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State Involvement without State Coordination

Johansson Mwanga, William LU (2026) EKHK18 20261
Department of Economic History
Abstract
HYBRIT is often presented as a flagship project in Sweden’s transition to fossil-free industry, but its implementation depends on systems that the project itself does not control: electricity supply, transport infrastructure, and environmental permitting. This thesis examines how the Swedish state identifies and responds to structural tensions in the implementation of HYBRIT and fossil-free steel in northern Sweden. Using public documents and a framework combining innovation system functions with Dahmén’s development block perspective, the analysis identifies three tensions: industrial electricity demand is moving faster than grid capacity can be delivered; rail, harbour, and yard investments are planned separately despite forming one... (More)
HYBRIT is often presented as a flagship project in Sweden’s transition to fossil-free industry, but its implementation depends on systems that the project itself does not control: electricity supply, transport infrastructure, and environmental permitting. This thesis examines how the Swedish state identifies and responds to structural tensions in the implementation of HYBRIT and fossil-free steel in northern Sweden. Using public documents and a framework combining innovation system functions with Dahmén’s development block perspective, the analysis identifies three tensions: industrial electricity demand is moving faster than grid capacity can be delivered; rail, harbour, and yard investments are planned separately despite forming one logistics chain; and permitting must become faster without weakening environmental scrutiny, local knowledge, or legal legitimacy. The thesis finds that the state recognises these tensions to a considerable extent but responds to them unevenly through separate roles as owner, infrastructure planner, strategic coordinator, and regulator. The case shows that state involvement is not the same as state coordination: a state may help make a green industrial project credible while still struggling to align the systems needed to implement it. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Johansson Mwanga, William LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Structural Tensions in the Implementation of HYBRIT and Fossil-Free Steel in Northern Sweden
course
EKHK18 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
HYBRIT, Luleå, State Involvement, Development Block, Fossil-Free, Fossil-Free Industry, Industrial Transformation
language
English
id
9237469
date added to LUP
2026-09-07 13:54:04
date last changed
2026-09-07 13:54:04
@misc{9237469,
  abstract     = {{HYBRIT is often presented as a flagship project in Sweden’s transition to fossil-free industry, but its implementation depends on systems that the project itself does not control: electricity supply, transport infrastructure, and environmental permitting. This thesis examines how the Swedish state identifies and responds to structural tensions in the implementation of HYBRIT and fossil-free steel in northern Sweden. Using public documents and a framework combining innovation system functions with Dahmén’s development block perspective, the analysis identifies three tensions: industrial electricity demand is moving faster than grid capacity can be delivered; rail, harbour, and yard investments are planned separately despite forming one logistics chain; and permitting must become faster without weakening environmental scrutiny, local knowledge, or legal legitimacy. The thesis finds that the state recognises these tensions to a considerable extent but responds to them unevenly through separate roles as owner, infrastructure planner, strategic coordinator, and regulator. The case shows that state involvement is not the same as state coordination: a state may help make a green industrial project credible while still struggling to align the systems needed to implement it.}},
  author       = {{Johansson Mwanga, William}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{State Involvement without State Coordination}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}