Towards a Hydrogen Economy Co-evolution between Institutions and Technology

1
Towards a Hydrogen Economy Co-evolution between
Institutions and Technology

• Daniel Scholten
• 3 March 2008

2
Contents

• Coherence as Objective
• Situation Sketch
• Coherence Applied
• Dynamic Coherence?
• Problems with Coherence

3
Coherence as Objective

• Coherence between I and T is important for
  performance
• From past to future coherence as a policy
  objective
• Dilemma coherence is static concept, unfit for
  processes
• Option combine insights of coherence with
  co-evolution
• Problem owner Dutch national government policy
  makers
• Case hydrogen as energy carrier for transit
  applications
• How can the Dutch government stimulate coherence
  and co-evolution between I and T while making a
  transition to a hydrogen economy?

4
Situation Sketch
5
Coherence Applied

• Model hydrogen introduction as an S-curve with
  four phases.
• Develop transition roadmaps for hydrogen in The
  Netherlands
• Use coordination mechanisms to go from T to I
  (all layers)
• Use co-evolutionary theory to analyze the
  likelihood of coherence emerging out of
  government policies from phase to phase
• So coordination mechanisms are useful to design
  I fitting T settings

6
Dynamic Coherence?
7
Problems with Coherence

• Some problems
• Too much coherences (between layers, I and T,
  per phase, over chain)
• Coherence works within paradigms, not with shift
  of paradigm
• Multiple technologies possible ? multiple
  equilibria ? coherence?
• Transition process alters role of economics of
  infrastructures
• Co-evolutionary processes involve element of
  choice, not solely efficiency and effectiveness
• So coherence useful for policy formulation, but
  is lost in execution
• What can stimulating co-evolution mean to remedy
  this?

8

• Questions?
• Thank You!