Innovation intermediary challenging the energy incumbent: enactment of local socio-technical transition pathways by destabilisation of regime rules

Figures & data

Figure 1. Analytical framework of the study (based on e.g. Geels et al. 2016).

Table 1. Main findings of the case study in Kalasatama.

Mechanisms of enactment (Geels et al. 2016)	Local enactment of sociotechnical transition
Structural conditioning of actors by existing rules and institutions	City benefits from reliable energy provision
	Economic benefits from CHP to the incumbent
	The established regime is about ingrained practices, competences and customer relations and established business alliances
	Commitment of the city to become carbon neutral challenges the incumbent to find new profitable business => incumbent launches R&D projects to find new business and maintain own position in the market and in the spatial area
	New land allocation rules support new, but possibly incremental solutions
Social interaction among actors	New urban living lab site created through the funding of Smart Kalasatama project, management given to the intermediary
	Intermediary brings together niche innovators and new ideas e.g. through regular Programme for Agile Piloting
	New constellations of co-operating companies through Innovators’ Club
	Co-operation with residents, lead users and small firms active in the spatially bounded area
	Shaking up the established partnerships of the incumbent by forcing new constellations of co-operation
Structural elaboration	Convening of innovators from various constituencies
	Disruption of existing innovation alliances and consortia
	Intermediary activities change unspoken rules of the market
	Offering a stage for aggregation of knowledge, creation of institutional infrastructure, framing and coordinating local activities
Acceptance and retention of new rules	Enhanced visibility for innovation activities through visits from other urban experimental sites
	Intermediary as a catalyst for market entrants that will profoundly transform the structure of the energy market
	Intermediary attempts to have an impact beyond the Kalasatama area and spread good practices and innovations within the city
	Creation of new business ecosystems to support innovation by forging new and long-term alliances by the intermediary
	Incumbent faces a risk through lacking accountability of novel partnerships in case collaboration fails

Table 1. Timeline of major events and activities in Kalasatama.

	Innovation intermediary ‘Forum Virium Helsinki’	Incumbent company ‘Helen’
2010	Start of the project of the smart grid business consortium	Helen’s ‘towards carbon neutrality by 2050’ development strategy, City of Helsinki sets energy related requirements for the construction in the area
2012		New City Council approves Helen’s development programme towards carbon neutrality, Helen starts to burn wood pellets in addition to coal at Hanasaari power plant located next to Kalasatama (also in Salmisaari, another location in Helsinki)
2013	Smart Kalasatama -project begins as part of the Smart city –programme of Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation) (funding 2013–2014), FVH takes the lead of the project’s management
2014	FVH initiates experimentation and pilot projects in the living lab
2015	Funding for the period of 2015–2017 is granted from the 6Aika-strategy, FVH initiates the Innovators’ Club including Helen as a member	City Council decision to close down Hanasaari B and shift partially to a separate heat production and decentralised energy system, Helen constructs the Suvilahti solar power plant attached to Kalasatama area and starts experimenting with its smart home service ‘Hima’ in two apartment buildings
2016	FVH initiates a Programme for Agile Piloting, (e.g. Toop, Foller against food waste, Smart waste basket, Button Neighbour, Fitnesspals, Auntie), the Innovators’ Club adjourns 4 times a year, Flex spaces are piloted	Helen builds Nordic’s largest grid-connected electricity storage (1,2 MW), Kivikko solar power plant founded (located in another part of the city), Helen’s energy storage (Europe’s largest battery) is taken in use
2017	Programme for Agile Piloting continues (e.g. Green House Effect, Smart minigrid, Rentapark, Solar energy for residents, Homecoal), the Innovators’ Club continues with focus on novel urban services enabled by IoT, a Flex spaces -pilot continues and expands with new funding
2033	The construction in the Kalasatama district is completed: last buildings are finalised in Verkkosaari

Source: Heiskanen et al. (2018).

Geels, Frank W., Florian Kern, Gerhard Fuchs, Nele Hinderer, Gregor Kungl, Josephine Mylan, Mario Neukirch, and Sandra Wassermann. 2016. “The Enactment of Socio-technical Transition Pathways: A Reformulated Typology and a Comparative Multi-level Analysis of the German and UK Low-carbon Electricity Transitions (1990–2014).” Research Policy 45 (4): 896–913. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2016.01.015

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Heiskanen, Eva, Eeva-Lotta Apajalahti, Kaisa Matschoss, and Raimo Lovio. 2018. “Incumbent Energy Companies Navigating the Energy Transitions: Strategic Action or Bricolage?” Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. doi:10.1016/j.eist.2018.03.001.

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