Dr. Benedict Probst
Ben is an affiliated researcher in the Group for Sustainability and Technology (SusTec) at the Department of Management, Technology and Economics of ETH Zurich.
Ben’s research focuses on how firms, markets, and policies accelerate the transition towards a net-zero emissions economy. He is particularly interested in carbon removal and taught a course on the topic at ETH Zurich. His research has been published in leading journals, such as DownloadNature Energy and DownloadNature Sustainability.
Ben received a BSc in International Business Administration (2014) from the DownloadRotterdam School of Management, an MSc in Environment and Development (2016) from DownloadThe London School of Economics (LSE) and an MPhil and PhD in Environmental Economics and Policy from the DownloadUniversity of Cambridge (2019).
Prior to joining SusTec, he advised governments and investors at the Oxford-based energy analytics start-up DownloadAurora Energy Research, Downloadthe German Development Bank, and the DownloadWorld Bank. He continues to advise start-ups like DownloadCEEZER and international organisations. Ben has also spent several years living and working in low- and middle-income countries, including Paraguay, Brazil and South Africa and speaks fluent German, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Ben has won multiple awards, including the Best Overall Performance Award at LSE and the Best PhD Research Prize from the Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge. He received scholarships from DownloadCambridge University, Downloadthe German Exchange Service, Downloadthe German National Academic Foundation and Downloadthe Heinrich Böll Foundation.
In his leisure time, Ben likes to experiment with different cuisines (with varying approval from his family), enjoys long runs along Swiss rivers, and used to be a semi-talented football player.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- Foster, V., Trotter, P.A. [..] Probst, B., et al. (2024). Development and transition pathways for fossil fuel-producing low and lower-middle income countries in a carbon-constrained world. Nature Energy. Downloadhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-023-01440-3
- Lohmann, P., Probst, B., Gsottbauer, E., Kontoleon, A., (2024). High levels of air pollution reduce team performance. Journal of Economic Psychology. Downloadhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2024.102705
- Toetzke, M., Probst, B., Feuerriegel, S., (2023) Leveraging Large Language Models to Monitor Climate Technology Innovation. Environ. Res. Lett. in press Downloadhttps://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acf233
- Probst, B., Lohmann, P., Kontoleon, A., Anadon, L.D., (2023). The impact of open access mandates on scientific research and technological development in the U.S.. iScience Downloadhttps://www.cell.com/iscience/pdf/S2589-0042(23)01817-5.pdf
- Hondeborg, D., Probst, B., Petkov, I., Knoeri, C. (2023). The effectiveness of building retrofit subsidies: empirical evidence from Switzerland. Energy Policy 180, p. 113680. Downloadhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113680
- Mulugetta, Y., Sokona, Y., Trotter, P.A. et al. (2022) Africa needs context-relevant evidence to shape its clean energy future. Nature Energy. Downloadhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01152-0
- Scheifele, F., Bräuning, M., Probst, B (2022). The Impact of Local Content Requirements on the Development of Export Competitiveness in Solar and Wind Technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Downloadhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112831
- Probst, B., Touboul, S., Glachant, M., Dechezleprêtre, A. (2021). Global Trends in the Invention and Diffusion of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies. Nature Energy. Downloaddoi: 10.1038/s41560-021-00931-5
- Probst, B., Westermann, L., Kontoleon, A., Anadon., L. D. (2021). Leveraging private investment to expand renewable power generation: Evidence on financial additionality and productivity gains from Uganda. World Development. Downloaddoi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105347
- Probst, B., Anatolitis, V., Kontoleon, A., Anadon., L. D. (2020). The short-term costs of local content requirements: Evidence from the Indian solar auctions. Nature Energy. Downloaddoi: 10.1038/s41560-020-0677-7
- Probst, B, BenYishay, A., Kontoleon, A., dos Reis, T. (2020) Impacts of a large-scale titling initiative on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, Nature Sustainability. Downloaddoi: 10.1038/s41893-020-0537-2
- Probst, B., Holcroft, R., Huenteler, J., Balabanya, A., Tipping, A., Robinson, P. (2020) Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers. World Bank, Washington, DC. DownloadWorld Bank Policy Research Paper No. 9299.external page
Conference Contributions (peer-reviewed)
- Toetzke M., Re F., Probst B., Feuerriegel S., Hoffmann V., Anadon L. D. Mapping global innovation networks around clean energy technologies. Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning: workshop at ICLR 2023 (proposals track). 2023.
- Toetzke M., Probst B., Tatar Y., Feuerriegel S., Hoffmann V. Analyzing the global energy discourse with machine learning. Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning: workshop at NeurIPS 2022 (proposals track). 2022.
Policy reports (selection)
- Probst, B. (2020) Mobilizing private capital for grid-connected renewable power in developing countries – Lessons learnt, DownloadKfW Development Bank Financial Cooperation Evaluation
Technical Reports (selection)
- DownloadThe economic implications of phasing out coal in Ukraine by 2030 (with Maren Preuß, Oleksii Mykhailenko, Ivana Sabaka, Benedict Probst, Peter Baum and Oksana Aliieva)
- DownloadHydrogen in the Northwest European energy system (2020) (with Alexander Esser, Hanns Koenig, Carlotta Piantieri, Marise Westbroek, Gniewomir Fils, Kane Hunter)
- Regional incentives for dispatchable generation capacity (2020) (with Hanns Koenig)
- DownloadCorporate Green PPAs: Economic analysis (2020) (with Hanns Koenig, Peter Baum, Andrew Moore)
- The future of coal in Morocco’s power system (2020) (with Maren Preuss, Hanns Koenig, Peter Baum, Linus Beer) (not public)
- DownloadRecommendations for a sustainable economic and structural recovery programme (2020) (with Peter Baum, Antonia Kilavuz, Hanns Koenig, Andreas Löschel and Johanna Schiele)
- Are “kalte Dunkelflauten” killing the electrification of the heating sector? (2018) (with Benjamin Merle, Casimir Lorenz and Andreas Löschel)