Positioning a New Startup in Sweden’s Nuclear Landscape: A Case Study of Blykalla

Sammanfattning

Under the background of climate crisis, Sweden has been undergoing energy transition, and nuclear energy as a low-carbon energy is also experiencing a transformation and revival. As a potential alternative, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are gradually attracting people’s attention. Drawing on the TIS framework and legitimacy research, focusing on the Swedish startup Blykalla, this study explores how new entrants with emerging technologies position themselves and interact with key actors within Sweden’s energy transition. This study employs qualitative study method and semi-structured interview to analyze the legitimacy-building practices of new entrants within the Swedish nuclear transition. The study explores key actors, institutional environment, legitimacy-building audiences and strategies. The findings show that legitimacy-building practice of startups is a strategically differentiated process shaped by the expectations of multiple stakeholders, including regulators, the public, investors, industrial partners, etc. The findings also reveal that new entrants such as Blykalla employ its agency by leveraging 'creation' and 'manipulation' strategies to bridge cognitive gaps. The study contributes to TIS framework by emphasizing that legitimation is a dynamic and strategical process. Empirically, the findings highlight the importance of adopting different legitimacy-building strategies to address the expectations of different stakeholders. From a broad perspective, the study suggests that the energy transition depends not only on the technology’s emergence, but also on whether the institutional and social environment is conducive to the technology maintaining long-term legitimacy.