DOI
10.1016/j.rser.2019.02.030

Summary
This study is concerned with the biogas sector in Brazil. Biogas has huge potential and a long history but however lacks examination as a technological field. This study focusses on the contextual frameworks and interaction dynamics in the biogas innovation systems of Brazil. Specifically, this research applies a Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) approach. Methods for data collection included event history analysis from 1979 to 2016 along with 24 in-depth interviews with experts associated with the Brazilian Biogas Innovation System (BBIS). De Oliveira & Negro introduce the historical and existing case, and potential for biogas in Brazil.

The paper yields two valuable and important outcomes:

It demonstrates how interactions between sectoral and geographical institutions, actors and infrastructures defined the development of the BBIS.
The valuable adaptation of the TIS framework, as produced by Wieczorek & Hekkert, to include analysis of the contextual influences and enabling of identifying interaction points between technologies and their context.

The adaptation (2) of the TIS frameworks comes when De Oliveira & Negro go beyond simply mapping the events and their sequences by gathering detailed data about the various events in the TIS approach. This includes specific information about the main actors, place and sector, main activities, motivations and exchanged products. This allowed the authors to make inferences about contextual influences as they related system functions to specific details.

De Oliveira & Negro detail the biogas value chain and its contexts in Brazil. They report on the technological trajectories and innovation system boundaries, the main contexts for BBIS analysis, the sectoral contexts, and the geographical aspects.

The authors identify a four phases of development from kick off, to biogas tumble, to the clean development mechanism (CDM) era of biogas, and finally to the structuring of the biogas field.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
This study is relevant to the energy systems topic. It proposes a new aspect of the TIS approach to better involve the notion of contextual frameworks and interactions between various actors and stakeholders. The proposed framework for studying contextual influences in TIS studies was done by applying the conceptualisation of technology as a bundle of value chains into the TIS framework. This takes into consideration the suggestions of including contextual aspects and allows analysts to go beyond the ad-hoc definition of contextual influences into an emerging TIS. The use of this proposed framework can be useful for new renewable energy technological fields and so this paper acts as useful reference for researches intending to do so. The case of Brazil’s biogas innovation system could be used as a reference point for teaching TIS approach to analysis and demonstrating a possible further development of the process.

Point of Strength
The study provides an analytical method for the exploration of activities and background conditions to consider contextual influences in TIS. Outcome 1, as described above is represented in figure 5, 6 and 7 of the main body. Here, De Oliveira & Negro deliver a useful visual representation of the interaction of BBIS activities. The findings are represented as 4 stages of development. These four stages could be very useful for the study of a similar case for TIS analysis. The study could be utilised as a case study for teaching TIS approaches.