Dr Max Lacey-Barnacle

Background

I am a Senior Research Fellow in Energy Transitions and Justice at the Centre for Energy Systems and Strategy, Cranfield University. Working on the Global Hydrogen Production Technologies (HyPT) research project at Cranfield, I will be developing energy justice perspectives that enhance understandings of how the transition to a hydrogen economy affects local communities and delivers equitable outcomes. Over the past decade, my research has focused on the social, economic and political implications of low-carbon energy transitions, with a particular emphasis on energy justice, just transitions and the impacts of energy system change on local communities. I am interested in understanding who benefits from, participates in and exercises influence over energy transitions, and how the costs, risks and opportunities associated with decarbonisation are distributed across different places and communities. My work examines how more democratic, equitable and locally rooted transition pathways can be developed to ensure that communities are not only affected by, but actively shape, the transition to a low-carbon future.

I was the recipient of a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (2021-2024), which critically examined the role that Community Wealth Building can play in democratising low-carbon transitions, diversifying ownership, strengthening economic democracy and retaining wealth, governance and decision-making power within local communities. Across my research, I explore how different ownership, governance and institutional arrangements influence the justice outcomes of energy transitions, and how local communities can secure meaningful social and economic benefits from the emerging low-carbon economy.

I completed my PhD in Energy Policy at Cardiff University in 2019, where I investigated the energy justice implications of community and municipal energy organisations, alongside the role of intermediaries and networks in facilitating local participation in energy transitions. Since then, I have continued to research emerging models of ownership and governance that support decentralised and community-centred energy systems. A central theme of my work is understanding whether these innovations help democratise transitions and redistribute benefits more equitably, or whether they risk reproducing existing social and spatial inequalities. After my PhD, I worked as a Policy Officer at the Energy Saving Trust, contributing to Welsh, UK and EU energy and climate policy projects focused on community energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon transport. Prior to this, I worked at the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University, where I contributed to research extending energy justice scholarship in developing country contexts and collaborated with international research partners.

My work has been published in leading journals including Energy Policy, Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, Energy Research & Social Science, Applied Energy, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Geography Compass, Joule and Energy for Sustainable Development. Alongside academic publishing, I regularly engage with energy and climate policy consultations across multiple levels of governance and contribute to wider public and policy debates on energy justice and just transitions. I have taught on the Energy Justice module at the University of Sussex, delivered lectures on energy justice to MSc students and was awarded Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) in 2021.

Publications

• Articles in journals
• Books