Abstract
Global sustainable development critically depends on a fundamental transformation of our current energy systems. This paper looks at how countries develop different types of renewable energy technology to achieve this transformation. We highlight the place-dependence in the global innovation systems of renewable energy technologies by focusing on how countries benefit from local and global knowledge. We show that both the relatedness of a country’s knowledge base, and international knowledge spillovers contribute to the development of renewable energy technologies. For low- and middle- income countries, domestic markets for renewables play a crucial role in absorbing and utilising these international knowledge spillovers. The results provide a better understanding of how countries can acquire new knowledge in renewable energy technologies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 991-1013 |
| Journal | Industry and Innovation |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 14 Jan 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
Funding
The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback. We also thank Koen Frenken, Carolina Castaldi and participants of ETH Academy on Sustainability and Technology 2016 for their valuable comments on prior versions of this paper. Floor Alkemade gratefully acknowledges the support by NWO VIDI grant 452-13-010.
Keywords
- catch-up
- energy transition
- international knowledge spillovers
- Renewable energy technologies
- technological relatedness
