Governance of energy system transition: theoretical framework and empirical analysis in Europe

Transformation towards sustainable energy system requires substantial changes in current energy production and consumption patterns. This paper addresses system transition as a valuable approach in contributing to these changes. The main purpose of the paper is to develop and apply a framework for analysing and supporting energy system research and governance. This paper is based on literature review, expert consultations and empirically based-theory building. The developed framework is applied in the analysis of a selected case study of the European hydrogen energy system governance. The main result of the paper is that different governance and funding models with their practices and experiences can play an important role in the transition, but even more important may be the combined use of different modes that contribute to the development of the energy system transition. Moreover, the use of such an overarching transition framework supports the coordination efforts between many sometimes even controversial efforts in the development of energy systems.