SCOSSA - Sector coupling in energy transitions as sociotechnical processes

EU’s commitment in reducing greenhouse gas emissions implies to shift towards a decarbonized economy and from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Electrification processes will take place through the interoperability (or sector coupling) of energy systems with other sectors, such as mobility and logistics, at multiple levels. Until now sector coupling has been mainly processed in terms of on energy technologies, data availability, sharing and processing and grid infrastructures. However, sector coupling means, first of all, to introduce a higher level of complexity and uncertainties in terms of management and organizational processes, knowledge production, planning, decision-making and last but not least, resilience. So in order to face the challenges of energy transitions, a holistic sociotechnical approach, is needed in order to bridge technical solutions and managerial as well as operational capabilities across organizational boundaries. This is the proposition of the SCOSSA project which has two main goals:

1. to develop new knowledge on how sector coupling in energy transition is actually done through the development of new sociotechnical practices.
2. to provide stakeholders a conceptual and practical framework for acting upon sector coupling challenges and to empower them with a capacity to anticipate.