A lecture by Associate Professor Huiwen Gong, University of Stavanger (Economic Geography)
Lecture description
A key challenge to achieving a net-zero transition by mid-century is rapid diffusion of several low-carbon technologies which requires massive upscaling of production capacity including vast use of material resources. However, both diffusion theory and main transition studies frameworks pay insufficient attention to the role of material resources. To better understand the relationships between diffusion, production, and material use in technology diffusion and transitions, we conceptually elaborate the role of material resources in the value chain perspective on Technological Innovation Systems (TIS).
We account for how material scarcity appears and how it influences TIS structural and functional dynamics with particular attention to how actors along the value chain respond. Our study of China's Electric Vehicle lithium-ion battery TIS value chain shows that a shortage of critical materials occurred due to structural tensions between sectoral regimes along the value chain which influenced the TIS structural and functional dynamics both within and across sectors. The study contributes new insights on the role of materials in TIS and circular value chains, on how the TIS growth and diffusion phase unfolds, and on how urgency of a net-zero transition and geopolitics influence diffusion.
The lecture is hosted by the Department of Culture and Oriental Lanugages and the ERC-funded project Brokering China's Extraversion (Project ID 802070).
About the lecturer
Huiwen Gong is Associate Professor of Regional Studies and Innovation at the Business School of the University of Stavanger. Her research focuses on the geographies of sustainability transitions, Sino-Europe industrial dynamics, regional foresight and the geography of innovation with a particular interest in the battery value chains in China and Europe.
She has conducted extensive field research in various industries (video games, blockchain, and batteries) in different regions in China, Germany and Switzerland. Her current research examines the strategies for building battery value chains by corporate and state actors in China and Europe (Germany and Nordic countries) under intensified geopolitical tensions with a particular focus on the local social, environmental and economic impacts of such a global battery craze.