Post-doctorate in law on hydogen governance in the European Union, in the framework of the PEPR H2 AIDHY project

The University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour (UPPA) is a multi-disciplinary university (science and technology, humanities, law, economy, management) with multiple sites (Pau, Anglet, Bayonne, Mont de Marsan, Tarbes). It is one of 17 universities out of 54 in France to have been awarded the IDEX or I-SITE (Initiative Science-Innovation-Territories-Economy) label of excellence by the French government. It has also been awarded other future investment programs: MARSS - equipment of excellence (Equipex label), SPACE - personalized student support program (NCU label), GREEN - university research school (SFRI label), and IREKIA - project to double the number of students on the Basque coast (ExcellenceS label). In 2022, it has also been awarded the "Science with and for Society" label.

UMR 6031 TREE, created on January 1, 2021 under the lead of the UPPA and the CNRS, is conceived as a "problem-oriented interdisciplinary unit". It addresses energy and environmental transitions by bringing together researchers from the fields of geography, sociology, law and economics. The general objective of the laboratory is to analyse the challenges, obstacles and levers for the implementation of energy and environmental transitions, by working on technological innovations, economic and fiscal incentives, and territorial initiatives in favour of transitions.

The PEPR-H2 program, coordinated by the CEA and the CNRS, aims to stimulate and support upstream research activities at a low or intermediate level of technological maturity, in line with the priorities set out in the National Hydrogen Plan, in order to develop the next generations of hydrogen materials, components and systems in the medium term, and to generate the breakthroughs likely to open up new industrial opportunities in the longer term. The AIDHY project, part of the PEPR H2 program, relies on a multidisciplinary consortium combining human and social sciences, economics, natural sciences and engineering sciences to provide decision support for project developers, regulators, local authorities, third party guarantors and citizens. The aim is to better characterise and understand the stakes, opportunities and risks of decarbonised hydrogen projects, and thus to assess their level of sustainability and social responsibility.

In this context, the aim of the post-doctoral research project is to carry out a study of the actors and relationships between hydrogen stakeholders in the European Union, from a legal perspective. The aim will be to consider hydrogen governance from both a network and a market perspective.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will be in charge of :

• Carry out legal research on hydrogen actors and governance in the European Union
• Write an article for publication in an international journal, and participate in the organisation of a European conference with the scientific leaders of the project,
• Participate in the AIDHY project monitoring meetings and coordinate the hydrogen governance task with the scientific leaders of the project.

Qualifications and skills expected

• Doctorate in law (or doctoral candidate with expected date of defence before the start of the contract),
• Motivation, dynamism, initiative, autonomy, organisational skills and rigorous work planning,
• Ability to work in a team, including remotely, with good interpersonal skills and the ability to drive the group forward to optimise the quality of results,
• Fluency in written and spoken English essential. Fluency in French is not mandatory.