Can strategicdependenciesharmthe acceleration towardsnet-zerotransition? The caseofthelithium-ionbattery industry

Francesco Crespi, Nicolò Geri, Dario Guarascio and Enrico Marvasi

No 291, Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' from Department of Economics - University Roma Tre

Abstract: This paperinvestigatestherelationshipbetweentechnologicalcapabilities,importdependency,and environmentalpolicies,focusingonthelithium-ionbatterysupplychain(LBSC)–acriticalsectorforthe net-zero transition.Wecontributetothegrowingliteratureonthedriversandbarrierstoacceleratingthe transitioninthefollowingways.First,wedevelopanoriginalanalyticalframeworkthatintegratestwo recent streamsofliterature(i.e.theoneonaccelerationofthegreentransitionandtheoneonstructural dependencies andtechnologicalsovereignty),inordertodiscusstheexistenceofpotentialtrade-offsbe- tweenthetwoobjectives.Second,wedevelopastrategicintelligenceanalysisoftheLBSCbyproposinga novelmethodologicalapproachtoidentifyimportdependenciesandtechnologicalcapacitygaps,which allowstosingleoutcriticalproductsandstageswherepolicyactionisneededtoavoidtheemergenceof bottleneckstothegreentransition.Third,weexaminehowtechnologicalcapabilitiesinfluenceimport dependency,showingunderwhatconditionstechnologicalupgradingimprovescountries’competitive positions andmitigatesdependencyissues.Finally,weanalysehowenvironmentalpolicystringencyre- lates toimportdependencyinordertodiscussinwhichcontextenvironmentalgoalsmayconflictwith thoserelatedtotechnologicalsovereigntyandstrategicautonomy.Ourfindingssuggestthattechno- logical upgradingcanreducedependencieswithoutcompromisingenvironmentalgoalssothatthepre- sumed trade-offbetweenthenet-zerotransitionandstructuraldependenciesdoesnotnecessarilyhold. In contrast,awell-designedpolicymix,aligningenvironmentalobjectiveswithtargetedinnovationand industrialpolicies,canenhancebothresilienceandtheaccelerationtowardsthenet-zerotransition.

Keywords: Strategic autonomy; Technological capabilities; Net-zero transition; Environmental policy; Lithium-ion batteries; Technological sovereignty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 O38 Q55 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 70
Date: 2026-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-inv
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