Amber Nordholm
About
Background
In June 2025, I received a PhD in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from the Department of interdisciplinary studies of culture. My thesis was funded by the Norwegian Centre for Energy Transition Studies (FME NTRANS) and it examined the case of carbon capture and storage (CCS) development in Norway as an example of attempted accelerated diffusion in sustainability transitions. Sustainability transitions are increasingly value-laden, complex, and contested, making this case useful for examining how such complex challenges are addressed. By examining this case as a new type of innovation for sustainability transitions, I offered insights into how big and complex technologies are made to be in society. The thesis was highly interdisciplinary, drawing from STS, innovation studies, geography, and sustainability transitions studies.
I completed my master’s in Geographies of Sustainable Development at the Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation (CET) at the University of Bergen (UiB). My research there explored the potential of solar photovoltaics to alleviate energy poverty with a case study in Lisbon, Portugal. This research culminated in a master’s thesis and two academic papers. I hold a bachelor’s degree in human geography from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, USA.
Research interests
My interests primarily concern sustainability transitions and how to balance tensions between depth, bredth, and speed. I aim to understand how society-wide transformation happens amidst net-zero-by-2050 time pressures, geo-political shocks, and powerful interests. My interests inter alia include how the climate crisis offers opportunities for more democratic, and less geo-politically vulnerable, forms of energy production and the role of incumbent actors. As a result, I study policymaking for sustainability transitions, technology development, and how different types of technology and policy measures are used, or can be used, to enact specific interests and politics.
Sustainability transitions challenges are difficult to holistically conceptualize and I enjoy taking an interdisciplinary approach, mobilizing analytical complementarities across sometimes conceptually incompatible disciplinary approaches.
Postdoctoral work
My postdoctoral appointment comes with two main tasks: (1) help development a new research focus area on the theme of “Beyond the fossil fuel era” for NTNU Energy and (2) to execute my own research project on the same theme.
For the former, I am collaborating with others to facilitate events for researchers across varied disciplines (STEM, social science, and humanities) to congregate and contemplate what beyond fossil means, and what it might look like, for NTNU and wider society. This is an interesting, and seemingly convoluted, prospect for a technical university like NTNU, whose history, foundation, and funding tend to be closely tied to the oil and gas sector. While oil and gas resources and interests have been instrumental in the university’s success, we aim to take a critical, yet fair, look at how such interests continue to be propped up amidst current global pressures to move away from fossil fuels.
For the latter, I first build on my PhD research. While conducting a case study on CCS, I gleaned firsthand many insights from the oil and gas sector. I am interested in how such actors envision and act out their role within sustainability transitions. Additionally, I am interested in how oil and gas continues to be anchored in society through culture, legacy, energy security, and social welfare.
Research
Publications
2026
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Nordholm, Amber Joy;
Finstad, Jørgen;
Andersen, Allan Dahl.
(2026)
‘Lumpy’ technological innovation systems and net-zero transitions: The impact of technology characteristics on the carbon capture innovation system in Norway.
Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Academic article
2024
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Hansen, Teis;
Andersson, Johnn;
Finstad, Jørgen;
Hanson, Jens;
Hellsmark, Hans;
Mäkitie, Tuukka.
(2024)
How aligned are industry strategy and government policy for the decarbonization of energy-intensive process industries?.
Climate Policy
Academic article
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Steen, Markus;
Andersen, Allan Dahl;
Finstad, Jørgen;
Hansen, Teis;
Hanson, Jens;
Jordal, Aina Benedikte Kristin.
(2024)
CCS technological innovation system dynamics in Norway.
International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Academic article
2023
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Andersen, Allan Dahl;
Geels, Frank Willem;
Coenen, Lars Martel Antoine;
Hanson, Jens;
Korsnes, Marius;
Linnerud, Kristin.
(2023)
Faster, broader, and deeper! Suggested directions for research on net-zero transitions.
Oxford Open Energy
Academic article
2022
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Sareen, Siddharth;
Remme, Devyn Helen Avhild;
Nordholm, Amber Joy;
Wågsæther, Katinka Lund.
(2022)
A mixed methods engaged study of divergent imaginaries in Bergen's mobility transition.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
2021
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Nordholm, Amber Joy;
Sareen, Siddharth.
(2021)
Scalar Containment of Energy Justice and Its Democratic Discontents: Solar Power and Energy Poverty Alleviation.
Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
Academic article
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Sareen, Siddharth;
Nordholm, Amber Joy.
(2021)
Sustainable development goal interactions for a just transition: multi-scalar solar energy rollout in Portugal.
Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning and Policy
Academic article
Journal publications
-
Nordholm, Amber Joy;
Finstad, Jørgen;
Andersen, Allan Dahl.
(2026)
‘Lumpy’ technological innovation systems and net-zero transitions: The impact of technology characteristics on the carbon capture innovation system in Norway.
Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Academic article
-
Hansen, Teis;
Andersson, Johnn;
Finstad, Jørgen;
Hanson, Jens;
Hellsmark, Hans;
Mäkitie, Tuukka.
(2024)
How aligned are industry strategy and government policy for the decarbonization of energy-intensive process industries?.
Climate Policy
Academic article
-
Steen, Markus;
Andersen, Allan Dahl;
Finstad, Jørgen;
Hansen, Teis;
Hanson, Jens;
Jordal, Aina Benedikte Kristin.
(2024)
CCS technological innovation system dynamics in Norway.
International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Academic article
-
Andersen, Allan Dahl;
Geels, Frank Willem;
Coenen, Lars Martel Antoine;
Hanson, Jens;
Korsnes, Marius;
Linnerud, Kristin.
