• Energy Research
• EU close
• Energy Research close
• University of Szczecin close

The energy transition is one of humanity’s most significant challenges. All micro, small, medium, and large enterprises will have to face it, and some are already making progress. This paper focuses on the involvement of the smallest actors in the energy transition. Micro and small enterprises comprise the largest part of the economy and significantly impact its development. Concerning the broad scope of their activities, these entities are characterized by a specific owner–manager relationship. This means that the final decision is influenced by business objectives, the manager’s approach, their awareness of change, and personal and other factors. Based on the analysis of data from 400 companies, it was found that the involvement of micro and small enterprises in the energy transition is related to their market and financial success.

Integrated sediment multiproxy studies and modeling were used to reconstruct past changes in the Baltic Sea ecosystem. Results of natural changes over the past 6000 years in the Baltic Sea ecosystem suggest that forecasted climate warming might enhance environmental problems of the Baltic Sea. Integrated modeling and sediment proxy studies reveal increased sea surface temperatures and expanded seafloor anoxia (in deep basins) during earlier natural warm climate phases, such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Under future IPCC scenarios of global warming, there is likely no improvement of bottom water conditions in the Baltic Sea. Thus, the measures already designed to produce a healthier Baltic Sea are insufficient in the long term. The interactions between climate change and anthropogenic impacts on the Baltic Sea should be considered in management, implementation of policy strategies in the Baltic Sea environmental issues, and adaptation to future climate change.

Context: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a turbulent business environment, resulting in market uncertainties, frustrations, and rumors. Wrongly held beliefs—or myths—can hinder startups from turning new market opportunities into their favor (for example, by failing at diversification decisions) or undertaking wrong business decisions, e.g., diversifying in industries that have products of no real market value). Objectives: The objective of the paper is to identify the beliefs that drive the business decisions of startups in a pandemic and to isolate those beliefs that are merely myths. Further, this paper proposes strategic guidelines in the form of a framework to help startups make sound decisions that can lead to market success. Method: The two-step research method involved multiple case studies with five startups based in India, France, Italy, and Switzerland, to identify perceptual beliefs that drove strategic business decisions, followed by a case study of 36 COVID-19-solution focused startups, funded by the European Union (EU). The findings were validated through a survey that involved 102 entrepreneurs. The comparative analysis of two multiple case studies helped identify beliefs that were merely “myths”; myths that drove irrational strategic decisions, resulting in business failures. Results: The results indicate that startups make decisions in pandemic situations that are driven by seven myths, pertaining to human, intellectual, and financial resources. The decision on whether to diversify or continue in the same business operation can be divided into four strategic options of the Competency-Industry Relatedness (C-IR) framework: ignore, delay, phase-in, and diversify. Diversification in the same (or different industry) is less risky for startups if they have the skills, as needed, to diversify in related industries. Diversification in related industries helps startups leverage their experiences and learning curves (those associated with existing product lines) to adapt their existing products in new markets, or utilize their technologies to solve new problems via new products. The desired outcome for these startups should be sustainable business growth—to meet sustainability goals by contributing to the society and the economy. Conclusion: The C-IR framework is a strategic guide for startups to make business decisions based on internal factors, rather than myths. Accurately assessing skill diversity and the nature of new industries (or markets) will help startups leverage their existing resources optimally, without the need for (pricey) external funding. This will foster sustained business growth resulting in a nation economic development. Knowledge transfer from the Innovation ecosystem will further strengthen the C-IR framework effectiveness.

The global energy crisis, which began in 2021 due to the extraordinary economic recovery after the pandemic and intensified after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has changed the conditions of energy management, paying more attention to energy efficiency. Natural gas prices have reached record levels and, consequently, so have electricity prices in some markets. Oil prices have reached their highest level since 2008. Higher energy prices have contributed to sharply increased inflation. Households are again becoming interested in buying coal as a source of heat. High energy and gas prices have pushed many families into poverty and forced some factories to cut production or even close. They have also slowed economic growth to the point where some countries are heading for a serious recession. Paradoxically, the negative effects of the energy crisis may accelerate the introduction of cleaner, sustainable, renewable energy such as wind and solar energy. The energy crisis is comparable to the oil crisis of the 1970s, when it contributed to significant advances in energy efficiency. The current crisis has highlighted the importance of investments in renewable energy resources and initiated the process of integrating regional markets, developing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energies. The aim of this article is to comprehensively explore the complex relationship between energy awareness, consumption patterns, and energy efficiency, with a focus on both individual consumers and industries, during the global energy crisis. This paper is based on a literature review, overarching policy documents, energy reports, and other secondary documents. The primary research method was the systematic literature review method, based on which the impact of the global energy crisis on energy efficiency was evaluated. This study emphasizes the diverse influences on energy awareness, ranging from economic factors to consumer preferences and environmental consciousness. The findings of the paper underscore the significant responsibility of industries in contributing to energy-saving efforts and the active role of consumers in the energy market. The responsibility of industries in contributing to energy efficiency is highlighted, with a call for a comprehensive approach that integrates energy-saving criteria into product development and corporate social responsibility.

