School of Earth & Environment SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Towards service-based infrastructure: Multi-

Utility Service Companies

Katy Roelich, Christof Knoeri, Julia K. Steinberger

2111 Utility Service Provision Imagination Workshop

Cranfield 24th February 2012

Outline

1. Project context

2. Infrastructure operation`s barriers to efficiency

• Governance based on unmanaged demand

• Exclusion of end-user

• Separation of infrastructure streams

3. Project aim and objective

4. Multi-Utility Service Companies as a possible solution

5. Co-evolution of social and technical systems

6. Conclusion and outlook

2

Context of the project

Origin:

• EPSRC sandpit on "Achieving adaptable assets: sustainable integrated infrastructure“

Focus:

• Focusing on the pathway to service provision and infrastructure operation rather than on technologies

Project team:

• Julia Steinberger, Katy Roelich, Liz Varga and Christof Knoeri

3

Project collaboration

4

Land of Multi Utility Service

Companies (MUSCos) Project team: University of Leeds /

Cranfield University

University of Leeds

Sustainability research

Institute (SRI)

Dr. Julia Steinberger

(PI)

Katy Roelich (AI)

Christof Knoeri

Tina Schmieder

Cranfield

University

Complex Systems

Research Centre

(CSRC)

Dr. Liz Varga

(CoI)

Newcastle

University

Transports Operations

Research Group

(TORG)

Prof. Phil Blythe (CoI)

University of

Exeter

Centre for Water

Systems

Prof. David Butler

(CoI)

University of

Edinburgh

Institute for Energy

Systems

Prof. Gareth Harrison

(CoI)

Oxford Brookes

University

Low Carbon Building

Group

Dr. Rajat Gupta

(CoI)

University of Leeds

Institute for Resilient

Infrastructure (iRI)

Dr. Phil Purnel (CoI)

ARUP

Global Energy

Strategy

Malcolm Ball

Kimberly

Clark

Technical

Director

Allan Wyatt

RSSB

Senior Research

Strategy Manager

Dr. Tanya McCallum

IBM

University

Relations

Manager

Steve P. Legg

Institute for

Sustainability

Research and

Business Development

Ed Metcalfe

Network Rail

Research and

Development

Specialist

Paul Richards

BRE

Strategic

Research

Peter Ball

Project work packages

5

WP1:

“Standardizing services”

• end-user interface

• technical and economic issues

• standardized service contracts

WP2:

“Creative intervention”

• governance landscape

• regulations, incentives,

motivation, drivers, constraints

WP3:

“Socio-technical model”

• Identify barriers and opportunities

• Environmental & economic outcomes

• Technical integration of infrastructures

Inefficiency infrastructure operation Marginal Abatement Cost curve

6 Source: McKinsey 2010 “Impact of the financial crisis on carbon economics”

Inefficient infrastructure operation

Governance

7 Source: Unruh, (2000)

Inefficient infrastructure operation

Exclusion of end-user

8 Source: Geels (2005)

9

Inefficient infrastructure operation

Separation of infrastructure streams

Source:

Rinaldi et al., (2002)

Project aim

Problem:

Governance based on unmanaged demand, the exclusions of the end-user and the separation of different infrastructure streams are obstacles to technical innovation and longer term sustainability.

Aim:

The central aim of the project is to address all three of these challenges simultaneously through the study and modelling of service-based infrastructure configurations (for example MUSCos) as co-evolving social and technical systems.

10

Now: inefficient, uneconomical, unsustainable

End user

Utility A

Utility B Utility C

Utility D

Appliances

From product to performance-based economies

Steinberger, Van Niel & Bourg 2009

Solution? Multi-Utility Service Companies

End user

Utility A

Utility B Utility C

Utility D

MUSCo

Appliances

Co-evolution of social and technical systems

14

Source: Geels and

Schot (2007)

Conclusion

• Governance based on unmanaged demand, excluding the end-user and the separation of different infrastructure streams are obstacles to technical innovation and longer term sustainability.

• Service-based utility provision may have the potential to overcome some of these barriers requiring a transition from a throughput-product-based to a service-performance-based economy.

• The study and modelling of service-based infrastructure configurations as coevolving social and technical systems allows for simultaneously addressing the current challenges of inefficient infrastructure operation.

15

Thank you for your attention

16