446 research outputs found
Innovation paths in wind power: insights from Denmark and Germany
Full text linkDenmark and Germany both make substantial investments in low carbon innovation, not least in the wind power sector. These investments in wind energy are driven by the twin objectives of reducing carbon emissions and building up international competitive advantage. Support for wind power dates back to the 1970s, but it has gained particular traction in recent years thus opening up new innovation paths. This paper explores the key features, similarities and differences in innovation paths in Denmark and Germany and sheds light on their main determinants.The paper shows that there are many commonalities between Denmark and Germany when it comes to innovation pathways, both in technological and organisational innovation. In turbine technology, the similarities are the constant increase in turbine size and quality. The key difference to be found is the relative importance of different turbine designs. The ‘Danish Design’ remains the global standard. The direct drive design, while uncommon in Denmark, dominates the German installation base. Direct drive technology has thus emerged as a distinctly German design and sub-trajectory within the overall technological innovation path.When it comes to organising wind turbine deployment, both countries have moved along broadly similar paths. There are now fewer turbines deployed than at any time in the past 10 to 20 years, but on average these are concentrated in larger projects and the production capacity and total electricity output has increased significantly in both countries. The key difference is in the role of the offshore segment in deployment: Denmark has been a pioneer in the offshore segment, which has hitherto played a much smaller role in Germany.While this paper shows that there are many common features between the two countries, it also identifies a diversity of pathways, or rather, a co-existence of different sub-trajectories in both core technology and in the organisation of deployment. It is as yet unclear whether the future will bring more convergence or divergence.To address this, the paper explores specific determinants of innovation paths: government policies, demand conditions, geography, value chains, and the strategies undertaken by firms. It demonstrates that the innovation paths common to both countries have roots in a confluence of determining factors which are mainly due to social and political priorities, preferences and decisions at national level. However, the sub-trajectories, which create variation between Denmark and Germany, differ in this regard. They tend to have roots in ‘given’ geographical conditions and in company-level technology choices. In other words, many of the similarities in innovation paths between Denmark and Germany have common national causes, while company-specific strategies also influence the innovation paths in significant ways. This raises important questions about the national specificity of innovation paths in wind power development.Finally, the paper briefly addresses the increasing global interconnectedness of wind technology markets and the role of emerging new players, such as China and India
Multinationals and renewable energy: boosting innovation through foreign direct investments
No full textMulti-technology corporations making green foreign direct investments, such as in renewable energy, increase the capacity for innovation in their own headquarters, as well as in their subsidiaries. Access to environmentally friendly knowledge pools in the global economy gives them an advantage over non-globalised companies in sustainability-oriented innovation. Based on these findings, Vito Amendolagine, Rasmus Lema, and Roberta Rabellotti argue that deglobalisation may be detrimental to corporate innovation activities that contribute to the green transformation worldwide
Multinationals and renewable energy: boosting innovation through foreign direct investments
No full textMulti-technology corporations making green foreign direct investments, such as in renewable energy, increase the capacity for innovation in their own headquarters, as well as in their subsidiaries. Access to environmentally friendly knowledge pools in the global economy gives them an advantage over non-globalised companies in sustainability-oriented innovation. Based on these findings, Vito Amendolagine, Rasmus Lema, and Roberta Rabellotti argue that deglobalisation may be detrimental to corporate innovation activities that contribute to the green transformation worldwide
Towards a conceptual framework:Renewable electrification and sustainable industrialisation
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Renewable electrification pathways and sustainable industrialisation:Lessons learned and their implications
Full text linkThis chapter is structured as follows: the next section reiterates the key research themes addressed in this book in order to situate the findings in wider debates about pathways to sustainable industrialisation. The following section forms the bulk of the chapter. It conveys the findings regarding the relative importance and dynamics of different aspects of renewable electrification for enhancing capability outcomes. It is structured around aspects related to the three key themes of the book, (a) projects design, organisation and linkages, (b) deployment model and choice of technology and (c) policies and political actors at the national and international level. The final section brings out the implications for policy. We summarise key findings arising from the research presented in this book, with the hope that the pointers for policy action can prove useful for more sustainable pathways that combine primary energy benefits and secondary localised economic co-benefits in the context of renewable electrification and the green transformation more broadly
Green foreign direct investments and the deepening of capabilities for sustainable innovation in multinationals:Insights from renewable energy
Full text linkThere is mounting agreement that the global economy is at the nascent stage of a green transformation. In response, multinational enterprises (MNEs) are seeking to enhance their capabilities for sustainable innovation and many have started to globalise their green efforts. But to what extent and how (if at all) do green Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) contribute to the deepening of sustainability capabilities? To address this question, we employ a novel dataset of 1217 green FDI in renewable energy sectors worldwide, during the period 1997 to 2015. A propensity score matching and difference-in-difference econometric strategy provides three main results. First, green FDIs enhance the overall orientation to sustainability of MNEs. They have both a greening effect on the firms’ overall technology bases and increases specialization in specific green technologies. Second, green FDIs have a significant positive impact on the degree and quality of MNEs innovative capacity in sustainable technologies. In other words, the MNEs extend their innovative capabilities towards more sustainability-oriented direction and strengthen their innovation activities related to green technologies. Third, we find that the globalisation process mode matters: in the long run, green FDIs result in newly-established subsidiaries contributing more to innovativeness and greening than acquisition of foreign firms. These findings have important implications for policies designed to increase the sustainability transition.<br/
Demand-led catch-up:A history-friendly model of latecomer development in the global green economy
Full text linkThis article examines the role played by demand in catching up and in leadership changes in green industries, motivated by the belief that demand-led catch-up is a prevalent pathway in such industries. The article first examines stylized cases of sectoral green catch-up by China in which the local market and domestic demand played an important role before the sector started expanding globally. In particular, the focus is on three industries: wind, biomass and hydropower. Then, it uses a history-friendly model to study the effects of a major increase in domestic demand (a “demand window”) in a green industry. The baseline simulation first examines the effects of a demand window in promoting learning and capability building by latecomers and in triggering a catch-up process. Then, the counterfactual simulations show that (i) a technological discontinuity which takes place after the demand window could reduce the effectiveness of the demand window in the catch-up process; (ii) the specific timing of the demand window could significantly alter the dynamic patterns of catch-up; (iii) protectionism is a necessary condition for the demand window to have its effect; and (iv) regimes of slow capability accumulation could turn out to be beneficial for the latecomer when a technological discontinuity follows the demand window. These results can help policymakers in identifying key conditions related to demand-led catch-up strategies
Green windows of opportunity:Latecomer development in the age of transformation toward sustainability
Full text linkThe world is in the early stages of a paradigm transition toward a global green economy. In this article, we propose the notion of green windows of opportunity, highlighting the importance of institutional changes in the creation of new opportunities for latecomer development. We emphasize how demand and mission-guided technical change influence the directionality of latecomer development and highlight the important role emerging economies may attain in the global green transformation. We provide important insights regarding opportunities for green development in emerging economies, how these opportunities emerge in different renewable energy sectors and their implications for the global green economy
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