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CenSES annual report 2015
CenSES RA 4’s overall aim is to create knowledge on
the process of making a transition to sustainable and
renewable energy sources. Such a process is complex
and multifaceted, and implies the development of novel
technologies and user practices, the introduction of policy
measures and regulations, as well as the entry of new firms
and industries that produce and adopt new technologies.
RA 4 uses insights from the field of innovation and
entrepreneurship studies to examine how new technologies
emerge; how they become commercialized, produced and
marketed; andhowtheyareused inNorwayor internationally.
We address questions such as: How do innovation processes
in Norway contribute to the ongoing energy transition
nationally and internationally? How does this open up new
industrial opportunities? In which sectors are Norwegian
research communities and industry internationally
competitive? How can energy projects balance their
impacts on local economies, local communities, and local
environments in pursuing a sustainable energy policy?
These questions relate to how multi-scalar energy transition
processes involve change on several levels. These changes
encompass the entry of new firms, formation of new
industries and embedding new technologies in differing
regional (local), national and supranational contexts. RA
4 approaches these challenges empirically by focusing
on three elements of the wider transition process.
The first line of study analyses how emerging firms and
organizations develop, produce and market new energy
technologies. Empirical studies focus on commercialization
of research projects as entrepreneurial processes, especially
the role of dynamic business models for market entry and
success. We pay particular attention to innovation potential
from the technological FMEs (both existing and forthcoming
ones), as they constitute core policy instruments for
promoting new energy solutions. We provide knowledge for
discussing the opportunities and challenges with this type
of policy instrument.
The second line of study uses insights from the innovation
systems literature to examine the emergence of energy
technologies, emphasizing the complexity of embedding
new technologies in society. National borders do not
limit this type of innovation system, and we particularly
concentrate on the internationalization of innovation
processes and systems. We analyse how Norwegian actors
enter into learning processes with foreign companies and
markets in other countries where better opportunities for
diffusion of new energy technologies exist.
The third line of study analyses how local communities
promote or hamper development of renewable energy
projects. The objective is to impart new knowledge of how
renewable energy projects impact local economies, local
societies, and local environments in pursuing a sustainable
energy policy. Policymakers must make decisions that
balance the consequences for the economy, society, and
the environment. We develop knowledge that can assist
policymakers in such decision-making, while simultaneously
providing new theoretical and empirical contributions to
real options theory, social theory, restoration ecology, and
local sustainable development.
RA 4 Innovation and Commercialization