(2023)
Faster, broader, and deeper! Suggested directions for research on net-zero transitions.
Oxford Open Energy
Academic article
-
Nordholm, Amber Joy;
Sareen, Siddharth.
(2021)
Scalar Containment of Energy Justice and Its Democratic Discontents: Solar Power and Energy Poverty Alleviation.
Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
Academic article
-
Sareen, Siddharth;
Nordholm, Amber Joy.
(2021)
Sustainable development goal interactions for a just transition: multi-scalar solar energy rollout in Portugal.
Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning and Policy
Academic article
Part of book/report
-
Sareen, Siddharth;
Remme, Devyn Helen Avhild;
Nordholm, Amber Joy;
Wågsæther, Katinka Lund.
(2022)
A mixed methods engaged study of divergent imaginaries in Bergen's mobility transition.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Outreach
2024
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2024) Grounding the market: How grand marketing stories are made actionable by intermediating entrepreneurs. Department of Technology, Management and Economics: Presentation , Lyngby 2024-08-23 - 2024-08-23
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2024) Grounding the market: How grand marketing stories are made actionable by intermediating entrepreneurs. International Sustainability Transitions Conference , Oslo, Norway 2024-06-17 - 2024-09-19
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2024) Grounding the market: How grand marketing stories are made actionable by intermediating entrepreneurs. Presentation to Department of Organization , Copenhagen, Denmark 2024-08-28 - 2024-08-28
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2024) Large scale experimentation for transitions. Presentation to Department of Wind and Energy Systems: Society, Market, and Policy , Roskilde, Denmark 2024-08-15 - 2024-09-15
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2024) Large-scale experimentation for transitions. Global Energy Futures and Local Reconfigurations of the ‘Just Transition’ , Copenhagen, Denmark 2024-08-21 - 2024-08-23
2023
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy; Finstad, Jørgen; Andersen, Allan Dahl. (2023) Unravelling the sociotechnical dynamics of technology characteristics: Insights from the development and diffusion of carbon capture technology. CIRUS Coffee Break , Online 2023-06-26 - 2023-06-26
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy; Finstad, Jørgen; Andersen, Allan Dahl. (2023) Unravelling the sociotechnical dynamics of technology characteristics: Insights from the development and diffusion of carbon capture technology. International Sustainability Transitions Conference 2023 , Utrecht, Netherlands 2023-08-29 - 2023-09-01
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2023) Karbonfangst og lagring (CCS). NTNU Norskkurs , Trondheim, Norway 2023-03-30 - 2023-03-30
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2023) Niche theory in transition(s): How niche mechanisms play out in a messier, transnational context. Beyond Crisis, Beyond Normal Conference 2023 , Trondheim, Norway 2023-09-27 - 2023-09-28
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2023) Drivers and barriers for rapid upscaling of difficult energy transition solutions: Case study on CCS. NTRANS PhD and Postdoc Seminar , Oslo, Norway 2023-04-17 - 2023-04-18
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2023) Capturing visions from diverse actors: A study on vision-making in the construction of a CCS market. Beyond Oil 2023: Refueling Transformation , Bergen, Norway 2023-10-17 - 2023-10-18
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2023) Capturing visions from diverse actors: A study on vision-making in the construction of a CCS market. KULT Lunsj Seminar , Trondheim, Norway 2023-10-26 - 2023-10-26
2022
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2022) Institutional Work in Megaprojects: The Case of Expertise in CCS. Global Conference on Economic Geography , Dublin 2022-06-07 - 2022-06-10
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2022) Difficult to Implement Mitigation Technology: The Facilitation of CCS for Process Industry in a Transnational, Regionally Embedded Niche. International Sustainability Transitions Conference 2022 , South Africa, Austrailia, USA, Virtual 2022-11-21 - 2022-11-23
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2022) Experience of a NTRANS PhD Candidate. FME NTRANS - Site Visit fra Forskningsrådet , Trondheim 2022-05-11 -
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PosterNordholm, Amber Joy. (2022) Rapid Upscaling of Complex Tech: CCS. NTRANS Research Festival , Røros 2022-08-24 - 2022-08-26
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2022) SNM in a Transnational Context: An Oil State Creates a Protected Cross-border Space for CCS. CaptureX Workshop , Oslo 2022-11-01 -
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PosterSteen, Markus; Andersen, Allan Dahl; Finstad, Jørgen; Hansen, Teis; Hanson, Jens; Jordal, Aina Benedikte Kristin. (2022) A socio-technical perspective on CCS innovation system dynamics in Norway. 16th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Technologies, GHGT-16 , Lyon 2022-10-23 - 2022-10-27
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2022) CCS Knowledge Development, Legitimacy, and Competence. FME NTRANS: User Case 4 Workshop on CCS , Virtual Workshop 2022-10-27 -
2021
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy; Sareen, Siddharth. (2021) Building Renovation and Solar PV Integration for Energy Poverty Reduction: Insights from Lisbon. AIA Continental Europe Virtual Event: Building for a New Resilience , Virtual Conference 2021-11-18 - 2021-11-18
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2021) Accelerating Complex Technologies in a Transnational Context: CCS Legitimation. Beyond Oil 2021 , Bergen 2021-10-20 - 2021-10-21
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Academic lectureNordholm, Amber Joy. (2021) Scalar Containment of Energy Justice and Its Democratic Discontents: Solar Power and Carbon Capture Technology. Guest lecture for GAO researchers , Washington D.C. 2021-05-11 - 2021-05-11