Clean energy innovation
Subtitle: sources of technical and commercial breakthroughs
By: Thomas D. Perry IV ... [et al.].
Contributors: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.)
Series: NREL/TP -- 6A20-50624; NREL/TP -- 6A20-50624.
Publisher: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Golden, CO
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Number of pages: 37
Subjects: Technology transfer; Case studies; Energy development; Technological innovations; Power resources; Research; Diffusion of innovations; Databases
Other titles: Sources of technical and commercial breakthroughs
Description: Using U.S. patent data and additional patent-relevant data collected from the Internet, we map the landscape of low-carbon energy innovation in the United States since 1975. We isolate 10,603 renewable and 10,442 traditional energy patents and develop a database that characterizes proxy measures for technical and commercial impact, as measured by patent citations and Web presence, respectively. Regression models and multivariate simulations are used to compare the social, institutional, and geographic drivers of breakthrough clean energy innovation. Results indicate statistically significant effects of social, institutional, and geographic variables on technical and commercial impacts of patents and unique innovation trends between different energy technologies. We observe important differences between patent citations and Web presence of licensed and unlicensed patents, indicating the potential utility of using screened Web hits as a measure of commercial importance. We offer hypotheses for these revealed differences and suggest a research agenda with which to test these hypotheses. These preliminary findings indicate that leveraging empirical insights to better target research expenditures would augment the speed and scale of innovation and deployment of clean energy technologies.
Notes: Title from title screen (NREL, viewed Apr. 25, 2011).

"March 2011."

Includes bibliographical references.

DE-AC36-08GO28308. SA10.102C

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