The presentation will compare insights from case studies on urban energy transition process in the German cities Bottrop and Emden. The case studies are based on data gathered through archival research and 68 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with actors related to different social spheres (economy, research, politics, city administration etc.) that are involved in the given local energy transition process. The comparative analysis shows that different governance forms of the transition process evolve in the two cities: the transition in Bottrop is mainly led by a central intermediary that convenes and coordinates actors from different social spheres whereas in Emden, a central governing body is missing, as the process is mostly based on individual collaborations between loosely networked actors.