Support Social Impact Research Projects

We are working on the following Social Impact Research Projects:

A) PROJECT No. 3: Transition brokers for decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate industries, or B) PROJECT No. 4: Infrastructure fund-raising mechanisms for sustainability transitions.

PROJECT NO. 3: Social Impact Research Projects – Transition Brokers for Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Industries

The academic team at Borderless Renewables has made a substantial contribution to transition policy literature by identifying the key entities that facilitate sustainability transitions (Markard et al., 2012; Kivimaa et al., 2019) and mapping their positions within a complex system. The findings highlight the critical role of intermediaries in bridging diverse technological sectors and networks—such as energy generation, storage, and ICT—within these systems. By integrating these networks, intermediaries facilitate transitions at both the acceleration and stabilization stages.

Brokers play a pivotal role in enabling transitions by holding together technological networks within the transition system. Through this mechanism, they amplify commercial value within the networks they connect. As demonstrated in this study, using the example of clean energy and ICT networks, brokers enhance commercial value in sustainability transition networks by redirecting value from traditional industries that emerged during the fossil fuel era.

Empirical findings in public policy reveal that “brokers”—intermediaries—play a crucial role as key catalysts accelerating sustainability transitions (Hodson et al., 2013; Kivimaa et al., 2019) by linking networks into a complex system (Trofimova-Elliot et al., 2025). These technologies will create the next trillion-dollar value system. We are developing a prototype transition policy and business model for the co-creation of system brokers within networks that most urgently require decarbonisation.

The next stage involves identifying transition brokers within hard-to-abate industries. Hard-to-abate industries account for 30 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and there is currently no commercialised technology available to decarbonise them, other than hydrogen. Over EUR 3.9 trillion per year until 2050 is required to commercialise, for example, clean hydrogen production. Given the limited availability of interest and funding on this scale, decarbonisation through sustainability brokers, creating commercial value in networks that integrate decarbonisation technologies and their application to historically unrelated and diverse industries into complex system, is essential to achieve net zero commitments in time.

The POLICY CLUB is currently modelling these industries to strategically position technological brokers in high-value economic roles, linking diverse technological configurations that transfer value from traditional sectors developed in the fossil fuel era to emerging low-carbon substitutes.

We welcome any contributions to support this work. Consistent contributors will have early access to working group discussions and results before they are released as open access.

PROJECT No. 4: Infrastructure fund-raising mechanisms for sustainability transitions.

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