Slots: 1
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Contact RII.
LOI: May 15th, 2023, 4 PM Paris time (7 AM PDT)
External Deadline: June 29, 2023, 4 PM Paris time
Award Information
Anticipated Award Amount: Up to 140,000 euro will be allocated for the period of 2 years.
Who May Serve as PI: Candidates should be of the highest caliber and have demonstrated outstanding research achievements, as evidenced by the usual indicators for assessing academic excellence such as research outputs (e.g., publications, citations), research activities (e.g., organizing networks, being involved in communities) and research impact (e.g., policy reports, specific recognition through awards, etc.). AXA Fellowships aim at supporting promising early-career researchers who have been holding a PhD no longer than five years. Candidates must be awarded their PhD before they submit their Expression of Interest. Candidates must have already defended their PhD certification before applying. Candidates should be maximum PhD+ 5 years with proven scientific excellence and high potential for innovation, transformation and dissemination. Institutions hosting an AXA Chair cannot request for an extra Post-Doctoral fellowship for a researcher working on the AXA Chairholder’s team.
Link to Award: https://www.axa-research.org/en/page/AXA-Fellowships
Link to Guidelines: https://arfv2.cdn.axa-contento-118412.eu/arfv2/ef18a1f5-8495-400c-9fd2-336cdbad5f7b_AXA+RF+2023+CFP+Renewables+Energy+Guidelines+%283%29.pdf
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
The AXA Fellowship is a funding scheme aiming at supporting young promising researchers on a priority topic aligned with AXA and the Society. Our support should be transformative for the researcher and the advancement of her/his research field.
To avert the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet, global temperature increase needs to be limited. Currently, the Earth is already about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions continue to rise. To keep global warming lower than 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement and which seems quite optimistic now1 – emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.2 Achieving the 2050 target requires a drastic decrease in greenhouse gases with a focus on carbon dioxide and methane emissions. Given that a predominant part of these emissions is generated through energy production by burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, new solutions need to be developed to accompany the transition to a sustainable future.
Investment in renewable energies is one of the primary answers to achieving net zero with investment in the development of renewable energies reaching a record of USD 0.5 trillion in 2022.3 However, their development is far from ensuring a just and fair transition with questions such as geographic concentration towards specific technologies4 and geographies5 and around 785 million people still having no access to electricity. Moreover, the Global North is turning to the Global South to produce its energy because of the significant potential for solar energy generation where there is no shortage of sunshine – while this is an opportunity, it may also raise ethical issues when exporting power could drive to global inequalities and asymmetrical power relations.
While renewable technologies bring positive outcomes, they also impact local livelihoods, and biodiversity through community dislocation6 and biodiversity loss7 following the construction of hydro-electrical dams, solar and wind farms for instance. Waste is also an issue with forecasts of 78 million tons of solar panels decommissioned per year by 2050 and wind turbine blades set to account for 43 million tons of waste.8 The rush toward renewable energy technologies also creates the emergence of raw material supply concerns as renewables consume large amount of critical minerals and metals: the total market size of minerals used in the development of renewable energy technology like copper, manganese, cobalt and rare earth minerals is estimated to grow almost sevenfold between 2020 and 2030,9 while available quantities are limited. In this context, the AXA Research Fund is seeking to support post-doctoral research geared towards building a more sustainable and inclusive route to Net-Zero by 2050 based on renewable energies. We shall support innovative and transdisciplinary research projects, at local, regional, or global scale, which will notably focus on:
• Environmental challenges
– Sustainable vision of facilities notably to achieve climate neutrality, reduce pollution and restore biodiversity.
– Transformative approaches to waste management and development of circular economy around renewable energy facilities.
– Ways to build a resilient and sustainable supply chain around renewable energy including the impact of metals and minerals used in facilities with new ways to reduce negative impacts of mining on the planet and people.
• Socio-economic challenges
– Innovative solutions to provide access to renewable energy for all – emerging countries, lower income communities and indigenous populations.
– Long term vision of facilities to minimize impact on local livelihoods and populations.
– Sustainable and ethical policies notably regarding trading of energy for instance.
– The impact of Net-Zero policies in local, national, and international economies and society at large.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.