For the last time, a researcher from the GSE Department earns a doctoral degree for research into oil production. It was a long journey to this point, says the Department Chair. “If we would continue oil-based research, we would uphold the status quo. But don’t say we should not work with the fossil fuel industry at all.”
Department head GSE Timo Heimovaara: “If we would continue oil-based research, we would uphold the status quo.”
When Timo Heimovaara joined TU Delft in 2007, he wanted the freedom to create a ‘proactive research direction’. He believed that we should work with nature to find sustainable solutions. His new employer agreed.
Seventeen years later, Heimovaara cautiously dares state that his mission seems to have succeeded. Especially after he took on the role of Head of the Geoscience & Engineering (GSE) Department in 2019 he could share his sustainability ideals further and further. It was partially down to him that the Department, after several meetings, set new criteria for partnerships with the fossil fuel industry.
The Department, with its long history of working with oil and gas, was to become a ‘leader in the energy transition’. The colleagues who had earned their stripes with research on oil and gas, had to get used to this. “We told them that we understood them,” says Heimovaara, “but that they needed to stop this work.”
Five years after the discussion arose, the last piece of research into oil and gas in the Department has come to an end. Doctoral candidate Hamad Alkharraa is defending his dissertation on Wednesday 17 April. There will be no new research, says Heimovaara. The Department will not work on prospecting for new oil fields and neither will it carry out any more new research into extracting oil with less CO2 emissions.
Passing of Pacelli Zitha
The Promotor of Hamad Alkharraa, who is defending his doctoral dissertation entitled Experimental Investigation of Microscope CO2 injection for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Tight Reservoirs on 17 April, was to be Pacelli Zitha. He passed away at 62 years of age on 18 February.
Zitha had worked at TU Delft since 1995 and became Professor of Oil and Gas Production Engineering at CEG in 2007. He was hugely passionate about his field of research and during his career became ever more interested in more sustainable sources of geo energy, wrote Heimovaara after his death on the Faculty website. ‘Pacelli will be remembered as inspirational and determined. […] He will be deeply missed.’
Between 2018 and 2023, there were still five research projects on oil and gas extraction in partnership with the fossil fuel industry at the Faculty of CEG. This appeared in a list of partnerships recently published by NU.nl (in Dutch). In a WOO-verzoek NU.nl asked for a list of all the partnerships with fossil fuel companies at the Faculty. They received the list 10 months later. TU Delft says that in the meantime, the oil and gas research on the list have come to an end.
Dilemmas
No more research projects into oil and gas. This sounds very simple, but in practice it comes with heavy dilemmas. For example, Heimovaara’s Department carries out much geological research in North Africa which is important for geothermal energy and CO2 storage. While the fossil fuel companies involved work in research, it cannot be assumed that they do not or will not use the findings for oil and gas purposes.
TU Delft may be the one to decide on the research itself, but has no say in what happens with the findings. Doing so would contravene the access and transparency principle, says Heimovaara. “If you undertake the work seriously, you should not set limitations. So everything that we publish open access, can be used by the whole world.”
After the NU.nl’s WOO-verzoek, Heimovaara and a spokesperson from TU Delft drafted a series of guidelines (see box below). But they are not cast in stone, he says. Developing ideas in departments is an ‘ongoing process’ that will lead to ‘ever better decisions’. When in doubt, the researchers discuss with each other whether or not to take on a project.
Oil extraction with less CO2 emissions
Thanks to ‘a selection or combination of the above-mentioned points’, the guidelines still allow space for research into oil extraction with less CO2 emissions. Heimovaara explains that this was there from the start. “The thought was that if an oil project leads to a CO2 reduction that that would be acceptable. And they have a point. If you can make oil extraction more sustainable, it would have a great impact on the environment.”
But the thinking gradually changed. “It is now completely off limits as it would eventually lead to more oil production. You would just be keeping things going. And the industry is putting its efforts into keeping things going.”
Heimovaara believes that his Department is going quite far in its beliefs. But he also says that this is needed given that 80% of the energy in the Netherlands still comes from oil and gas. If the traditionally oil and gas related Department refuses to comply, it would have an effect. And completely so if the researchers concentrate on solutions like geothermal energy, hydrogen storage and CO2 storage.
Four principles for working with the fossil fuel industry
- TU Delft itself decides on the research to be done, and not companies in the fossil fuel industry.
- Any collaboration must be methodical and demonstrably lead to:
- speeding up the energy transition, which involves the replacement of fossil fuels with, preferably, climate neutral energy sources (for example wind and solar energy, geothermal energy, green hydrogen, hydropower) or emission-free energy such as nuclear energy;
- reduced CO2 emissions in the companies and/or their customers;
- reusing products manufactured by the fossil fuel industry;
- and, a selection or combination of the above-mentioned points.
- TU Delft start-ups, professors, teachers and PhD candidates are completely transparent about these partnerships right from the start.
- TU Delft benefits from the partnerships, preferably in terms of the value of the research as companies share their research models and/or geological proprietary data with it.
Source: TU Delft
CO2 storage
It is said that CO2 storage is being used by the industry to continue pumping oil. Still, the Department continues to do a lot of research into this. “The people who criticise this do not understand how we have designed our energy system,” says Heimovaara. “If we want to be CO2 neutral in 2050, we need CO2 storage. Even then fossil fuels will not have disappeared entirely.”
This illustrates his point that partnerships with the fossil fuel industry is needed to achieve the climate goals. “Take Porthos, the CO2 storage project along the coast, for example. Companies like Shell are involved in it. Without working with Shell, we would not be able to carry out research there. They have the knowledge, the data, the experience. These are enormously important for the energy transition.”
Heimovaara believes that the exchange between companies and universities is essential. “If scientists in their ivory towers say that they will not be involved anymore, we would also not have any say in the research anymore. This would polarise the situation. We will go further if we work together.”
Just keep persevering
The Departmental Head believes that it is TU Delft’s task to push companies a little further each time. “We cannot afford to not work with them. So we need to just keep persevering. We need to make sure that the companies make the transition more quickly.”
Not everyone believes that universities should continue their partnerships with oil and gas companies. The End Fossil pressure group, for example, demonstrates against it regularly, as it recently did when it occupied the Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering recently.
At the end of last year, TU Delft launched a series of ‘open discussions’ about collaboration with fossil fuel companies, comprising an online consultation, a series of discussions, and a ‘Moral Deliberation Chamber’. Two staff members from Heimovaara’s Department were involved in the Chamber. The outcomes are expected to be made known this spring. The Integrity Office will use the arguments in the open discussions to issue advice to the Executive Board.
Fossil fuel subsidies
In the end, Heimovaara believes that the key to solving the climate problem does not only rest with the universities and companies involved. He agrees with Extinction Rebellion’s message. “They call on politicians to take action and that is exactly where action must be taken. Politicians need to set the preconditions.”
At present, Heimovaara is unable to set a budget without money from fossil fuel companies, that give relatively more money than the Government. The Departmental Chair says that this means that the Department is dependent on the fossil fuel industry. “We have no choice at the moment. We need that money badly to speed up the energy transition.”
Heimovaara believes that the fossil fuel subsidies that Extinction Rebellion rants against could be a solution. “Scrap them and put them into the energy transition. Then we would not have to look to the oil and gas industry for money.”
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