Please note that the originally scheduled lecture, "Greenwashing: Image vs. Reality," has been canceled due to the speaker's personal circumstances. It will be rescheduled at a later time this year. Visitors with tickets to the canceled lecture can use them to attend this event.
Large scale use and trade of green hydrogen changes the geographic structure of energy intensive industries, bringing both opportunities and risks for regions like the Netherlands and for countries with abundant renewable resources.
Green hydrogen is a solution for decarbonizing industrial processes such as steelmaking. However, producing green hydrogen requires large amounts of renewable energy. Industrial decarbonization strategies in the Netherlands and Europe often rely on a substantial amount of green hydrogen being imported from developing countries with higher availability of renewable energy, while assuming that existing industrial production locations and trade patterns would remain largely unchanged.
However, the higher costs and emissions associated with the long-distance transport of electricity and green hydrogen may incentivize the relocation of energy-intensive industries closer to renewable energy sources. This “green relocation” can offer a more cost-effective solution for global decarbonization, but would affect regional economic structures and global trade patterns.
In her recent PhD dissertation, Clara Rabelo Caiafa examines how industries that now rely on fossil fuels gain a real alternative in regions with plentiful sun and wind. This can move production toward energy rich areas and impact investment, employment and supply chains. To ensure long-term resilience and competitiveness in a climate-neutral world, companies must make strategic choices regarding location, technology, and contracts for renewable power and hydrogen.
Dr. Clara Rabelo Caiafa is a postdoctoral researcher at the Technology, Innovation & Society Group at TU/e. Her research focuses on the socioeconomic and climate change implications of industrial decarbonization via green hydrogen. She is a Lead Author for the chapter on industrial decarbonization of the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7, WGIII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), expected to be published in 2028-2029.
TU/e Green Week
This program is part of the Green Week 2026 (18-22 May) and is jointly organized by TU/e’s GO Green Office and Studium Generale.
Ticket reservation - your ticket for the Greenwashing lecture is still valid
If you already reserved a ticket for the postponed lecture Greenwashing: Image vs. Reality, please do not reserve a new ticket. Your current ticket remains valid.
If you do not have a ticket for the original Greenwashing: Image vs. Reality lecture, please reserve a ticket via the black “Order” button on this page.
SG & USE/ITEC registration
Please register for SG & USE/ITEC by scanning your student ID at the venue prior to the start of the program.
More information about SG & USE/ITEC can be found here.