In this article, Nils Ohlendorf, Meike Löhr and Jochen Markard examine the conflicts and multi-sectoral dynamics around the topic of hydrogen on the basis of the hydrogen discourse in Germany. Based on a discourse analysis of 179 newspaper articles from five major German newspapers, we show that most actors are in favour of the use of hydrogen for decarbonisation. Sceptical voices emphasise that hydrogen will remain expensive and only conditionally available in the medium term.

Initial conflicts emerge on three issues: the production of hydrogen (green vs. blue), the application of hydrogen (mainly in hard-to-decarbonise-sectors or in all sectors) and imports.

Our conceptual contribution shows how the discourse on hydrogen technologies is influenced by developments in the heat and gas, industry, transport and electricity sectors. We argue that actor positions in the discourse are influenced by 1) the sectoral context, 2) sector-specific technologies, and 3) strategic actor interests. With our article we contribute to the debate on multi-system interactions.

The article can be found here: bit.ly/3SW57BD – or just contact us.

Shortly before the summer break, the newest REENEA research on "The evolving role of networking organizations in sustainability transitions" has been published. In the paper, Sebastian Rohe and Camilla Chlebna analyze two regional energy networks: The Oldenburger Energiecluster OLEC e.V. and the deENet Kompetenznetzwerk dezentrale Energietechnologien e. V. from Northern Hesse.

Methodologically, Sebastian and Camilla combine interviews with experts and stakeholders from inside and outside the networking organizations with a social network analysis of the network members and their connections (expressed in joint participation of events and meetings).

The paper investigates what role OLEC and deENet played for their respective energy transitions, how the structure of both networking organizations changed over time, what kinds of tensions went along with these changes, and how policy makers and network managers might address these challenges. With this research, the REENEA team further contributions to debates around sustainability transitions, specially on transition intermediaries and the role of networks in evolving Technological Innovation Systems.

Our article is published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change: doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121916

You can download it for free until 19th September 2022 following this link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1fVT998SGstkV

If you are interested in reading it after this date, please do not hesitate to contact us.

In this conceptual contribution Meike Löhr, Camilla Chlebna and Jannika Mattes elaborate the approach 'transition work' for which we provide a definition and a typology. Our contribution is based on the theoretical foundation of 'institutional work' which we combine with assumptions from transition research. The basic assumption is that actors actively shape transition processes through their actions, bringing about changes in three dimensions - the technological, the political-institutional, and the organizational/actor-related. Actors influence the transition process, for example, by creating or inventing something new, by actively maintaining existing rules or institutions that continue to be useful, and by disrupting or rejecting outdated ideas, technologies, or measures that contradict their interests.

We apply our approach to two transition processes in the wind sector in Hamburg and Uckermark. Although the two cases are very different, we can show that both 'create', 'maintain' and 'disrupt' are integral parts of transition processes. In our contribution, we further differentiate the term 'disrupt', to encompass not only activities that trigger change, but also those that oppose that change, thus also recognising resistance to change.

We see our contribution as a starting point for further discussion in the research field. 'Transition work' can be embedded in other theoretical approaches, and also extended in the future.

Our article was published in Environmental Innovation and Societal Tansitions: doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2021.12.005

You can download it for free until 9^th March 2022 following this link: authors.elsevier.com/c/1eRYN7sbuJDHHj

If you are interested in reading it after this date, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Research on the Geography of Innovation recognizes that innovation is multi-scalar, but we lack a systematic understanding of how innovation dynamics for specific technologies vary between regions. In the most recent REENEA publication, Sebastian Rohe and Jannika Mattes address this gap. The paper has now been published in the journal ‘Geoforum’.

The conceptual article combines research on Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) and Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) to highlight regional heterogeneity in TIS in a systematic way. It derives distinct ideal-typical configurations in which TIS organizations and institutions promoting a specific technology interact with general regional innovation support structures. These structures include various subsystems (science and education, industry, finance, politics and administration, civil society, and intermediaries).

Cases studies from the REENEA project on the onshore wind sector in Germany serve as empirical illustrations. The regions North Frisia, Magdeburg, and Oldenburg differ systematically in their ability to govern regional innovation autonomously, as well as in the spatial reach of their business innovation activities. The empirical cases help illustrate ideal-typical localist-grassroots, interactive-networked, and globalist-dirigiste TIS/RIS configurations. Each contributes differently to knowledge and market formation within the global technological system. For instance, market formation in the localist-grassroots configuration is associated with multiple niche markets, driven by regional entrepreneurs, and relies on regional demand and market advantages. On the contrary, market formation in the globalist-dirigiste case is driven by (inter-)national regulation and companies from outside the region and it rather relies on extra-regional demand and national market advantages.

