Falko Ueckerdt (full CV, google scholar) is a senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) leading the research on hydrogen, electrification and industry transformation. He is deputy head of the Energy Transition Lab of Research Department 3 - Transformation Pathways.
Falko Ueckerdt is a contributing author of two IPCC reports (IPCC SRREN 2011, IPCC AR6 2022). In expert groups and research projects (national, EU, and international), he advises policy makers and international organizations such as the IEA or OECD-ITF. In the past, Falko Ueckerdt was managing director of the Australian-German Energy Transition Hub (2017-2020) and guest researcher at the Hanley Sustainability Institute of the University of Dayton, Ohio (2016). He worked on international energy planning for the International Renewable Energy Agency (2014/2015) and on e-mobility for the Boston Consulting Group (2009). Falko Ueckerdt studied physics (major) and economics (mandatory elective minor) at the Humboldt University Berlin and did his PhD at PIK (on renewable energy system integration) supervised by Ottmar Edenhofer, Bob Brecha and Gunnar Luderer.
Contact
14412 Potsdam
Falko Ueckerdt has a background in physics and economics and conducts research and policy advice in the field of energy system transformation. The overarching objective of his research is understanding and enabling the transformation of energy systems towards climate neutrality. This includes the following focus topics:
- The role of low-carbon hydrogen and e-fuels - their scale-up and future competitiveness
- Energy systems with high shares of wind and solar power and associated flexibility options
(e.g. flexible demand, or energy storage) - Sector coupling: Direct electrification and power-to-X in end-use sectors transport, buildings and industry.
- The transformation of energy-intensive industries (e.g., steel, plastic production), material flows and circularity
Full publication list on google scholar or ORCID
Top10 most important publications:
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Ueckerdt, F. et al. Potential and risks of hydrogen-based e-fuels in climate change mitigation. |
Highly cited (~571) paper providing a framework to determine the most valuable end-use applications for hydrogen and hydrogen-based e-fuels |
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Verpoort, P. C., Gast, L., Hofmann, A. & Ueckerdt, F. Impact of global heterogeneity of renewable energy supply on heavy industrial production and green value chains. Nature Energy 9, 491–503 (2024). |
Innovative recent work, opening a new research direction and connecting to the current debate around heavy industry competitiveness. Dr. Ueckerdt closely supervised Dr. Verpoort and contributed the research design and working hypotheses. |
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Ueckerdt, F., Hirth, L., Luderer, G. & Edenhofer, O. System LCOE: What are the costs of variable renewables? Energy 63, 61–75 (2013). |
1st paper by Dr. Ueckerdt. Highly cited (~800), conceptually innovative, impactful also with non-scientific stakeholders and institutions (this new metric has been adopted by the International Energy Agency). |
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Hirth, L., Ueckerdt, F. & Edenhofer, O. Integration costs revisited – An economic framework for wind and solar variability. Renewable Energy 74, 925–939 (2015). |
Close joint work with Lion Hirth. Innovative and both theoretical and empirical. Highly cited (~560), impactful also with non-scientific stakeholders. |
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Odenweller, A. & Ueckerdt, F. The green hydrogen ambition and implementation gap. Nature Energy 1–14 (2025) doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01684-7. |
Very recent work on hydrogen (selected to be a research highlight by Nature Energy and Nature Chemical Engineering). Dr. Ueckerdt closely supervised PhD candidate Adrian Odenweller and added mostly through the research design and working hypotheses. |
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Odenweller, A., Ueckerdt, F., Nemet, G. F., Jensterle, M. & Luderer, G. Probabilistic feasibility space of scaling up green hydrogen supply. Nature Energy 7, 854–865 (2022). |
Highly cited work on hydrogen (~300). Dr. Ueckerdt serves as the corresponding author, closely supervised PhD candidate Adrian Odenweller, and added mostly through the research design and working hypotheses. |
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Ueckerdt, F. et al. On the cost competitiveness of blue and green hydrogen. Joule 8, 104–128 (2024). |
Conceptually and numerically innovative work on the competition of green and blue hydrogen. Dr. Ueckerdt led a research team from different backgrounds and institutes. |
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Luderer, G., Madeddu, S., Merfort, L., Ueckerdt, F., et al. Impact of declining renewable energy costs on electrification in low-emission scenarios. Nature Energy 7, 32–42 (2022). |
Highly cited (~410) global scenario modeling that was selected as one of five Illustrative Mitigation Pathways (IMPs) by the IPCC for their most recent AR6 report. |
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Schreyer, F., Ueckerdt, F., et al. Distinct roles of direct and indirect electrification in pathways to a renewables-dominated European energy system. One Earth 7, 226–241 (2024). |
Dr. Ueckerdt supervised PhD candidate Felix Schreyer, deriving plausible ranges for hydrogen and direct electrification in EU net-zero 2050 scenarios with the REMIND model. |
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Madeddu, S., Ueckerdt, F., et al. The CO2 reduction potential for the European industry via direct electrification of heat supply (power-to-heat). Environ. Res. Lett. 15, 124004 (2020). |
Dr. Ueckerdt supervised Postdoc Silvia Madeddu in this highly cited (~250) pioneering paper on how deep the direct electrification of process heat for energy-intensive industries in the EU could go. |
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Lectures
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SoSe 2025: Technical University Berlin. SoSe 2024: Ruhr University Bochum. (teaching assignment / Lehrauftrag) WiSe 2023/24: Ruhr University Bochum, (teaching assignment / Lehrauftrag) |
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Individual and regular guest lectures
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Global Climate Change Mitigation, in the course „Climate Change Economics“ taught by Prof. Dr. Ulrike Kornek, SoSe 2022, 2023, and 2024), Christian Albrecht University of Kiel Power system economics and hydrogen, in the course „Energy und Climate Change“ by Prof. Dr. Gunnar Luderer, SoSe 2022, 2023, and 2024), Technical University Berlin Hydrogen, Ringvorlesung "Zukunft der Technik - Technik der Zukunft" by Prof. Dr. Anja Hentschel, WiSe 2022/23, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences Transformation of the EU energy system, in „Advanced Climate Policy“ by Prof. Dr. Christian Flachsland, WiSe 2021/22, Hertie School of Governance in Berlin Energy system modelling (in German), in "Modellierung erdsystemarer Prozesse" by Priv.-Doz. Dr. Kirsten Thonicke, SoSe2020 and SoSe2021, Potsdam University The role of renewables in global energy transition scenarios, Lectures on energy and climate change as a guest lecturer at the University of Dayton (Ohio, USA), SoSe 201 |
