Michèle Knodt is Jean Monnet Professor for European Integration and Comparative Politics at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany, and the project leader of the research project “Challenges of European External Energy Governance with Emerging Powers”. She is conducting research on the new role of emerging powers in international politics with a special focus on energy cooperation. Furthermore, her research interests include EU external democracy promotion in the Baltic States, Central Asia and Southern Caucasus as well as civil society engagement in the European multilevel system. 

Nadine Piefer is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Department of Political Science at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany and the project coordinator of the research project “Challenges of European External Energy Governance with Emerging Powers”. Her research focuses on the energy relations of emerging powers, European Union external-, development and energy policy, emerging donors, and triangular cooperation. Nadine has also been working as consultant for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on the topics of triangular and regional cooperation. 

Jens Steffek is Professor for Transnational Governance at Technische Universität Darmstadt. In his research he focuses on the policy and history of international organizations, theories of international relations, democratic theory and the role of transnational private actors, especially non-governmental organizations. Working from an empirical-analytical as well as from a normative perspective, he will contribute to the project by systematically analyzing the role of non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations in transnational energy governance.