One of the main aims of Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), an advanced stellarator, is to investigate the quasi-steady state operation of magnetic confinement devices for nuclear fusion, for which power exhaust is an important issue. A dominant fraction of the energy leaving from the confined plasma region will be removed by 10 so-called island divertor units, which are designed to sustain a maximum heat flux of up to 10 MWm−2. An essential prerequisite for the safe operation of a steady-state device is automatic detection of hot spots and other abnormal events. Simple temperature limits in infrared (IR) thermographic images will not be enough on their own, because of plasma-generated surface coatings and other effects summarized in the following. To protect divertor elements from overheating, and to monitor power deposition onto the divertor elements, near real-time hotspot detection algorithms for the analysis of carbon plasma facing components (PFCs) were implemented and tested in the GLADIS facility.One of the difficulties in hotspot detection in a carbon-based machine is the deposition of plasma impurities as layers with a reduced thermal connection to the underlying bulk material. We have developed and successfully tested a method to classify surface layers and benchmarked the performance of the method with the Tore Supra IR data operating with actively cooled carbon PFCs. The surface layers can be detected in a steady plasma discharge during the initial rise and decay in temperature when a strike line touches parts of the divertor or wall. It can also be detected by modulating electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) input power. This feature allows detection of overheated areas while reducing false positives. For the recent operational campaign, inertially cooled test divertor units (TDU) were installed to prepare for steady-state operation with water-cooled divertor units. Automatic, near real-time detection of hot spots and identification of surface layers in the W7-X divertor are presented. Results are compared with a best fit estimate of the heat transmission coefficient α which is used to calculate heat flux onto the divertor in the presence of surface layers. Keywords: W7-X, Divertor, Plasma facing components, Heat load, Infrared, Surface layers, Tore supra

Sustainable tourism is one of the key sectors in the South Baltic Sea Region (SBSR), which belongs to the role model for sustainability—the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). In this context, resilience, recovery and sustainability become key common threads calling for new approaches mitigating negative impacts, upscaling resilience capacity and boosting recovery in the post-pandemic era. The present work aims at revealing conceptual and practical pathways for policy makers and businesses in revitalizing sustainable tourism in the region by emphasizing cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as strong contributors to sustainable development and economic ecosystems, such as tourism. Tourism is also one of the key thematic areas of the smart specialization strategies (S3) in the SBSR. However, there is almost no link between CCIs’ potential for sustainable and resilient tourism and their contribution to the co-design and co-creation of S3. CCIs are rather absent agents in quadruple helix networks supporting S3 policy implementation. The literature on this topic is still premature, and represents a clear gap in knowledge. By virtue of these circumstances, the present research investigates how CCIs contribute and reveal new linkages between local assets, potential markets and societal challenges by engaging them as proven sustainable innovation and transition brokers in transnational quadruple helix partnerships following S3 policies in accordance with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), thus supporting sustainable and resilient tourism. Moreover, this paper aims at advocating for development of rural and peripheral regions, thus reducing the so-called “rural marginalization”. In addition, this paper also supports ongoing recent discussions on related vs. unrelated diversification policy within the S3 realm.

Biogas production is a process with great potential. It uses the biodegradable raw materials of animal, vegetable and municipal waste. The amount of municipal as well as agricultural waste is increasing every year. This waste is an unmanaged and nuisance waste, and using it in biogas plants reduces the amount of waste. Biogas production is part of the EU’s policy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and use energy from renewable sources (diversification of energy sources). Its importance is certain to increase in the future as energy demand increases. This article deals with the economical use of biodegradable waste for biogas production in Poland and Germany. Both countries have a similar agricultural and municipal waste structure. An agricultural biogas plant is one way of obtaining energy based on renewable energy sources (RES). Energy production from agricultural biogas will allow Poland to meet the 32% obligation imposed by the EU and Germany to continue to be the market leader in biogas plants. The biogas market in Poland is growing, while in Germany, there is a decline in biogas installations. The article indicates what changes need to take place in agriculture and the use of municipal waste in these countries to sustain the development of biogas plants. Both countries should maintain animal husbandry to ensure continuous access to substrate and use waste for production rather than growing maize or other mixtures only for biogas plants. Due to the high price of chemical fertilisers, pulp from biogas plants should be an alternative to chemical fertilisers in both countries, which will contribute to greener crops. The governments of both countries should support such measures.