Public Research and Development Funding for Renewable Energy Technologies in Europe: A Cross-Country Analysis

Maximilian Gasser, Simon Pezzutto, Wolfram Sparber and Eric Wilczynski
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Maximilian Gasser: Institute for Renewable Energy, European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC Research), Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Simon Pezzutto: Institute for Renewable Energy, European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC Research), Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Wolfram Sparber: Institute for Renewable Energy, European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC Research), Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Eric Wilczynski: Institute for Renewable Energy, European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC Research), Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-28

Abstract: The European Union recognizes the vital role that innovation in renewable energy technologies plays in accelerating the energy transition. In the largest ever transnational research and innovation program, Horizon Europe (2021–2027), the EU allocated 35% of the total budget of €95.5 billion to green technology research. This paper examines public research and development (R&D) funding for renewable energy technologies in 17 European countries from 2000 to 2020 by analyzing its extent, composition, and effectiveness. While large economies lead in the size of total available public R&D support, Nordic countries lead when it comes to available public R&D funding relative to the sizes of their respective economies. Thereby, the share of the European Union’s funding within the total public R&D support available in each country is vastly heterogeneous across countries, ranging from 13% to 63%. Furthermore, based on detailed and recent data, the effectiveness of public R&D funding is estimated through a Negative Binomial Regression model with fixed effects. Overall, public R&D funding is confirmed as an effective driver of green innovation. Like in previous studies, limitations stem from restricted data availability and temporal uncertainty of innovation. These limitations are addressed, which shall incentivize future research and policymaking.

Keywords: research and development (R&D); renewable energy technologies; renewable energy innovation; environmental policy; patents; negative binomial regression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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