Luc van Summeren

Luc van Summeren (Wijchen, 1989) obtained his BSc in Technological Innovation Sciences (2012) and MSc in Innovation Sciences (2014) at Eindhoven University of Technology. In his MSc thesis, which was nominated for the VVM Rachel Carson Environmental Thesis Award 2014, Luc investigated mismatches between residents and engineer-driven deep retrofitting projects in social housing. This study was part of an internship at DuneWorks, a research and advisory company specialised in the societal aspects of sustainability transitions. After graduating in 2014, Luc continued to work for DuneWorks on projects involving smart grid experiments, demand response, behavioural change and energy efficiency, and co-creation approaches aimed at making social housing neighbourhoods more sustainable.

In 2018, Luc started pursuing his PhD at the Technology, Innovation & Society group at Eindhoven University of Technology. His research concerned the upscaling and potential transformative impacts of community-driven smart grid experiments. His focus was in particular on energy communities involved in the Interreg NWE funded community-based Virtual Power Plant (cVPP) project. In this project, three energy communities from Ireland, Belgium and developed their own cVPP site. A cVPP is a radical innovation that combines elements from smart grids and community energy, two important drivers of the energy transition. He published his work in scientific journals and presented at several international conferences and meetings with interested practitioners. Luc also draws cartoons and figures to convey his messages.

From May 2022, Luc continued his academic career at the Technology, Innovation & Society group. He is working as a postdoc on the ORAKLE project, which aims to support regional energy transitions in the Netherlands by experimenting with and learning about novel ways of learning and accumulating and sharing knowledge.