On 1 March, Professor Marie Münster from DTU Management will join the Danish Council on Climate Change as an adviser in the field of energy.
Marie Münster is one of Denmark’s leading researchers in energy system analysis. Among other things, she conducts research into how we need to prioritize energy sources in future from an economic and climate perspective. In addition, she participates actively in the public debate on how Denmark can best adapt to a green and efficient energy system.
Her work will support the Danish Council on Climate Change’s work, which includes advising the government on how Denmark can be converted to a climate-neutral society, so that we can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to a minimum in the future.
“I’m very honoured to be elected as a member of the Danish Council on Climate Change and look forward to participating in exciting discussions with experts on various climate issues. I look forward to putting my research into practice and helping to make a difference to climate change. And the council work suits DTU’s strategy of developing sustainable solutions for the benefit of society,” she says.
The biggest climate challenges
Marie Münster has conducted research into the green cost-effective transition of the energy sector since 2006. She has focused on sector coupling and optimal use of scarce resources such as waste, biomass, and wind in new or existing grids for electricity, district heating, and gas.
Currently, she focuses on Power-to-X technologies, which can convert solar and wind power into green fuels for heavy transport such as ships, planes, and lorries. She analyses how to dimension, place, and operate Power-to-X plants at as low a cost as possible, and examines how to transport energy between countries and energy islands at the lowest cost.
In addition, she’s recently headed a research project in which she analysed different scenarios of how the maritime sector can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and live up to the Paris Agreement.
“Some of the areas we need to address are heavy transport, industry, and agriculture, where we see some of the biggest climate challenges. But there’s also a strong focus on energy savings, security of supply, and on reducing natural gas consumption. With the war in Ukraine, security of supply has risen even higher on our list of priorities. At the same time, the crisis has made us aware that it’s important not to be dependent on importing energy resources from a few countries,” says Marie Münster.
There’s a way forward
If we’re to develop and carry out effective technological solutions for the green transition, we need to break down silos and work across sectors and disciplines, says Marie Münster. In addition, the solutions must be competitive and accepted by the general public. This may sound like an almost impossible task, but there’s no getting around it if we’re to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
“I work a lot on looking at what’s best for society in the long term. For example, we can see that it will pay off if we replace our cars with electric cars. But what will it take for us to get there? Do we need to change the taxes or the rules? The positive message is that there are technologies that can solve the climate challenges. We can actually solve this. There’s a way forward, and I want to work to get those solutions into play.”
Marie Münster will be one of the Danish Council on Climate Change’s nine panellists, who are experts on energy, buildings, transport, agriculture, environment, nature, economics, climate science research, and behavioural research.
She replaces Poul Erik Morthorst, Professor Emeritus of Energy Economics at DTU Wind Energy. With this appointment, DTU retains a representative on the Council in the energy sector.
