Trials of Technologies to Fight Climate Change Waste Public Money Without Coherent Innovation Strategy

LONDON, July 6, 2010 - Publicly-funded demonstration projects and trials (DTs) are vitally
important for developing low-carbon technologies in the fight against global
warming. However, according to new research from the Advanced Institute of
Management Research (AIM Research), the process of innovation needs to be
managed holistically for DTs to be effective.

"The justification for government-funded DTs is the public good," says
Chris Hendry of City University, London. "But if the innovation process is
not managed as a whole, as the US experience in wind and photovoltaics has
shown, benefits from DTs and R&D will inevitably pass overseas and the public
expense will have been wasted."

Publicly-funded DTs are widely used to support innovation in energy and
reduce the uncertainties of new technologies. Take wind power. Given the huge
public resistance to wind turbines and local authority planning permission
refusals, without test sites provided by DTs much of today's wind turbine
technology would never have reached the market.

In the UK, there is a raft of new DT programmes to drive the development
of low-carbon technologies.They are used to test technology and promote
commercialisation. Despite the range of projects funded by the EU, however,
there is often little systematic, public evaluation of DTs.

"When DT programmes are not systematically evaluated, their purpose of
ensuring lessons are learned is undermined," says Professor Hendry. "Learning
should be paramount. This means effective reporting as well as challenging
goals. It's critical this learning is spread quickly to strengthen national
industry and develop national markets."

The AIM report analyses DTs in photovoltaics and wind energy to identify
lessons for DT design in relation to the overall innovation process. It
argues that R&D, DTs and offline test centres need to come together to give
the long-term commitment that innovation requires.

"But there needs to be a coordinated, sequential approach," says
Professor Hendry. "DTs shouldn't promote technology before it's ready or
create false markets. Technology development must be taken to the
commercialisation stage in a series of smooth transitions."

However, it is also important to understand that innovation doesn't
happen in a linear fashion. It goes through repeated cycles of development
where technically-focused DTs and R&D often follow the opening of markets as
second and third generation technologies come on stream and failed technology
is revived.

www.aimresearch.org/the-uncertain–middle/

Contact: Colin Hallmark: +44(0)2077361888; colin at 3nine.co.uk