prof.dr. T. Hoppe (Thomas)

Thomas Hoppe (1980) is Professor of Sustainability of Rural-Urban Systems (i.e., ‘Rurban Governance) in the Department of Technology, Policy and Management (TPS), Section of Governance & Technology for Sustainability (CSTM).’ His research line is on governing complex (multi-actor, multi-sector, multi-level) sustainability transitions in regional settings characterized by both rural and urban contexts, and the interplay between them. Within this line Thomas has a special focus on governance of sustainable energy transitions.

Thomas earned his Master’s degree in Public Administration specializing in Public Policy and Environmental Policy at the University of Twente. From 2005 till 2009 Thomas worked on his doctoral study at CSTM on CO₂ reduction in the existing housing sector, using a policy implementation perspective. For this work Thomas was awarded the ‘G.A. van Poelje Jaarprijs‘ in 2011 (annual award for best dissertation in the in the field of Public Administration in the Netherlands and Flanders) on behalf of the ‘Vereniging voor Bestuurskunde’. After obtaining his PhD Thomas worked at Assistant Professor at CSTM until 2015. Between 2016 and 2024 he worked as Associate Professor at Delft University of Technology, at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management.

Thomas has memberships of the NIG (Netherlands Institute of Governance), ECPR, IPPA and STRN. Thomas is co-founder and co- chair of the NIG research colloquium on ‘Energy and Climate Governance’. He is in the Editorial Board of Energy, Sustainability and Society (ISSN: 2192-0567).

Thomas is currently involved in six PhD projects as a promoter. He also supervises two postdoctoral researchers. Thomas has successfully supervised six other PhDs. He has been involved in numerous externally funded research projects, including NWO, EU Horizon (2020), EU Interreg, national, provincial, and local government. Recurring research topics include governing sustainability transitions, energy transitions, climate mitigation policy, circular economy policy, community energy, local and regional government responding to complex sustainability challenges, and scaling sustainable energy innovations.

Thomas holds a University Teaching Qualification certificate( UTQ). He teaches transition, innovation and governance, public administration, and master thesis preparation. He has supervised more than 200 students working on either Bachelor’s and Master’s assignments.

Expertise

• Social Sciences

  • Dutch
  • Renewable Energy
  • Local Government
  • Energy Transition
  • Climate Policy
  • Climate Change
  • Research Question
  • India

Organisations

Ancillary activities

• Springer NatureEditorial Board member / Associate Editor

Thomas Hoppe's research line is on governing complex (multi-actor, multi-sector, multi-level) sustainability transitions in regional settings characterized by both rural and urban contexts, and the interplay between them. Within this line Thomas has a special focus on governance of sustainable energy transitions.

Thomas is currently involved in six PhD projects as a promoter. He also supervises two postdoctoral researchers. Thomas has successfully supervised six other PhDs. He has been involved in numerous externally funded research projects, including NWO, EU Horizon (2020), EU Interreg, national, provincial, and local government. Recurring research topics include governing sustainability transitions, energy transitions, climate mitigation policy, circular economy policy, community energy, local and regional government responding to complex sustainability challenges, and scaling sustainable energy innovations. 

Thomas has memberships of the NIG (Netherlands Institute of Governance), ECPR, IPPA and STRN. Thomas is co-founder and co- chair of the NIG research colloquium on ‘Energy and Climate Governance’. He is in the Editorial Board of Energy, Sustainability and Society (ISSN: 2192-0567).

Publications

Other contributions

Hoppe, T., Graf, A., Warbroek, B., Lammers, I., & Lepping, I. (2015). Local governments supporting local energy initiatives: Lessons from the best practices of Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands). Sustainability, 7(2), 1900-1931.

Hoppe, T., & De Vries, G. (2018). Social innovation and the energy transition. Sustainability, 11(1), 141.

Norouzi, F., Hoppe, T., Kamp, L. M., Manktelow, C., & Bauer, P. (2023). Diagnosis of the implementation of smart grid innovation in The Netherlands and corrective actions. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 175, 113185.

Norouzi, F., Hoppe, T., Elizondo, L. R., & Bauer, P. (2022). A review of socio-technical barriers to Smart Microgrid development. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 167, 112674.

Itten, A., Sherry-Brennan, F., Hoppe, T., Sundaram, A., & Devine-Wright, P. (2021). Co-creation as a social process for unlocking sustainable heating transitions in Europe. Energy Research & Social Science, 74, 101956.

Hoppe, T., Coenen, F., & van den Berg, M. (2016). Illustrating the use of concepts from the discipline of policy studies in energy research: An explorative literature review. Energy research & social science, 21, 12-32.

Coenen, F. H., & Hoppe, T. (Eds.). (2022). Renewable energy communities and the low carbon energy transition in Europe. Springer Nature.

Research profiles

Courses academic year 2026/2027

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Address

University of Twente

Ravelijn (building no. 10), room 1260
Hallenweg 17
7522 NH Enschede
Netherlands

Navigate to location

Organisations