Public-private roles and partnerships for innovation and technology transfer

Transcription

1 Public-private roles and partnerships for innovation and technology transfer Prof Ambuj Sagar, Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi Chair in Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi Cath Bremner, Head of Corporate Development, Carbon Trust Prof Michael Grubb, Chief Economist, the Carbon Trust and Chairman, Climate Strategies 7 November 2008 Convened by

2 Synopsis Enormous energy-related challenges facing developing countries: expand energy sector; increase energy access; face the climate problem ~$200bn pa for 30 years is required to alleviate energy poverty in developing countries without greatly increasing carbon emissions Need technology innovation that is shaped by local needs and rooted in local context to meet these challenges but sparse support in global initiatives for innovation A network of Innovation Centres based on public-private partnerships can help advance developing-country-relevant technology innovation and capacity-building

3 The Carbon Trust accelerates the move to a low-carbon economy Independent company set up in 2001 by UK Government Aligns private sector interests with public sector objectives Focussed on carbon savings, now and in the future, and private sector leverage of public funds Insights Solutions Innovations Enterprises Investments Explaining the low-carbon economy Delivering carbon savings for organisations Developing new low-carbon technologies Creating new low-carbon businesses Financing lowcarbon businesses

4 Technology push and market pull key ingredients of successful technology innovation Market Pull Technology Supply Basic and applied research Tech development + Product design Market demonstration Commerci alisation Market accumulation Diffusion Technology use Product/ Technology Push RD&D Precommercial Market penetration 4

5 A resource gap prevents low carbon technology deployment, at scale Technology cost per unit Focus of national R&D funding Resource Gap Focus of CDM and multi-national donor funding Illustrative Total required public investment Cost of fossil fuel generation CDM Time / experience / capacity Cost of fossil fuel generation with carbon price Cost of fossil fuel generation with fossil fuel subsidies Increasingly attractive to private investors 5

6 Support is required to overcome barriers along the innovation journey Innovation: Moving from concept to commercial product availability by overcoming the diverse range of technology, business, market and regulatory barriers Technology journey principle Concept viability scalability durability value Company journey 1 or 2 individuals (sweat equity) Form venture (or new unit) (Friends & family) Bring in first outsider (Angel or seed) Recruit specialists (Venture Capital) Grow operational staff (IPO) employees (Revenue) Market journey No interaction (Technology push) Markets identified (Indifference) Market Field trial (Recognition) Early adopters & niches (Benefit quantified) Rational economic purchase (Market pull) Technology & market evolution (Feedback) journey General neutral or negative General neutral Specific positive General positive General neutral or positive 6

7 A network of low carbon innovation centres can help meet multiple climate and development goals Accelerate the transition to low-carbon development; advance sustainable development while making a positive contribution to climate mitigation in developing countries by enabling the development of technologies that serve the unmet energy needs of developing countries, especially for the energy poor; and support climate adaptation programs by developing technologies that are suitable for specific countries. 7

8 A network of low carbon innovation centres can accelerate the transition to low-carbon development Public-private, North-South, and South-South partnerships to advance the development and adoption of suitable energy and climate technologies (i.e., support technology-push ) underpin the creation and development of markets (i.e., support demand-pull) move technologies up the adoption curve carry out other enabling activities such as helping create a favourable national political and regulatory framework build local capacity (technical, financial and institutional) in the low carbon / clean energy markets All this to take place at scale and faster and better than would otherwise occur 8

9 Key activities for innovation centres Research and Technology Acceleration: proactively address identified technology gaps and barriers Support enterprises: support early stage businesses and catalyse commercial investment in low-carbon businesses Delivery models and support: overcome lack of traditional markets and information, financial barriers to catalyse deployment Address barriers and de-risk private sector investment Skills capacity building: create local capability in technical and business skills Policy & market analysis: support regulatory and policy development 9

10 Success factors for Innovation Centres Funding, goals and governance: Agreed goals, terms of donor support and success criteria; Appropriate local control of problem definition and project prioritisation and local ownership of the solution Sufficient funding certainty and time horizon to allow planning and implementation of complex projects; Sufficient public funding to undertake pre-commercial activities. Activities and approach: Independent viewpoint, but collaborative Government; Leveraged private sector funding; Project prioritisation process (CO 2 and economic potential); Full spectrum of activity from R&D to deployment (tailored to local needs) the centre acting as a focal point for low carbon activity and knowledge sharing. 10

11 We need not just technology transfer or R&D, but a wellfunctioning innovation chain Must put in place a sustainable model with local finance and expertise to address local energy needs and in the long-run create a technologically-dynamic system. 11