Achim Klüppelberg

My work focusses on the nuclear history of Eastern Europe, especially on the territory of the former Soviet Union and its successor states. Furthermore, I investigate expert cultures in nuclear discourses, with a special interest in water-related issues in nuclear power plant decision-making. In addition, I am intrigued by the entanglement of the commercial, scientific and political interests concerning nuclear technologies, with its sometimes harsh consequences on human societies and the environment. Recently this interest has extended to energy systems as a whole in Eastern Europe, including fossil fuels and renewables. Questions of transition within international energy systems in the face of the climate crisis and recent political developments become more important, as my work progresses.

Key topics of my research are:

• Energy Complexes
• Nuclear Energy and Aquatic Systems
• Nuclear Disasters (e.g. Chernobyl, Mayak, and Fukushima)
• Siting of Nuclear Power Plants
• Nuclear Safety
• Expert Cultures and Risk
• Energy Systems in Europe
• Energy Transitions
• Technocratic Culture

In March 2024 I defended my PhD (tekn.dr.) in the Nuclearwaters-Project (ERC Consolidator Grant, PI Per Högselius) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. From Oktober 2018 until March 2024 I worked as a doctoral student in this project, under my supervisors Per Högselius, Kati Lindström and Anna Storm.

From 09 January until 17 February 2023 I worked as visiting scholar at the Division of History of Technology (Martina Heßler) at Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany.

Before I joined KTH, I worked as a research assistant at the Department for Eastern European History at the University of Göttingen (Germany) and at Museum Friedland (Germany) on Migration History of the Federal Republic of Germany between 1945 and the present day. I graduated at Göttingen University in Eastern European and Common History, as well as in Political Science with a study term abroad at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU) in Moscow in 2016.

In my private life, I passionately work on environmental projects and am always looking forward to engage colleagues in interesting discussions of common interest. It is also possible to book me to give a presentation at your event about my research topics. Therefore, if you have any questions or ideas for cooperations, feel free to contact me at any time.

The best way to reach me is via email. Please replace the [at] with an “@” (to prevent spam):

Mail: achim.klueppelberg[at]t-online.de

Mastodon: @Achim@social.anoxinon.de

Bluesky:[at]achimklueppelberg.bsky.social

X: @AKluppelberg

My private blog