| Summary: |
The project investigates the conditions in which the process of transition to a sustainable energy system can drive the transformation of existing (often declining) industries, a still under-researched question despite its economic and political relevance. The empirical setting is the process of construction of a new system around ocean energy technologies and its contribution to the development of the sea economy in Portugal.
The project combines theoretical and empirical contributions from socio-technical transitions and economic geography to "contextualise" the development of the new system and investigate the nature and effects of its interactions with the context where it evolves. It focuses on the transformative potential of the co-evolution of the emerging system with "contiguous sectors" - i.e. existing sectors not initially involved with the technology that offer complementary competences - as processes of recombination of new and existing knowledge into new configurations may be enacted along such co-evolution, ultimately leading to the transformation of these sectors.
To understand these processes requires moving beyond the usual focus on the new system and also addressing the process from the standpoint of context actors. This involves examining how system actors mobilize context actors and how the latter perceive and respond to it; and investigating the processes that take place along their interaction, the effects at both levels and the conditions that influence them. These processes are also contextualised in space to investigate the implications of their multi-scalar nature and its effects on regional development.
The empirical analysis addresses the past trajectory and current situation in Portugal of two technologies - wave energy and offshore wind - and is complemented with a comparative analysis with Norway. It combines an assessment of the dynamics of interactions at system level, with an in-depth analysis of actors' behaviour, and i  |
Summary
The project investigates the conditions in which the process of transition to a sustainable energy system can drive the transformation of existing (often declining) industries, a still under-researched question despite its economic and political relevance. The empirical setting is the process of construction of a new system around ocean energy technologies and its contribution to the development of the sea economy in Portugal.
The project combines theoretical and empirical contributions from socio-technical transitions and economic geography to "contextualise" the development of the new system and investigate the nature and effects of its interactions with the context where it evolves. It focuses on the transformative potential of the co-evolution of the emerging system with "contiguous sectors" - i.e. existing sectors not initially involved with the technology that offer complementary competences - as processes of recombination of new and existing knowledge into new configurations may be enacted along such co-evolution, ultimately leading to the transformation of these sectors.
To understand these processes requires moving beyond the usual focus on the new system and also addressing the process from the standpoint of context actors. This involves examining how system actors mobilize context actors and how the latter perceive and respond to it; and investigating the processes that take place along their interaction, the effects at both levels and the conditions that influence them. These processes are also contextualised in space to investigate the implications of their multi-scalar nature and its effects on regional development.
The empirical analysis addresses the past trajectory and current situation in Portugal of two technologies - wave energy and offshore wind - and is complemented with a comparative analysis with Norway. It combines an assessment of the dynamics of interactions at system level, with an in-depth analysis of actors' behaviour, and includes three cases studies of technologies that consistently conducted experiments in specific locations. The results will unveil factors that explain: the engagement, alignment and competence upgrading of contiguous complementary sectors; processes of recombination of previous unrelated knowledge carried out by different actors and their implications for regions where such processes (partly) occur. The results contribute to a theoretical discussion on the modes of conduction of sustainable transitions and also to debates on "(un)relatedness" in firm and regional diversification. They will be widely disseminated to relevant stakeholders and support the design of policy mixes that aim at inducing pervasive effects in the economy, promoting a sustained industrial diversification.
The project is developed by a multidisciplinary team with a strong research background and benefits from the collaboration of the director of the collective organisation WAVEC and three international consultants. |