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Julius’s research focuses on sustainability transitions, with a particular emphasis on energy transitions and the socio-technical dynamics driving systemic change. He investigates how technologies, policies, and societal factors interact to accelerate or hinder the shift toward sustainable futures.
Empirically, Julius’s work spans a wide range of applications, including onshore wind energy, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, and heating systems, which were central to his PhD research. He has also examined the deployment of Direct Air Carbon Capture and Sequestration (DACCS), the dynamics of stakeholder cooperation in fragmented systems, and societal perceptions of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
Theoretically, Julius is drawn to concepts that unpack the complexities of socio-technical change. His work often applies frameworks like innovation systems, configurational approaches, and stakeholder analysis to examine how actors and institutions navigate transitions.
Currently, Julius is particularly interested in the role of megaprojects within sustainability transitions and how incumbents act across socio-technical system boundaries to legitimize their original unsustainable business models, a phenomenon he refers to as Legitimacy Capture.
a. Science Communication with social media (to be published in 2025 by Cambridge University Press)
b. Introduction to Sustainability Transitions Research (to be published in 2025 by Cambridge University Press)
Wesche, J., Löhr, M., & Hess, D. J. (2024). Only changing policy? The role of coalitions in sustainability transitions. In J. Wesche & A. Hendriks (Eds.), Introduction to Sustainability Transitions Research. Cambridge University Press (forthcoming 2025). https://doi.org/10.33774/coe-2024-tdwdx-v2
Wesche, J. P; Moe Skjølsvold (2024). Gigaton gear – policy insights for scaling up the global deployment of direct air carbon capture and sequestration technology (DACCS). In Climate Policy. Taylor & Francis. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080
Wesche, J. P., Negro, S. O., Brugger, H. I., Eichhammer, W., & Hekkert, M. P. (2023). The influence of visions on cooperation among interest organizations in fragmented socio‐technical systems. In Environmental Policy and Governance (Vol. 34, Issue 2, pp. 152–165). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.2070
Wesche, J., Germán, S., Gonçalves, L., Jödicke, I., López‐Asensio, S., Prades, A., Preuß, S., Algado, C. O., & Dütschke, E. (2023). CCUS or no CCUS? Societal support for policy frameworks and stakeholder perceptions in France, Spain, and Poland. In Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology (Vol. 13, Issue 1, pp. 48–66). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/ghg.2195
Wesche, J. P., Negro, S. O., Dütschke, E., & Hekkert, M. P. (2021). On accelerating the development of configurational innovation systems—the case of non-urban district heating in Germany. In Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy (Vol. 16, Issues 11–12, pp. 1110–1126). Informa UK Limited. https://doi.org/10.1080/15567249.2021.1999345
Wesche, J. P., & Dütschke, E. (2021). Organisations as electricity agents: Identifying success factors to become a prosumer. In Journal of Cleaner Production (Vol. 315, p. 127888). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127888
Wesche, J. P., Negro, S. O., Dütschke, E., Raven, R. P. J. M., & Hekkert, M. P. (2019). Configurational innovation systems – Explaining the slow German heat transition. In Energy Research & Social Science (Vol. 52, pp. 99–113). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.12.015
Dütschke, E., & Wesche, J. P. (2018). The energy transformation as a disruptive development at community level. In Energy Research & Social Science (Vol. 37, pp. 251–254). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.10.030
Dütschke, E., Schneider, U., & Wesche, J. (2017). Knowledge, Use and Effectiveness of Social Acceptance Measures for Wind Projects. In Zeitschrift für Energiewirtschaft (Vol. 41, Issue 4, pp. 299–310). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12398-017-0211-1
Dütschke, E., Paetz, A.-G., & Wesche, J. (2013). Integration Erneuerbarer Energien durch Elektromobilität – inwieweit sind Konsumenten bereit, einen Beitrag zu leisten? In uwf UmweltWirtschaftsForum (Vol. 21, Issues 3–4, pp. 233–242). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00550-013-0290-3
