I have a masters degree in Energy, Environment and Society from the department of media and social sciences (UiS), with a specialisation on blue and green hydrogen energy cultures in Northern Norway. Through my academic journey, I have studied in Paris, Copenhagen, Montréal, Tromsø, and Stavanger.
My project revolves around developing a better understanding of the impacts of EU green energy storage system policies in the race for critical minerals. My aim is to contextualise the growing European demand for nickel, lithium and cobalt for batteries. While this growing demand is necessary to transition away from our current fossil-dominated system, and shows the first steps towards a decarbonised Europe, it is imperative to rethink our current patterns of extractivism, both in terms of social and environmental impacts and geopolitical consequences. The current EU discourse revolves around the idea that competing with Chinese prices is not a reality, but that there is an opportunity for European investors and mining companies to have a 'sustainable competitiveness’. Considering the oligopolistic nature of the aforementioned critical minerals, I ask the question: From a social justice perspective, what are the opportunities and consequences of the European agenda for batteries, used to feed its power-hungry energy system?
During my PhD, I have conducted fieldwork in Indonesia and plan to conduct fieldwork in New Caledonia.
