Hakan Karan

Hakan Karan is an Associate at the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund. Prior to this, they worked as an Analyst at the Fund from October 2021 to June 2022. Before that, they were a PhD student at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, UQ, from January 2018 to September 2021. Their research focused on modeling biorefinery pathways for microalgae-based bioproducts with the aim of improving financial feasibility in accordance with circular bioeconomy principles and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Hakan also cultivated algae at the Centre for Solar Biotechnology pilot plant and performed experiments to extract high-value products.

From September 2015 to December 2017, Hakan worked as a Sustainable Energy Engineer at MWH, now part of Stantec. In this role, they consulted and engineered for EBRD’s TurSEFF (Turkey Private Sector Sustainable Energy Finance Facility), GEFF (Green Economy Financing Facility) Egypt , NØW (Near Zero Waste), and RARE (Rapid Appraisal for Resource Efficiency), the World Bank’s EU IPA CS02, and the Stockholm International Water Institute’s STWI (Sweden Textile Water Initiative). Hakan evaluated sustainable energy (solar, wind, biogas, etc.) and resource efficiency projects under technical and financial terms for financial institutions, developers, and businesses. Hakan also carried out market studies, performed walkthrough audits and technical due diligence, prepared

Hakan Karan has a PhD in Microalgae Biorefineries from The University of Queensland, a Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Systems from The University of Edinburgh, and a Master of Business Administration in Business Administration and Management, General from Sabanci University. Hakan also has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University, and has completed the International Summer School in Global Climate Change: Environment, Technology and Society at the University of Exeter. Hakan Karan has also completed the Erasmus Programme in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne), and has a certification from IE Business School Executive Education in Venture Capital.