Professor Hohmeyer (born 1953) studied economics and informatics at Tougaloo College, Mississippi/USA from 1974 to 1975 and economics at the University of Bremen from 1975 to 1980. He received his doctorate externally at the University of Bremen in 1989 on the topic of 'Social Costs of Energy Consumption'. The thesis was awarded the Fraunhofer Special Prize of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 1991.

From October 1982 to the end of 1993 he worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) in Karlsruhe. From 1987 to 1992 as deputy head of the Department of Technical Change and from 1992 to 1993 as deputy head of the Department of Energy and Environment. From 1994 to June 1998, Professor Hohmeyer led the research area Environmental and Resource Economics, of the Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim. Since July 1998, Professor Hohmeyer has held the Chair of Energy and Resource Economics at the University of Flensburg. He has established the industrial engineering course 'Energy and Environmental Management', where he is still a senior professor. His research focus is in the field of energy system analysis with emphasis on the necessary system transformation to a 100% renewable energy supply.

From 1996 to 2011, Professor Hohmeyer served as lead author of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). From 2002 to 2008, he coordinated Working Group III of the IPCC as Vice Chair together with six colleagues. In his role as Vice Chair of WG III of the IPCC, he prepared the IPCC's Special Report 'Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation' as the responsible member of the IPCC's Bureau, which was published in 2011. From 2008 to 2012, Prof. Hohmeyer was the lead member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment for the area of climate and energy. On his initiative, the Council of Experts published the special report 'Towards 100% Renewable Electricity Supply' in January 2011. Among his numerous PhD students were and are from all parts of the world, e.g. Ethiopia, Barbados, Botswana, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Nepal, Peru, Pakistan, South Africa, Tanzania, Venezuela, USA and Vietnam.

Since 2013, Professor Hohmeyer has also taught regularly at the University of the West Indies, in Barbados in the area of energy economics and sustainable energy systems. Since submitting a report on the possibilities of 100% renewable electricity supply for Barbados, he has been advising the government and various civil society groups of Barbados on the possible transformation of Barbados' energy system e.g. on the necessary redesign of energy policies and the support mechanisms used for renewable energy sources. Following on from the work in Barbados, since 2015 he has been advising the government of Seychelles on the possibilities of a 100% renewable power supply for Seychelles and the use of international funding opportunities to support the necessary energy system transformation.