Technology Roadmapping for mission-led agile hardware development: a case study of a commercial fusion energy start-up

R.J. Pearson, A.E. Costley, R. Phaal and William Nuttall

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2020, vol. 158, issue C

Abstract: Despite several decades of dedicated R&D, fusion, a potentially world-changing energy source, remains decades away from commercialisation. The majority of development thus far has been via publicly-funded programmes led by government laboratories focused on scientific research and in which commercialisation strategy and innovation play a minor role. Generally, such programmes follow a linear model of innovation in which commercial aspects are not considered until later in development. In consequence and without intention, devices not well-suited for commercial application are being pursued. In recent years, however, privately funded fusion start-ups have emerged with the goal of accelerating the commercialisation of fusion. Fusion start-ups are, by necessity, operating on a fundamentally different model of innovation: agile innovation, whereby technology is developed flexibly and iteratively towards an explicit commercial goal. Technology Roadmapping is a method that has been effective for supporting agile innovation but thus far has had limited application to mission-led hardware development. We characterise the key features of the fusion innovation approach and create a novel Technology Roadmapping process for fusion start-ups, which is developed via a case study with Tokamak Energy Ltd. The main elements of the developed process, the resulting Technology Roadmap, and its impact are presented.

Keywords: Fusion energy; High-tech start-ups; Technological disruption; Fusion reactor; Clean energy innovation; Commercialisation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:158:y:2020:i:c:s0040162519318281

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120064

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