Applying science fiction to approach the future

1. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 1
Applying Science Fiction
to think about the Future Energy System
ETSAP workshop June 2023
Anna Krook Riekkola
Luleå University of Technology
Northern Sweden

2. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 2
Approaching the Future with ESOM
Applying System analysis and Modelled based scenario
analysis to study the transition to a more sustainable
energy system.
With our Energy System Optimization Models (ESOM),
we can explore different technology and energy
combinations that meet the future needs for energy
intensive services and goods.

3. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 3
Approaching the Future with ESOM
WHAT about the social interaction, the behavior,
justice?
HOW to bring narratives about Energy Futures that
are more in line with the collective research?

4. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 4
Thinking about the future is hard
It is easier to think that the future will be how it is today
than to imagine a very different future. Challenging to
imagine how to use technologies that work in another
way, e.g. petrol vs electric car.
Karl Schroeder: “It's easier to plan for how to personally
thrive in a dystopian future that you think you understand,
than a utopian one that you don’t.”

5. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 5
One way of thinking about the future
is through Science Fiction
Useful “branches” of science fiction:
Climate fiction & Solar punk

6. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 6
Climate Fiction (Cli-fi) is Post-Normal!
• Includes a wide spread of fiction.
• Often tries to both reflect and affect public
perception of climate crisis. Actively tries to
make impacts feel more urgent and/or
solutions feel more doable.
• Driven not just by book sales but by anthology
calls and contests.
• Can create a platform for authors as a public
intellectuals.
• “If those of us who want to see climate action
don’t write these stories, those who don’t care
are more than happy to occupy that lane.
Source: Lecture by Andrew Dana Hudson on the course Approaching Futures at LTU 2023

7. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 7

8. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 8

9. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 9
• A speculative movement that includes
literature, art, praxis, and activism.
• Pushes back on dystopian/post-
apocalyptic media/narratives.
• Utopian, but Countercultural: Either
about what a sustainable world might
look like OR about the struggles to get
there.
• Hopeful, not necessarily optimistic.
• Often about the liberatory potential of
renewable energy and technologies
of sustainability.
• Often about a just transition and
regenerating the biosphere beyond
decarbonization.
• Technologies of materiality rather than
abstraction, that expands human
agency to engage sustainably with
the material world, i.e. energy, food
and water, health, the climate, and
the land.
Solar Punk
Source: Lecture by Andrew Dana Hudson on the course Approaching Futures at LTU 2023

10. A n n a K r o o k R i e k k o l a 10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS-sJQkr0H4

11. The Weight of Light: A Collection of Solar
Futures: https://csi.asu.edu/books/weight/
Cities of Light: A Collection of Solar Futures:
https://csi.asu.edu/books/cities-of-light/

12. Discussing Energy Futures
applying Science Fiction
Ongoing project in collaboration with colleagues at RISE:
https://arcticcenterofenergy.se/en/news-articles/the-energy-transition-is-first-about-people/
Ideas based on my research visit at ASU. Presented at Poster
Presentation at National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonia
(Washington)
EVENT: https://www.fulbrightprogram.org/fulbright-arctic-initiative-promotes-
community-based-policy-solutions-to-shared-arctic-challenges/
POSTER: FAI_Poster_KrookRiekkola:
https://fulbright.netx.net/app/#share/request/4bc624d2-a173-4f75-
be25-3185bb914113
Anna Krook Riekkola 12

13. Hackathon to gather knowledge about possible
futures – what are the different trends
Identify a set of scenarios (A‐D)
Narrative
Hackathon
A
Imaginary
Fiction
Story A
Narrative
Hackathon
B
Imaginary
Fiction
Story B
Narrative
Hackathon
C
Imaginary
Fiction
Story C
Narrative
Hackathon
D
Imaginary
Fiction
Story D
World Building
Characters
Stories

14. When thinking about
Energy Futures
1) The future is open in terms of energy system design. That
doesn't necessarily make it easy, but we should not limit
ourselves to how it functions today.
2) Technology is a product of society.
3) Society is a product of its technologies.
4) How the future energy system is designed is never just
about technology but more about the future of people.
5) More people need to be involved to enable a just
transition. Thinking about the future is difficult for most of us.
Anna Krook Riekkola 14

15. Sounds exciting? Reach out to us!
Anna.Krook-Riekkola@LTU.SE