Dr. Katharina Oemmelen
Research Associate | Postdoctoral Researcher
Research Interests
- Global Energy Transition
- Rural Electrification in the Global South
- Political Economy
- Postcolonial, Feminist, and Participatory Research Approaches
Dr. Katharina Oemmelen
0.047 (138)
Meckenheimer Allee 166
53115 Bonn
Personal Information
University of Bonn
Postdoctoral Fellow & Lecturer
September 2022 – July 2026
University College London
PhD Candidate
October 2025 – January 2026
Technical University of Berlin
Guest Researcher
March 2022 – March 2022
Africa GreenTec AG, Frankfurt
Senior Manager, International Business Development
October 2021 – February 2022
European Commission, Brussels
Blue Book Trainee
September 2020 – February 2021
German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH, Bonn
Intern
MPhil in Development Studies
BA Geography
Publications and Academic Presentations
2026
Oemmelen, K. (2026). From Energy to Empowerment? Gender and the uneven pathways of change in solar mini-grid projects in rural Madagascar [Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), University College London (UCL)]. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10229549/
Oemmelen, K., Page, B., Rasoarimalala, T., & Parikh, P. (2026). Rethinking the gender-energy nexus beyond the productive–reproductive binary: A mixed-methods study from rural Madagascar. Energy Research & Social Science, 133, 104609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2026.104609
Yaguma, P., Oemmelen, K., Tuhairwe, F., Pailman, W., & Bakengana, P. (2026). The Pay-As-You-Go solar power sector evolution should not leave Africa’s most vulnerable behind. Communications Sustainability, 1(1), 74. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00078-y
2025
Oemmelen, K., Page, B., & Parikh, P. (2025). Shared Power, Shared Benefits? Reviewing private sector collaborations with community actors in Sub-Saharan Africa’s mini grid sector. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 222, 115948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.115948
Pailman, W., Caprotti, F., Yaguma, P., Hastie, H., Oemmelen, K., Opio, I. M., & Sheridan, D. (2025). Within reach? Sustainable energy infrastructure financing for “hardest to reach” communities. Frontiers in Sustainable Energy Policy, 4, 1527162. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsuep.2025.1527162
Oemmelen, K. (2025). On-the-ground fieldwork elevates community voices in energy access research. Nature Energy. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01708-w
Paper presentation ‘The Cost of Silence: A case study of community engagement in Madagascar’s mini-grid sector’
Paper presentation ‘Challenging the productive–reproductive binary in energy and gender research: Evidence from Madagascar’