Each configuration is also confronted with the innovation-related challenges of organizational/institutional thinness, lock-in, and fragmentation to a different extent. For instance, in the interactive-networked case, a feeling of complacency might facilitate a lock-in situation in which actors do not move beyond those activities already safely established. These insights can inform regional innovation policy aiming to push novel and more sustainable technologies. From the perspective of the global TIS, the typology underlines diverse roles of regions in developing and diffusing technologies: Some act as s niche hotbeds (localist-grassroots), some as hubs for linking innovation to other sectors (interactive-networked), some as specialists for technology production (globalist-dirigiste).

The article (doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.01.007) has been published in the journal ‘Geoforum’ (impact factor 2021: 3.901). Until March 12th, 2022, the article is available for open access download under this link:

authors.elsevier.com/a/1eSWT3pILaAB6

After this date, we will be happy to provide it to you directly if you are interested.

The only way to travel in the lockdown is digitally. Meike Löhr used this opportunity to present results of her dissertation and different paper projects.

The travel kick-off led to the Hamburg Science Congress on January 28, 2021, which marked the closing event of the project NEW 4.0 – Northern German Energy Transition. Within the framework of NEW 4.0, 60 partners investigated how the energy system of tomorrow - based on 100% renewable energies by 2035 - could look like in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. The shared interfaces to the REENEA project became clear not least due to the similar case study selection. Meike Löhr presented results of a case study comparison on Hamburg and the Uckermark, on which she is working with Camilla Chlebna and Jannika Mattes, under the title "The design of transition processes through network formation and disruption: transition work in the wind sector". Using Hamburg and the Uckermark as case studies, the authors test their concept of 'Transition Work', which includes a toolkit for the analysis of actors' activities, which can be used, for example, to identify slowing down and accelerating forces in the transition process.

On February 4, 2021, Meike Löhr was given the opportunity to present excerpts from two paper projects at the SusTec Colloquium of the "Group for Sustainability and Technology" at ETH Zurich. Under the title "From dissent to consent? Comparing energy transition beliefs in Danish, German and French advocacy coalitions" she presented results from her dissertation. Different coalitions of actors shape the energy transition processes of the respective countries through their beliefs. The shifting of existing coalition boundaries and the disintegration of traditional actor coalitions indicate the emergence of new coalitions as well as the neglect of previous lines of conflict, such as over renewable energy. Taking up this idea, Meike Löhr discussed first ideas of a paper project on hydrogen in Germany. In this currently rapidly developing field, new alliances as well as new lines of conflict are emerging, which are worth investigating with a view to the future transition path.

Finally, her digital journey led her to the south, to Italy. The University of Trento hosted the fifth Energy & Society conference on February 10, 2021, with the resounding theme "Energy transition: Does the mountain give birth to a mouse?" The focus of this presentation entitled "From institutional work to transition work: Actors creating, maintaining and disrupting transition processes" was, as at the beginning of the trip, on the presentation of the theoretical concept 'Transition Work' (together with Camilla Chlebna and Jannika Mattes). This concept connects two theoretical debates, organisational research and transition research, and could be introduced to a wider community on this occasion.

On 21^st January 2021 Camilla Chlebna and Jannika Mattes followed an invitation to present at the seminar series on City and Regional Sustainability Transitions (CREST) run by Laura Norris (Cardiff University, UK) and Will Eadson (Sheffield Hallam University, UK) through the Regional Studies Association (RSA). The successful format of the seminar is that an early career researcher presents alongside a more experienced researcher. Camilla presented alongside Christian Binz (EAWAG, Switzerland). Their presentations on recent and ongoing work were followed by a lively discussion on the aspect of fragility in regional energy transitions as well as on the greater question of the relationship between regional path creation and sustainability transitions. You can find a recording of the interesting session here (Thank you to Alex Holmes at the Regional Studies Association for producing this video): www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqYmLohKO3M   

How does a sustainable and future-oriented economic system look like and how can it be established? The recently published anthology "Zukunftsdiskurse: Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften" (Discourses on the Future: Sustainable Management)” discusses this topic from a variety of inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives. The publication thus summarizes results of the project "Zukunftsdiskurse: Sustainable management between society, economy and education". Around 30 stakeholders from business, politics and science met in various discourse formats (including Sebastian Rohe from the REENEA team). The participants discussed the tasks and roles of various actors in a sustainable economic system, as well as the mechanisms at the societal, corporate and individual level that make such a shift towards sustainability possible.

