Rate My Professor Matthew Hannon

Professor Matthew Hannon is Professor of Sustainable Energy Business and Policy in the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation within Strathclyde Business School at the University of Strathclyde. He directs the Strathclyde Institute for Sustainable Communities (SISC). Hannon earned his PhD from the University of Leeds in 2013 with a thesis titled 'Co-evolution of innovative business models and sustainability transitions: The case of the Energy Service Company (ESCo) model and the UK energy system.' He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in University Learning and Teaching from Imperial College London, awarded in 2015. His career includes a Visiting Researcher position at Imperial College London from June 2016 to June 2017.

Hannon's research specializations encompass the business models, policies, technologies, and entrepreneurial approaches required to foster fair and sustainable net-zero transitions. His academic interests center on empowering communities in low-carbon futures, the governance and distribution of renewable energy Community Benefit Funds, financing mechanisms for community energy, social relations influencing neighbourhood-level energy retrofits, and innovation systems for socio-technical transitions in energy. As principal investigator, he leads the ESRC-funded JUST-Systems project (2025-2030), which examines people and place in just energy transitions, and directs initiatives like the review of Foundation Scotland’s Community Benefit Funds approach (2025) and Carbon Offsetting and Communities (2023). He is co-investigator on People-Led Net Zero and has contributed to UKRI's Energy Revolution Research Consortium. Key publications include 'Business Models and Financial Characteristics of Community Energy in the UK' in Nature Energy (2020, co-authored with Braunholtz-Speight et al.), 'Energy Innovation for the 21st Century: Accelerating the Energy Revolution' (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019, co-authored with Skea et al.), 'Carrots, sticks and sermons: Policies to Unlock UK Community Energy Finance' in Energy Research and Social Science (2023), 'Financing grassroots innovation diffusion pathways: the case of UK community energy' in Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions (2023, co-authored with Cairns et al.), and 'The (in)justices of smart local energy systems: A systematic review, integrated framework, and future research agenda' in Energy Research and Social Science (2022). Hannon received the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Scottish Crucible award in 2018 and participated in the World Energy Congress in 2016. He chairs the community environmental charity South Seeds, hosts the award-winning Local Zero podcast, sits on Uswitch’s Green Tariff Accreditation review panel, and acts as Lead Technical Author for BSI’s standard on Community Engagement and Benefits From Natural Capital under their Nature Investment Standards. His work supports UN Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).