About
I am a researcher in sustainable systems. What could a more sustainable world look like in 25 or 50 years from now? How do all the pieces fit together? In my work, I use optimisation models to explore different options and come up with advice in the face of deep uncertainty.
The arc of my career starts out in pure mathematics but is bending towards policy applications. I did my PhD at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in energy systems modelling (defended November 2024). Currently I am a postdoc at Stanford, working with Ken Caldeira and Steve Davis on food systems modelling — I enjoy pulling in new fields and working in an interdisciplinary context. Dissemination as well as open data and code are important to me.
I have moved around quite a bit in my life; around this time I'm preparing to move back to Norway.
Research
Food systems
food-opt: a global food systems optimisation model
A linear programming model covering the full food supply chain — from land allocation and crop production through livestock, processing, and trade to human nutrition. Tracks spatially resolved environmental impacts and health outcomes across 250+ sub-national regions globally. (Publication in preparation.)
European decarbonisation & hydrogen
Little to lose: the case for a robust European green hydrogen strategy
Europe risks little by targeting ~25 Mt green hydrogen by 2040.
The competitive edge of Norway's hydrogen by 2030: socio-environmental considerations
Techno-economic viability and socio-environmental considerations for Norwegian hydrogen export.
Balancing act: the cost of wind restrictions in Norway's electricity transition
Trade-offs between onshore wind restrictions and system costs in Norway.
Near-optimal energy system design
The methodological core of my PhD work — exploring the space of "good enough" solutions rather than fixating on a single cost-optimal answer.
Intersecting near-optimal spaces: European power systems with more resilience to weather variability
Introduced method for finding energy system designs robust across multiple weather years.
Trading off regional and overall energy system design flexibility in the net-zero transition
How much flexibility do individual European regions have in choosing their own energy path?
Bringing near-optimal methods into stakeholder engagement processes.
Weather & resilience in renewable systems
A new method using shadow prices to find the weather patterns that threaten future power systems.
Full publication list: Google Scholar · ORCID
Software
I value open research and make code available for my work. Key projects:
food-opt
A global food systems optimisation model exploring trade-offs between environmental sustainability and nutritional outcomes. Covers land allocation, crop and livestock production, processing, trade, and nutrition across 250+ sub-national regions. Extensively documented at sustainable-solutions-lab.github.io/food-opt.
near-opt-interface
A web interface for interactively exploring near-optimal energy system designs using sliders and real-time metric visualisation. Built for participatory modelling — first used in a stakeholder study in Longyearbyen to let residents explore trade-offs in local energy system planning.
intersecting-near-opt-spaces
Extension of PyPSA-Eur for computing and intersecting near-optimal feasible spaces to find weather-resilient energy system designs.
PyPSA contributions
Contributor to PyPSA-Eur, the open European energy system model.
All repositories: github.com/koen-vg
Writing & Public Engagement
Energiomstillinga
Popular science blog on forskning.no (in Norwegian) about energy systems and the green transition.
Op-eds in Aftenposten
Opinion pieces on energy policy (in Norwegian):