The contribution by Sebastian Rohe and Meike Löhr in the anthology discusses these topics and issues in an exemplary manner under the title "Renewable energy supply through wind energy: Development and challenges of the energy transition in the Oldenburg region". The authors map the transformation of the regional energy system and driving dynamics over time. They also examine the strategies of actors in response to changing political conditions. Theoretically, they draw on concepts from transition research. Accordingly, socio-technical change (towards a sustainable energy supply or economic system) occurs through an interplay of cooperating and conflicting actors and institutions (laws, norms, routines and expectations). Based on in-depth empirical illustrations, the article shows the possibilities and limits of regional transitions.

The anthology is available for free download on the wbv open access website.

The journal "Environmental Innovation and Societal Transition - EIST" (impact factor 2019: 8,4), published by Elsevier, focuses on the analysis of processes of innovation and transformation towards sustainability in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture and water. Accordingly, it is one of the best-known publication outlets for REENEA.

Recently, the second REENEA article entitled "The fragility of regional energy transitions" was published online and will go to press in the December issue. Camilla Chlebna and Jannika Mattes deal with the energy transition in Oldenburg: For each phase they describe the fundamental fragility of such transformation processes. In Oldenburg, this fragility is particularly pronounced in the current consolidation phase. However, the flexible response of regional actors on the ground will ensure further transformation. The article shows that energy transitions remain fragile even in supposedly "successful" regions. The transformation process can be delayed or interrupted at any time due to social and political dynamics within the region and their interaction with those outside the region. Until 15^th October 2020, the article is available free of charge at this link. After that the authors and the REENEA team will be happy to make it available directly.

Additionally, the first REENEA paper by Sebastian Rohe has been published in the September issue of EIST. The paper entitled ‘The regional facet of a global innovation system: Exploring the spatiality of resource formation in the value chain for onshore wind energy’ had already been published online by the journal in February and has now been printed. Until 27^th October 2020, the article is available free of charge via this link. After this, Sebastian and the REENEA team will be happy to provide it directly.

This year's 11th International Sustainability Transition (IST) Conference was held for the first time as an online event from August 18-21, 2020. Organised by the Austrian Institute of Technology and the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, around 650 international researchers presented their latest findings under the title "Governance in an Era of Change - Making Sustainability Transitions Happen". These were discussed in live lectures, as posters, in gallery sessions, as well as in breakout rooms and were accompanied by a virtual framework programme.  

Meike Löhr presented the paper "Transition work: Analysing transition processes as interplay of actors, institutions and technologies - evidence from the German wind sector". Together with Camilla Chlebna and Jannika Mattes, she developed the concept "Transition work". This concept adapts the "institutional work" approach to transition processes. Central elements of the approach are the three forms "create, maintain and disrupt", which can be used to record the activities of actors in transition processes and to examine the development of institutions, actors and technologies. The authors apply the concept empirically to the wind energy transition processes in Hamburg and the Uckermark. A comparison of the regions shows that transition processes consist of all three elements, i.e. "creation, maintenance and disruption" but that their occurrence in the regions is very different. This points to a more consolidated transition process in Hamburg than in the Uckermark.

Wind energy can be understood as an innovation system in which resources (knowledge, markets, investments, legitimacy) are decisive drivers for the development and diffusion of the technology. But how do different companies along the value chain create and use these resources at a regional level?

Sebastian Rohe examines this question in his contribution "The regional facet of a global innovation system", which has now been published in "Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions". This is the first time we have been able to publish partial results from the REENEA project in a scientific journal. Empirically, the article is based on the case study of the wind energy sector in the Oldenburg region, for which the REENEA team conducted interviews with a total of 31 experts.

The article looks at and discusses the "spatiality of resource formation" for all value chain segments: From turbine production, to project development, downstream services, and the operation of wind farms. In manufacturing, for example, the required knowledge is concentrated in regions or company headquarters of the turbine producers, while market success is determined by the sales price on (inter)national markets. In contrast, market access in project development is a customized, spatially sticky resource that depends on access to regional actor networks (such as land owners or licensing authorities). Project developers and plant operators can increase the legitimacy of wind energy diffusion through regionally tailored practises and business models. Financial investments, in turn, are no longer regionally tied, as wind farms are increasingly perceived as attractive investment objects on global financial markets.

With more than 2,000 participants from the wind energy industry, the 28th Wind Energy Days ("Spreewindtage") took place in Potsdam, Germany, from 5^th to 7^th November 2019. Numerous lectures on current challenges in the wind sector accompanied the established network meeting of the German wind industry as well as exhibition stands. Acceptance and continued operation of wind turbines were two of the most discussed topics among the participants.

