On November 18th, 2021, DIALOGUES coordinator Energieinstitut at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, participated in the Symposium: ”Social innovation: next steps in the energy transition”, organised by the platform on Social Innovation in the Energy Transition at Delft University of Technology

The sustainable energy transition has a radical – even disruptive - impact on the functioning of energy systems. Besides technological change, it causes and requires major social, behavioural, organisational, and institutional change. The transition comes with many novelties, yet the disruptive impact is not entirely clear. Relevant issues in this regard include new energy sources, new technologies, new roles for producers, grid operators, consumers and citizens, new energy services, new business models, smart grids, novel governance arrangements and policies, but also new concerns and questions regarding justice and inclusiveness.

The main questions proposed during the Symposium were:

• how social innovation and technology can influence the sustainable transition or energy systems? and
• how technology and social innovation may mutually influence one another?

The Symposium brought together practitioners and scientists from all over the world who shared their research findings, government plans and (industrial) developments in the field of social innovation and the energy transition and engaged in lively debates.

Some of the topics addressed during the Symposium were:

• Social movements in sustainable transitions
• Government responses and social innovation
• Energy justice and energy democracy
• Conspiracy theory and the politics of energy transitions
• Social innovations circular transitions
• The role of psychology for sustainable transitions
• Artificial Intelligence and the use of digital platforms for sustainable transitions
• Energy transitions throughout the world
• Social innovations for sustainable housing and renovation
• Community Energy

More information about the event > HERE