Arenas of Expectations for Hydrogen Technologies

Technological options can be regarded as variations in an evolutionary development process. The variations are put forward by their respective technological communities and are selected by technology selectors. Building on the notion of quasi-evolutionary technology development we show how technological communities secure their position on R&D agendas through feeding and maintaining expectations in arenas of expectations. We examine this process by studying the expectations work of the community that tries to develop metal hydrides for the on-board storage of hydrogen for mobile applications. Metal hydrides are proposed as a promising alternative to gaseous and liquid hydrogen storage but are yet underdeveloped. Its proponents however, succeed in convincing their sponsors of the future potential of metal hydrides. In this paper we show how expectations of this technological option are raised and maintained by its developers and how this has kept them on hydrogen technology agendas for over 40 years.alternative fuel, energy storage, hydrogen, mobility, on-board

In search of relevance: The changing contract between science and society

This paper presents a framework to study the historical development of the relationship between science and society. We elaborate this relationship as a contract that specifies the mission of scientific research, the rationales for public support for science, and the conditions under which scientists work. These three structural elements will always be part of the contract, but their specific content can vary. The credibility cycle, as a model for scientific practice, helps to describe and understand the consequences of a changing contract for the work of individual scientists. A brief case study of chemistry in the Netherlands demonstrates the usefulness of the framework. We show how concepts of relevance have changed since 1975 and how this affects the practice of academic chemistry.relevance, contract, credibility cycle, chemistry

Innovation, Demand, and Responsibility: Some Fundamental Questions About Health Systems; Comment on “What Health System Challenges Should Responsible Innovation in Health Address? Insights From an International Scoping Review”

In this commentary on the exercise of Lehoux et al (this volume) I argue that in discussions on the current challenges of health systems, a better diagnosis of the health system is required. The cause of responsible innovation in health (RIH) requires a better understanding of the dynamics of health systems, in particular how innovation, demand, and responsibility are manifested. Innovation brings its own dynamic to the health system; demands are linked to historical and social developments; responsibility brings contestations about what counts as good healthcare. Any attempt of RIH should include such reflections

The quest for citizen governance of energy resources

Study of new networks that are currently emerging in the local energy initiatives

Highways to Silence Revisited: A History of Discourse Coalitions around Traffic Noise

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the density of road traffic in the Global North decreased considerably. For those enjoying the resulting tranquillity, it prompted the hope that this experience would raise public noise awareness and alter mobility culture. Now that Global North economies are returning to pre-pandemic levels, however, not much appears to have changed. This article aims to contribute to understanding the persistence of the status quo by historically tracing discourse coalitions around traffic noise in the twentieth and early twenty-first century. Discourse coalitions are connections between groups of actors that have opposing interests but share a specific set of storylines concerning a public problem. As we will show by focusing on the issue of traffic noise in the Netherlands, the long-term results of these discourse coalitions -in terms of discourse structuration, institutionalization and destabilization- tend to shift attention away from structural interventions in traffic flows

Intermediaries in accelerating transitions : Introduction to the special issue

Sociotechnical transitions are complex processes that imply far-reaching technological, institutional and cultural changes. Transition intermediaries have emerged as potentially powerful actors and entities to speed up transitions. As much previous literature on intermediaries in transitions has focused on emergence, in this special issue, we focus on intermediaries in the acceleration phase of transitions. The contributions address different domains, with specific focus on different parts of the energy production and consumption system. The contributions cover three themes: intermediary actors in the diffusion of new solutions, in policy change, and systemic intermediaries. We end by making three observations regarding intermediation in the acceleration of sustainability transitions: new types of stakeholders coming into transition processes requiring new forms of intermediation; contestation and tensions becoming stronger, creating new challenges for intermediaries, and; potential confusion within intermediary actors.nonPeerReviewe