Ocean energy technologies transformative potential

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Efeitos sectoriais e territoriais da experimentação em fases iniciais de inovações energéticas: lições de 20 anos de tecnologias renováveis marinhas em Portugal

Publication . Fontes, Margarida; Aguiar, Mariana; Bento, Nuno

RESUMO: A urgência climática e questões mais conjunturais como pandemias e guerras apontam para a necessidade de acelerar a transição sustentável e, particularmente, o desenvolvimento e implementação de novas tecnologias de energias renováveis. Essa aceleração depende crucialmente da capacidade de mobilizar recursos e competências existentes no território. A passagem a uma fase comercial coloca desafios importantes, que podem ser enfrentados com base nas capacidades adquiridas na fase inicial de experimentação, cujos efeitos permanecem pouco estudados. Portugal tem uma experiência longa no desenvolvimento de tecnologias de energias renováveis marinhas – energia das ondas e energia eólica offshore flutuante. Importa agora compreender, através de uma análise longitudinal suportada na construção de uma base de dados dos atores envolvidos, se as atividades conduzidas ao longo da fase inicial de desenvolvimento permitiram começar a mobilizar a indústria nacional e gerar núcleos sectoriais e regionais de atividade que possam suportar uma evolução futura. As análises apontam para a importância dos projetos de teste e demonstração na mobilização de empresas de sectores relevantes, embora a capacidade para atrair empresas locais seja ainda limitada, e revelam redes de empresas distribuídas pelo território, com predominância das principais áreas metropolitanas. Estes resultados podem informar estratégias para acelerar a difusão destas tecnologias, contribuindo para a transformação industrial.

2022-12Journal article

Open access

Assessing the industrial effects of the deployment of renewable energy technologies: when product identity matters

Publication . Barbosa, Juliana; Fontes, Margarida; Bento, Nuno

ABSTRACT: Investment in renewable energy technologies (RET) produces impacts on economic activity and job creation that are fundamental to increase the social acceptability of those technologies. Previous research that attempted to measure the impacts of RET has mainly focused on its effects in energy production and climate mitigation, but surprisingly little is known about the potential of RET to transform the industrial structure of an economy. This paper proposes a methodology to understand and measure the industrial transformative impact of RET. The paper draws on contributions from the sustainability transitions literature and from the economic literature that analyses the socioeconomic impacts of RET, and combine them with the economic complexity literature in order to address two main gaps: the lack of measurement of industrial transformative effects in the first; and the assumption of product homogeneity in the second that precludes an assessment of more structural impacts. We develop a conceptual approach to the way technology deployment can lead to changes in the industrial structure, centered on the notion of product heterogeneity intrinsic to the economic complexity literature. We advance three main dimensions along which to measure the changes in the industrial structure driven by modifications in the basket of products being produced due to the development of the technology value chain: sophistication, connectivity, and competitiveness. We also propose a more precise delineation of the industrial value chain of the technology, by considering the actual weights of each sector to the technology and the technology to each sector. This approach is applied to the case of wind energy in Portugal (a successful fast follower), compared with three other main wind energy producers (Spain, Denmark, Germany). The results show a strong relationship between the deployment of the technology and the sophistication and the competitiveness of the Æcloud of productsÆ composing the industrial value chain. The paper proposes a novel analytical framework and measurement tools that can support a timely assessment of the effects of sustainable energy technologies in the industrial structure, with relevance for policy.

2022-06Conference object

Open access

Diversification strategies and the emergence of a new industrial value-chain: challenges and opportunities for companies

Publication . Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, Margarida; Conceição, Oscarina

ABSTRACT: Marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) can contribute to the decarbonization of energy, as well as to the revitalisation of other sectors, but are still an emerging and uncertain area. The development of these technologies entails the construction of a new industrial value chain, requiring the involvement of established firms from a variety of industries. Thus, it is important to understand how established firms can be mobilised to support MRET development, by pursuing diversification strategies. This paper addresses this question by looking at the case of Portuguese firms that expressed willingness to engage with MRET and investigating how they perceive the opportunities for diversification into the new business area, the changes they may need to introduce in their resources and capabilities to exploit those opportunities, and the obstacles they expect to face.

2023-09Conference object

Open access

How innovations lead to structural change: Elements for a theory of system transformation

Publication . Bento, Nuno; Fontes, Margarida; Costa, Evaldo

ABSTRACT: Accelerating decarbonization to limit global warming to 1.5ºC requires a deep change in the provision and consumption of essential services such as mobility, thermal comfort or substance. It involves the dissemination of several social, technological and institutional innovations across multiple sectors. This contrasts with the traditional perspective in the literature that focuses on specific innovations in a single sector (e.g., solar PV in electricity generation). This research examines the conditions and processes that enable system transformation, here defined as a structural change which have wide social and economic impacts on several sectors (energy, transport, building, industry, food). Building on theories and concepts from economics, innovation and technological change, and sustainability transitions, four main conditions for system transformation emerge: technology; business model; social acceptance; institutions. These conditions underpin processes of system transformation that can be led by demand, supply or coordination. The analysis of two empirical examples (digital convergence and sharing economy) illustrates the explanatory power of this framework and offers insights for improving both the theory and the strategies for deep decarbonization.

2023-06Conference object

Open access

On the crest of a wave: the variety of place configurations around an emerging energy technology in Europe (1992-2019)

Publication . Fontes, Margarida; Santos, Hélder; Sá Marques, Teresa

ABSTRACT: The study investigates the variety in place configurations around a sustainable technology, in its early phase of development. Adopting a systemic and multi-scalar approach to technology development, this article proposes that the spatially distributed nature of technology emergence leads to the formation of different place configurations of actors and networks around the technology, which can contribute in different ways to its development. Using the case of wave energy technology and a methodology that permits to encompass and compare emergent processes unfolding across Europe, the research uncovers five place profiles, which denote different positions in the emerging system and thus need to be jointly considered to fully understand the process of new system development. The article adds to knowledge on the multi-place and multi-scale systemic processes that are at work in the early phases of technology development, contributing to a better understanding of global system construction around a new sustainable technology.

2024-06Journal article

Open access