Energy and the computing industry are the two most strategic industries of the 20th century. The debates and attempts to build European-level infrastructures have been a key component of the process of European integration. Amongst the long-lasting challenges are the design, construction and operation of electricity networks, (natural) gas and oil pipelines, as well as computing and telecommunication infrastructures (hardware, software, information highways). The development of know-how, markets, organisations, cultures, and specific economic policies have been instrumental in the roll-out of these projects.
While energy and computing are generally considered separately, this panel aims to provide a framework to study the similarities between these two strategic networks, as well as the process of co-integration that can be identified in recent decades. The panel addresses issues raised by these technology projects in the realm of multilevel governance, international and geopolitical relations, political economy and broader questions about democracy; it aims to reflect on strategic infrastructures in Europe and the collaborations both amongst States, and between States and private actors. Focusing on the time from 1950 to the present, the presentations will cover questions such as the role of the entrepreneur state (and its retreat), state capitalism, private-public collaborations, financialisation.
This CFP aims to form a comparative panel on energy and the computing industry that reflects on the aforementioned ideas, to be presented at the Tensions of Europe conference on the 8-10 July 2026, at Eindhoven University (NE). The panel will include the presentation of each individual paper, followed by a roundtable discussion between presenters and the audience.
We welcome papers that present reflections and/or examples on energy and computing industry projects in Europe, with a wide approach to both energy and computing infrastructures: all energy sources are welcome (nuclear, oil, gas, renewables, etc), and all aspects of the IT industry (software, hardware, data analysis). Examples of papers we would like to include, but not limited to:
- Energy fluxes (grids, pipelines, etc)
- Digital infrastructures (international IT ventures)
- Knowledge and technology exchanges
- Negotiations and contracts between energy and computing actors
- Intersections between computing and energy technologies
- Glocal approaches to strategic energy / computing infrastructures
- the digitalisation of the energy industry and energy needs of the computing industry
Please send a short abstract (250 words max) to Marta Musso (Sapienza University), marta.musso@uniroma1.it ; Séveric Yersin (European University Institute), severic.yersin@eui.eu ; Filippo De Chirico (Università Roma Tre), filippo.dechirico@uniroma3.it. The deadline for submitting an abstract is the 8th January 2025. Selected papers will compose the panel proposal for ToE, which will make a final decision by 1 March 2026.
The ToE 2026 conference will be held on 8-10 July 2026 at the campus of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and will be organised by the Eindhoven History Lab, part of the Technology Innovation and Society research group of TU/e in collaboration with the 4TU History of Technology center . It seeks to explore and discuss what it means for European and non-European scholars to write ‘European’ histories of ‘technology’ in a pluriverse world. The aim of the conference is to co-develop fresh ideas on how a European historiography of technology can inform and contribute to current agendas for inclusive and green transitions. At this conference, one of the main questions will be: in what ways do aspirations for equitable and inclusive relations intersect with legacies of the past?