Bernadett Kiss
Lecturer
Policies for the Energy Technology Innovation System (ETIS)
Author
Editor
- Thomas B. Johansson
- Anand Patwardhan
- Nebojsa Nakicenovic
- Luis Gomez-Echeverri
Summary, in English
The development and introduction of heat pumps provides an interesting illustration of policy influence and effectiveness in relation to energy technology innovation. Heat pumps have been supported by several countries since the 1970s as a strategy to improve energy efficiency, support energy security, reduce environmental degradation, and combat climate change. Sweden and Switzerland have been essential to the development and commercialization of heat pumps in Europe. In both countries, numerous policy incentives have lined the path of technology and market development. Early policy initiatives were poorly coordinated but supported technology development, entrepreneurial experimentation, knowledge development, and the involvement of important actors in networks and organisations. The market collapse in the mid 1980s could have resulted in a total failure ‐ but did not. The research programmes continued in the 1980s, and a new set of stakeholders formed ‐ both publicly and privately funded researchers, authorities, and institutions ‐ and provided an important platform for further development. In the 1990s and 2000s, Sweden and Switzerland introduced more coordinated and strategic policy incentives for the development of heat pumps. The approaches were flexible and adjusted over time. The policy interventions in both countries supported learning, successful development and diffusion processes, and cost reductions. This assessment of innovation and diffusion policies for heat pump systems can be used to generalise some insights for energy technology innovation policy.
Department/s
- The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Publishing year
2012
Language
English
Pages
1665-1744
Publication/Series
Global Energy Assessment: Toward a Sustainable Future
Links
Document type
Book chapter
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Topic
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Keywords
- energy efficiency heat pumps market transformation policy instruments innovation
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 978-0-521-18293-5