Energy Security

The energy transition is changing the architecture of national political economies and inter-state relations. Until low-carbon fuels and carriers become dominant, ensuring energy security and balancing the conventional energy system with the low-carbon one present challenges for governments and companies alike. The increasing use of low-carbon energy sources is reshaping geopolitics, creating novel dependency relations for those countries that have the resources and technology needed to reach net zero in 2050. HCSS seeks to understand, analyse and address pressing geo-economic and geopolitical issues of energy security in the transition to net zero.

Latest Research

Catch up on our latest research in the field of energy security.

Building Europe’s alternative fuels industry for military resilience

No Fuel, No Fight: The Dutch Fuel Industry and European Military Readiness

European Military Fuel Readiness: The Role of Alternative Fuels in Military Logistics

HCSS Draghi Revisited Report Series | Expert Commentary

Propelling Green Ambitions: Policy Cycles and Priorities in China and the Netherlands

Annales des Mines | The current state of the European Union’s dependency and its policies

Making e-SAF land: Opportunities for the Netherlands in the Synthetic Aviation Fuel Sector

Critical Raw Materials in the Dutch Provinces of Noord-Holland and Flevoland: Towards Resilient Supply Chains

About the HCSS Energy Security initiative

The HCSS Energy Security initiative focuses on three research areas:

Geopolitics of energy

Security of supply is a key concern in the national interest of every government around the world. For decades, having reserves of oil and natural gas translated into geopolitical influence. Today, old dependencies remain as new ones are emerging. The European Union is facing geopolitical and environmental challenges to securing oil and gas supplies. New dependencies on suppliers of green hydrogen and renewable energy technologies are developing. A purely economic approach to energy relations fails to take into account a significant array of risks associated with dependencies, which is why geopolitics play a key role in HCSS energy research.

Geo-economic implications of the energy transition

Achieving climate goals requires the transformation of infrastructure, industrial processes and households into sustainable and energy efficient sectors. Technological developments, policy support and governmental behaviour in global politics are some of the determinants of a successful energy transition. HCSS contributes to mitigating and overcoming the challenges faced by key economic sectors in the energy transition, in order to achieve a prosperous and competitive new energy system.

Energy security for European defence

Fuels are the lifeblood of military operations. The resilience of fuel supply chains often determines who can move faster and more efficiently, fight longer and, ultimately, win the battle. Due to the renewed security risks on NATO’s Eastern Flank, there is a push to revitalise European fuel supply chains as essential ingredients for operational readiness. It is essential to ensure energy security for European armed forces and understand early on how the energy transition can be leveraged to enhance military effectiveness. HCSS develops analyses and supports dialogue around revitalising the readiness of European Allies’ military fuel infrastructure.