Meike Löhr and Camilla Chlebna accepted the invitation of the FORWIND Institute of the University of Oldenburg to report on first project results. Camilla Chlebna discussed a subproject with Sebastian Rohe, which deals with the question of the legitimacy of wind energy with regional decision makers. The difference between generally supportive attitudes towards wind energy and the evaluation of concrete effects of wind energy on the regions is striking.

Meike Löhr reported on a subproject with Jannika Mattes, which deals with actor strategies in the current phase of the energy transition. Actors respond with different entrepreneurial strategies to the pressure on the industry caused by changing framework conditions. These may be individually rational, but have different effects on the energy transition process – partly slowing down, partly accelerating the transition.

All in all, the Spreewind Days offered interesting insights into the current burning issues in the wind industry as well as excellent networking opportunities.

The Regional Studies Association (RSA) hosted its annual Student and Early Career Conference in Lincoln, UK from 31^st October to 1^st November 2019. Camilla Chlebna and Sebastian Rohe participated for the REENEA team, but without travelling to the East English city. Instead, they were linked to the on-site sessions via video chat. The RSA had invited Camilla and Sebastian to virtually attend the conference in order to test this new format. Thus the RSA and REENEA contribute to reducing the number of air trips in academia.

Camilla and Sebastian had the opportunity to talk about two recent REENEA papers. Sebastian presented the project "The Legitimacy of Onshore Wind Energy: Exploring Differences between Decision Makers across Regions". Based on a survey among regional decision makers from Oldenburger Land and Uckermark-Barnim, Sebastian and Camilla compare and contrast different dimensions of acceptance for wind energy development in both regions.

Camilla also presented another paper which she is currently working on with Jannika Mattes and Hanna Martin (Karlstad University, Sweden). The conceptual paper "Grasping regional development dynamics - towards a concept of transformative change" develops an integrative framework to analyse regional path development and sustainability transitions together.

From 23 to 26 June 2019 the International Sustainability Transitions Conference took place outside Europe for the first time at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. At the tenth IST Conference, current questions of (energy) transition research were discussed under the topic "Accelerating sustainability transitions: Building visions, unlocking pathways, navigating conflicts". The scientist Meike Löhr presented research results from the REENEA project. These dealt with actor strategies in response to changing conditions in the German wind sector. The introduction of tenders for renewable energies in Germany means a change in the funding system, which poses new challenges for stakeholders - from project planners and financiers to manufacturers. Whilst some particular effects are specific to the German system, the introduction of tenders is an international development as part of the second transition phase which would have to be accompanied by an acceleration of the transition process. Theoretical and practical questions concerning the acceleration of the transition process were the focus of the scientific debate among transition researchers and will also continue to occupy the REENEA team.

On invitation of the regional utility EWE I seized the opportunity to present REENEA and some preliminary results from the case study in the Uckermark region at the EWE regional dialogue session in Strausberg in Brandenburg. Other inputs were an update from the EWE enterprise and a best practice example of a smart energy neighbourhood in the Petershagen/Eggersdorf community. The short input on preliminary results from the case study resulted in a lively exchange amongst the present regional representatives. The contents were vehemently discussed amongst the around 20 participants and I was able to collect numerous recommendations for further interview partners and also was able to broaden our understanding of the region even further. 

"Transitions to where? Shared values and visions for sustainability transitions" was the motto of the fourth NEST conference, which took place in Portugal on the 4^th and 5^th of April 2019. Around 80 young scientists met in Lisbon to exchange their ideas on this topic and present their research on various sustainability issues.

The REENEA team was represented by Sebastian Rohe, who presented the first paper of his dissertation. He examines the importance of the regional level for the wind energy sector on the basis of the first case study in the Oldenburg region. A conclusion from his paper: While knowledge is increasingly universally applicable and globally exchanged in this sector, the interaction of regional actors and networks remains crucial to create new markets and legitimacy for the technology.

Overall, the conference was a great opportunity to present a glimpse of the REENEA research and to establish further networks in the diverse and interdisciplinary community of “sustainability transitions".

Dr Hanna Martin visited the REENEA team for one week, from 4^th to 8^th March. It was a week full of interesting conversations, fruitful exchanges and mutually beneficial feedback on ongoing work:

Hanna Martin is a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Regional Studies at Karlstad University in Sweden. She is also employed as a researcher at the Department for Business Administration at the Business School at Gothenburg University, Sweden. Hanna has a PhD in social and economic geography from Lund University, Sweden that she completed in 2016. Her research interest lies at the intersection of economic geography and regional development, innovation studies and socio-technical transition studies. During her visit at Oldenburg University she joined the REENEA team to discuss different theoretical and empirical approaches for grasping grand societal challenges. The core challenge was the framing of regional transformations as social processes.

