personal mentor. Your study will focus on either Chemical Biology or Energy & Sustainability. During the Master's…

The renovation of the Herta Mohr building (formerly known as Cluster Zuid) is completed. It is the third project in the redevelopment of the Humanities Campus. With the renewal of these buildings, the university ensures a sustainable campus with modern facilities. The university wants to create an attractive…

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a promising method for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and simultaneously generating energy. Yet this method is controversial, as it may require a great deal of land and water. Researchers at Leiden University have now proposed a…

Leiden professors Dirk Bouwmeester and Irene Groot are jointly investigating the concept of a circular power plant. Research that contributes to new solutions for storing surplus renewable energy, generating electricity during periods of power shortage, and recycling CO₂.

Theoretical research does not always give us the right solution to a problem in society. This message, loud and clear, is delivered during the final presentations of the Master Honours Class 'Social Innovation in Action'.

Leiden University offers its students a wide range of bachelor's, master's and minors that explore sustainability or climate. Here, you find an overview of those programmes in the academic year 2020-2021.

We are cosmologists, in other words we use physics to study the Universe, how it started and evolved into the structure that we observe around us.

Research at the MCBIM group is comprised of the following research themes:

In 2021, Leiden University will develop a new Sustainability Vision 2030. This vision for the future focuses on the primary tasks of the University: integration and visibility of sustainability in our education and research.

A new universitycommittee will assess potential new collaborations with the fossil fuel industry and determine whether they comply with the Paris Agreement.

With an MSc degree in Governance of Sustainability you are well prepared for a broad array of career prospects in the field of sustainability, such as working with or for governments, at consultancies or continuing your academic research.

Are you a student, resident, civil servant or researcher? Would you like to contribute ideas and work together for a more sustainable The Hague? Then read on.

Meet our team

We find ourselves in an era of transition, not just towards a more computing- and data-driven society but also away from unsustainable fossil fuels as an energy source.

Sustainable energy from wind and solar is most readily available near the sea.

Sarah Giest, Assistant Professor at Leiden Univeristy, researched the topic of regulatory and market structures that affect nudge implementation by private actors, captured by the ‘budge’ idea.

Metals surfaces form a group of effective catalysts for the reaction of small molecules such as hydrogen (H2).

Tin electrodeposition applications have rapidly evolved in the past 25 years.

Promotor: K. Kuijken, Co-Promotor: H. Hoekstra

To meet the rising demand for minerals driven by the global shift to clean energy technologies, ensuring responsible and resilient supply chains is critical. Minerals like cobalt, lithium, and nickel for batteries, neodymium and zinc for wind turbines, and indium for solar panels are essential.

Inspired by natural photosynthesis, perovskite-based photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems are being developed for artificial photosynthesis, aiming to enhance solar-to-hydrogen conversion for green energy.

Following the Big Bang, structure in the Universe started collapsing under the force of gravity. This resulted in the formation of the first stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies.

One of the most important correlation functions in physics, especially in cosmology, is the energy density, which describes how much energy is present at each point in spacetime due to matter fields. A key contribution to the energy density of the primordial universe comes from gravitational waves (GWs),…

This thesis describes a study from both a theoreticaL and an experimental point of view.

In the search for sustainable energy solutions, the idea of artificial photosynthesis has been proposed as an approach with which to use water and sunlight to produce hydrogen.

Our current research focusses on the exploration of the Universe using the neutrino. This neutral, almost massless and only weakly interacting particle can open a window to the distant Universe and also dense regions from which photons cannot escape.

To limit the effects of climate change, global average temperature since pre-industrial measurements are to be kept well below 2 °C preferably even at 1.5 °C.

Heterogeneous catalysis is one of the fundamental processes of modern life, being common in industrial refinery and hydrogen vehicles, all the way to the living cell. The dissociation of H2 on Cu(111) is an important benchmark system for studying heterogeneous catalysis, with a large and varied amount…

Solar energy harnessed by plants and algae has great potential to be converted into biofuels for future generations.

An Integrative Approach to the Hominin Record

The long-held desire - to link structure directly to function and to explain molecular mechanisms based on basic chemical or physical principles - is finally coming closer, satisfying not only our scientific curiosity but also offering new solutions to the many challenges in the field of health, energy…

“JARAK: the commoditization of an alternative biofuel crop in Indonesia” was a research program from 2010-2014 in which researchers from Indonesia and the Netherlands collaborated.