Research on the Diffusion of Green Energy Technological Innovation from the Perspective of International Cooperation

Yan Li (), Jun Wu and Xin-Ping Wang
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Yan Li: College of Humanities and Foreign Languages, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Jun Wu: Shaanxi Coal Industry Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710100, China
Xin-Ping Wang: School of Management, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: The diffusion of green energy technological innovation based on international green energy cooperation is a critical pathway to achieving global low-carbon emission reductions. However, few studies have considered the innovation diffusion pathways of green energy technologies under bilateral policy uncertainties. This paper constructs an evolutionary game model for the diffusion of green energy technological innovation in a complex network environment, with a focus on analyzing the impacts of key parameters such as policy spillover effects, technological heterogeneity, technical leakage risks, and free-riding risks on the equilibrium outcomes of evolutionary strategies. The results of the study are as follows: (1) Technological synergy and technological heterogeneity have a significant role in promoting the diffusion of green energy technological innovation, but when technological heterogeneity is too high, it is difficult for the two parties to find more common interests and areas of technological interaction, and the cooperative innovation will be turned into an empty shell that has a name but no reality. (2) Policy uncertainty has a significant impact on the diffusion of green energy technology innovation, and the specific impact depends on the type of policy, policy intensity, policy spillover effects, and other key parameters. (3) The risk of technological obsolescence has prompted countries to deeply participate in green energy international cooperation to realize the “curved road overtaking” of green energy technology based on technological locking and latecomer advantages; due to the existence of the phenomenon of “free-riding”, the logic of value creation based on win–win cooperation is replaced by the opportunism of “enjoying the benefits”, and cooperative innovation may be turned into a one-time “handshake agreement”. The existence of the risk of technology leakage can turn collaborative innovation into a “witch hunt” by the underdog against the overdog, and the diffusion process of green energy technology innovation is led in the wrong direction.

Keywords: green energy; international cooperation; technological innovation diffusion; complex network; game theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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