Hannah Mottram

Department of Geography

PhD Candidate

Geog - Hannah Mottram
Profile picture of Geog - Hannah Mottram
hfmottram1@sheffield.ac.uk
Geography and Planning Building

Full contact details

Hannah Mottram
Department of Geography
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
Profile

My research takes an interdisciplinary approach to looking at energy access in rural areas. This builds on my previous experience working in policy, development and advocacy, combined with my scientific academic background and personal activism.

Minigrids for Rural Electrification in Tanzania

My research uses participatory and interdisciplinary approaches to investigate community experiences of minigrids for rural electrification in Tanzania. I have spent 8 months completing field research in Tanzania, including participatory workshops, interviews, surveys and observations. I have also collected technical data from my main case study project.

I look at how communities experience electrification from minigrids, particularly using a justice lens to look at the distributional impacts. I research how policies and implementation processes (such as demand modelling and tariff structures) impact communities. I use these insights to consider ways that policies and procedures could be improved.

Supervisors: Dr Matt Watson and Dr Ankit Kumar.

Qualifications
  • 2015-2017: International Co-ordinator of the Alliance of Civil Society Organisations for Clean Energy Access (ACCESS Network) & Energy Analyst, CAFOD
  • 2014-2015: Climate Science Advisor, Department of Energy and Climate Change
  • 2013-2014: Graduate Analyst, Office for Gas and Electricity Markets
  • 2011-2013: Secondary Science Teacher, Hazelwick School
  • 2010-2011: PGCE Secondary Science, University of Manchester
  • 2006-2010: MSci Natural Sciences (Geological Sciences), University of Cambridge
Teaching activities
  • GEO6806 Key Issues in Environment and Development (Guest Lecturer, 2020)
  • Pathway to Engineering (Teaching Associate and Course Development, 2020)
  • GEO6801 Ideas and Practice in International Development (Teaching Assistant, 2019)
  • GEO6802 Methods in International Development (Teaching Assistant, 2019)
  • GEO258 Geographies of Development (Teaching Assistant, 2018)
  • System Design Analysis, Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Teaching Assistant, 2019)
  • Environmental Sciences Connemara Field Course (Field Course Assistant, 2019)
  • Science and Engineering Foundation Year (Teaching Assistant, 2017-2018)
  • Global Engineering Challenge (Facilitator, 2018)
Professional activities and memberships

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2020)

Conference Presentations

Mottram, H, 2018.Off-grid rural electrification - Bridging the gaps between the social and the technical (poster). Pan-African University for Water and Energy Sciences Research 2 Practice Forum, 17 April, Tlemcen, Algeria (Sponsored by the UK Low Carbon Energy for Development Network)

Mottram, H. 2019. Participatory Research into Minigrids for Rural Electrification. International Conference on Energy, Aquatech and Sustainability, 12 August, Arusha, Tanzania. (Conference Award for Best Presentation)

Mottram, H. 2019. A trans-disciplinary approach to energy access research. Royal Geographical Society – IBG Annual International Conference, 29 August, London, UK.

Funding

Global Challenges Research Fund - Pump priming grant (2019). 'Minigrids for rural electrification in Tanzania' Fuel Poverty Research Network - Engaging in Energy Poverty in Early Career Grant (2021). 'Translating community based research on electrification into resources for policy and practice'