Julie de los Reyes is an assistant professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and Hakubi Center for Advanced Research at Kyoto University. She obtained her PhD in Geography from the University of Manchester in the UK.

Julie’s research is concerned with the dynamics of energy transition in East and Southeast Asia, focusing in particular on coal investments (and disinvestments), emerging hydrogen supply chains and the role of development finance institutions in energy transition.

Her previous work examined financialisation and (its impacts on) the geography of mining investments in the global gold mining industry, which was awarded 2018 Best PhD Thesis in Economic Geography by the Royal Geographical Society - Institute of British Geographers (Economic Geography Research Group) in the UK. She has been a recipient of prestigious grants and fellowship awards, including the EU’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship, Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science’s Grant-in-Aid for early career scientists. Her articles have been published in top academic journals such as Geoforum, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, and the Journal of Peasant Studies.


Carbon lock-in, energy regime change, and prospects for coal phase-out/phase-down in the Philippine electricity sector

This research takes an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to understanding energy transition in the Philippines and the broader East/Southeast Asian region. Looking in particular at the dynamics of coal phase-out/phase-down, it aims to shed light on the conditions that impede the shift to low carbon sources in the power generation mix. It will map out the key actors, nationally and regionally, that are involved in the financing and production of energy, identify the sources of socio-economic, technological and infrastructural ‘lock-ins’; and recommend solutions to support the expansion of renewable energy. Moving beyond current understanding of transition as mainly, if not exclusively, a technological shift, the social relations that underpin such a process, i.e. that preserve or challenge the dominance of the incumbent fossil fuel energy regime, will be a key focus of analysis.


Japan in transition: Energy security, geopolitics, and the making of a hydrogen society

The research examines the politico-economic and socio-technical interventions that shape the transition to a ‘hydrogen society’ in Japan and their regional and global implications. Specifically, it looks at inter-state and state-firm strategies that structure the difference segments of production, storage, transportation, and utilisation comprising the hydrogen supply chain. Japan is a front runner in the development of hydrogen and in recent years, it has undertaken radical steps to realise its vision of a hydrogen society through a series of policy, financial, and technical directives and instruments.

Focusing on ongoing pilot projects, the research seeks to analyse how hydrogen is made viable, scalable and (qualify as) renewable, and the specific ways that diverse players, i.e. private actors, institutions and states, mediate these processes; the new geopolitical relations necessary to its emergence; and whether this provides a viable template for creating the foundations of a hydrogen-based energy system.


Financing a low-carbon transition: (Re)Aligning Japan’s ‘green growth strategy’ in support of decarbonisation in Southeast Asia

Japan pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 through a ‘green growth strategy’ aimed at decarbonising, while revitalising, key aspects of its economy. This research examines the implications of this strategy on the financing of power infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia. It analyses the role of development finance institutions, the Japan Bank of International Cooperation and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, at de-risking and shaping the direction and technological preferences of Japanese investments in key recipient states, notably Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.