Diagnosis of the implementation of smart grid innovation in The Netherlands and corrective actions

With its potentially disruptive nature, the smart grid can be viewed from both a transformational and an innovation systems perspective. Synthesising these, a research approach is adopted in which a Technological Innovation System (TIS) analysis is combined with a transformational perspective to identify a broader range of success and failure factors. This study analyses smart grid innovation system development. The main research question is: What systemic and transformational failures are identified in the development of smart grid innovation in the Netherlands from 2001 to 2021 by combining TIS and a transformational perspective? The question is answered by mapping the events to TIS functions and identifying both ‘systemic failures’ and ‘transformational failures’. Transformational failures are linked to events outside the smart grid TIS that work against the alignment and harmonising of activities within the TIS. Results show that the smart grid innovation system experienced three periods and that it suffers from various structural and transformational failures. TIS functions like knowledge diffusion, and the creation of legitimacy were only fulfilled to a limited extent. Consequently, smart grid innovation is currently still not considered a mainstream technology in the energy transition, and there is little attention to the role of end-users. The study ends with suggestions for future research, including the suitability of the research approach for other contexts and when applied to other energy system innovations. [Display omitted] •The pathway of smart grid innovation in the Netherlands in 2000–2021 is analysed.•Systemic and transformational failures to smart grid innovation systems are analysed.•Despite policy support there is neither market formation nor creation of legitimacy.•There is insufficient knowledge exchange between end-users and entrepreneurs.•Transformational failures hinder solving systemic failures and TIS development.