On Friday 8^th March Dr Hanna Martin and the REENEA team were joined by Prof Jens Köhrsen for a one-day workshop:

Jens Köhrsen is an assistant professor at Basel University in Switzerland. Jens’ background is in sociology, religious studies and transitions research. He currently works on a project on “Urban Green Religions” which focuses on the role of religion in sustainability transitions. One particular focus of the workshop was the application of sociological theory to regional transitions. Jens presented a study which uses field theory to analyse the transition process in the Northern German city of Emden. The workshop participants discussed ways of developing field theory further to understand better the dynamics of interaction between field actors.

The collaboration between the involved researchers will continue with further visits and joint publications already underway.

Jannika Mattes and Sebastian Rohe participate as experts in the round table discussion on wind energy organised by the Landkreis Wesermarsch in Brake. The title of their lecture is 'Vielfältige Akteure und gegensätzliche Interessen im Windenergieausbau: Energiewandel als sozialer Prozess'.

To kick off the REENEA case study in and around Magdeburg, Meike Löhr and Sebastian Rohe travelled to the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt during the week of 22-25 October. There, they attended the seminar of the industry association BWE "Basics of onshore wind energy". In the three-day seminar not only technical, legal and economic fundamentals for the planning and operation of wind turbines were conveyed, but also current challenges and developments in the sector were discussed. The seminar was accompanied by an excursion to Enercon in Magdeburg-Rothensee. The REENEA team also used the stay in Magdeburg to conduct a first expert interview in the case study region and to gain further contacts.

On 27^th and 28^th September a group of REENEA researchers visited WindEurope, Europe’s largest wind energy fair, in Hamburg. Both at the industry conference as well as at the wind energy fair they gained an impression of the challenges of and the current debates and themes within the German, the European, and the global wind energy sector. At the fair they made interesting contacts and further expanded the network of the REENEA team. 

At the Science Soirée, the audience is appointed in a lottery. Jannika Mattes presented empirical results from the Oldenburg case study of the REENEA project in front of about 30 people. In the discussion that followed, it particularly became clear how important also interested citizens regard social science research in relation to energy transitions.

Jannika Mattes, Camilla Chlebna, Meike Löhr, Sebastian Rohe attended the 39th Congress of the German Society for Sociology (DGS) in Göttingen (24.-28.09.2018) with a lecture on 'Regional Transition Fields: Energy Change as a Social Process'. The presentation took place in the joint event of the sections Organizational Sociology and Science and Technology Research, which was entitled "Innovation Fields. Fields of Action for the Coordination of Complex Innovations". In the discussion of the various contributions, it became clear how difficult it is to empirically break down and apply the concept of Strategic Action Fields. At the same time, the various field-theoretical approaches worked as a good link between the very different research areas.

At the annual meeting of the Energy Cluster Oldenburg (OLEC), innovative energy projects from the North-West region around Oldenburg were presented, and regulatory challenges were discussed with stakeholders from science, administration and the economy. The REENEA team contributed to the annual meeting by sharing their first insights regarding the development of the regional wind energy sector: Sebastian Rohe presented first results from the Oldenburg case study to regional energy actors. Therefore, the meeting was a great opportunity to increase the regional impact of the project by sharing some early results and gaining feedback from the practitioners – some of whom had participated in interviews during the field study. After the presentation, there was a lively debate amongst audience members how best to increase the acceptance and legitimacy of the use of wind energy at the regional level – a question which had also been identified by the REENEA team as important within the region. In the final panel discussion, Sebastian Rohe argued to put more effort into the issue of acceptance not only in innovative pilot projects, but also in the routine, business as usual development of established technologies. The discussants further called for the possibility for regional pilot projects to be exempted from certain national regulations to facilitate the testing of new solutions.  You can find more information here.

On 3^rd and 4^th May an introductory kick-off workshop organised by the project team of the DFG funded REENEA project led by Prof Jannika Mattes took place at University of Oldenburg. Ten internationally renowned transition scholars followed the invitation to the event titled “Energy Systems in Transition – The Role of Agents in Regional Transition Processes” and gave inspiring talks. Discussions amongst participants immediately after the talks were lively and continued informally over coffee and cake. The REENEA team gained important insights on the relations between agents and institutions and on the relevance of the regional level in wider reaching transition processes. The team wishes to thank the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence “Europeanising Coastal Regions” for the financial support of the workshop.