Colloquium: Prof. Kavita Surana

Policymakers aim to boost innovation in clean energy technologies while also promoting local manufacturing and deployment to achieve environmental and economic objectives. But the shift in clean energy manufacturing from developed to emerging economies raises questions about whether this change aligns with long-term climate goals.

This talk addresses these questions through the lens of the global wind energy value chain, using a unique dataset of component suppliers for the 13 largest original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The analysis examines the global distribution of manufacturing and its connection to technology complexity, a measure of the knowledge and skills required for production. It uses data science and natural language processing techniques to explore the temporal dimension of innovation, determining whether firms' patenting activities focus on short-term or long-term goals. The talk concludes by assessing how manufacturing locations affect innovation timelines, and explores how this approach can be applied to other clean energy technologies, providing policymakers with valuable insights.