1. Proposed Lead Supervisor or Supervisory Team
Prof. Tim Foxon
Prof. Johan Schot
External supervisor from ITN project partner (if proposal accepted)
Note: A proposal requires at least one supervisor to be identified. In order to offer
admissions, two supervisors need to be identified and a third if neither of the two have
previously supervised a candidate to completion.
2. Title of Project
Transforming the energy sector by the digital revolution
3. Relation of project to research aims of supervisors and/or SPRU strategy
This project would form part of the Marie Curie ITN proposal (if accepted), but could also be
offered as a stand-alone PhD project. This would form of the Deep Transition research
programme, being led by Prof. Schot and Prof. Foxon, as well as linking to Prof. Foxon’s
previous research on the role of smart grids in a low carbon transition.
4. Rationale of the project (a brief statement of the context and need for the
research and the possible contribution of the project to existing knowledge)
including (where appropriate) research methods that might be employed.
The project would examine the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in
transforming organisational practices and business models in the energy sector to
contribute to realising a low carbon transition. Drawing on insights from past ‘great surges
of development’ led by technological revolutions, it has been suggested that green
technologies could provide a direction for the widespread deployment of the ICT-based
surge (Perez, 2013). Drawing on historical insights, qualitative analysis and empirical
research, this project will examine the potential for such a convergence of ICT and green
technologies in the energy sector, the barriers to this and how they might be overcome in
such a way that this deployment contributes to economic, social and environmental aims.
Possible areas for analysis could include the development of smart grids for electricity
distribution and use. It is claimed that smart grids could enable energy networks to manage
embedded renewable energy suppliers, communicate between the producers and users of
electricity, utilise ICT to respond to and manage demand, and ensure safe and secure
electricity distribution, but challenges remain in relation to value creation and which actors
will benefit from this (Hall and Foxon, 2014). This research will explore alternative sociotechnological scenarios for the deployment of smart grids and related technologies,
focussing on roles of actors, including distribution network operators, ICT companies,
municipal authorities and regulators, and new business models and institutional changes
that may be needed to realise alternative pathways.
5. Selected References (to indicate the literature that might be relevant for an
applicant considering the position)
Foxon, T J (2013), ‘Transition pathways for a UK low carbon electricity future’, Energy Policy
52, pp. 10-24.
Hall, S and Foxon, T J (2014), ‘Values in the Smart Grid: the co-evolving political economy of
smart distribution’, Energy Policy 74, pp. 600-609.
Perez, C (2013), ‘Unleashing a golden age after the financial collapse: Drawing lessons from
history’, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 6, pp. 9-23.