| dc.description.abstract | In Norway, a green industrial shift is underway, and batteries are framed by some as a key technology to enable the “green transition”. In this domain, a story of the Norwegian battery industry as a new industrial adventure is emerging across different platforms. This story is made up of discourse, statements, and metaphors, which are important to unpack, because they create acceptance and legitimacy for batteries as a solution for a greener society. Research on discourse from the downstream part of the battery industry is lacking from the social sciences, and there is little to no research on the discourses on the battery industry in Norway. In this research project, I have critically analysed what discourses and actors are present in debates on the emerging Norwegian battery value chain, to dissect what might influence and shape green policies, and assess tensions concerning the role of Norwegian battery industry in the “green transition”. I collected data from a variety of secondary sources, supplemented with non-participant observation in webinars and semi-structured interviews with selected informants. I used thematic and discourse analysis, through a conceptual framework analysing statements, metaphors, and actors using storylines about a Norwegian battery industry. I found that the battery industry in Norway is chiefly framed as a green industrial adventure that seeks to unite concerns for climate and profit. There is a suggested common understanding that a battery industry is “necessary” in Norway, even if actors disagree on a political level and use discourse in diverse ways. This indicates that urgency of the climate crisis can catapult change in green policy, especially when combined with promises of profit, jobs, and cheap and renewable energy. There are counter narratives voicing concerns of greenwashing and economic infeasibility, but these are largely eclipsed by the dominant discourse. The side-lining of counter narratives could lead to a hasty development of a battery industry that is framed as sustainable, but which lacks the checks and balances to ensure a just energy shift. My findings draw attention to the use of metaphors, statements and storylines, and how actors in and outside the battery industry frame the green transition. The findings of my thesis contribute to understanding the complexities of accelerations and tensions of energy transitions within interdisciplinary fields of social sciences. Research on this topic is far from complete, but this thesis is part of a dynamically developing field of studies. | nob |