The project investigates the conditions in which the process of transition to a sustainable energy system can also drive the transformation of existing (often declining) industries, focusing on the construction of a new system around ocean energy technologies and its contribution to the development of a Sea Economy.

The research combines contributions from socio-technical transitions and economic geography to contextualise the process of new system development, in order to investigate the nature and effects of its interplay with contiguous industries that can offer complementary competences and thus become part of new recombination processes. These processes are also contextualised in space and the implications of their multi-scalar nature for regional development are investigated.

The results can support the definition of policy mixes that promote alignment between heterogeneous actors and enhance learning from their interaction, leading to sustained industrial diversification.