Engines for sustainability. Horsepower prices, capital substitution and energy transitions in the long run

The aim of this two and half years project is to estimate the influence of capital stock in machinery & equipment on energy transitions pace, extracting useful insights for our current environmental challenges. The research will focus in three specific and interconnected areas: a) machinery and horsepower prices in Sweden and their relation with modern energy carriers (1850 - 1939), b) the iron and steel sector in Sweden and the role played by capital stocks in the shift from organic fuels (wood, water, charcoal) to fossil fuels (mainly coal) and then to hydroelectricity and c) a macro level analysis on the interdependence between capital stocks and energy in the former and current periphery (Scandinavia, Japan, Latin America and South Africa). For the analysis of these three issues we will use official statistics and unexplored archive material.