Abstract
In order to take up the twin challenge of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, while meeting a growing energy demand, the potential deployment of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies is attracting a growing interest of policy makers around the world. At present CCS is the only technological solution
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that has the potential to substantially reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel fired power plants and other large-scale industrial processes. The ultimate goal of CCS is to store the otherwise emitted CO2 for geological times in the deep underground. By reaching its goal CCS can significantly cut back CO2 emissions from burning carbon-containing fuels which may dominate the primary energy supply until at least the middle of the 21st century. Despite the acknowledged urgency to demonstrate CCS technologies and the increasing amount of funding available, no fully integrated power plants with CCS have yet been built at commercial scale. The pattern of difficulty at the demonstration phase, whereby new technologies fail to negotiate the various market and institutional barriers that confront them, is often manifested in multifaceted, capital-intensive technologies, like CCS. If this part of the innovation process is not well managed, either by policy makers or industries, this might lead to the development of technologies that do not match market demands or the absence of technological innovation altogether. On the other hand if the innovation process is well understood, it may allow for shaping and accelerating the development and deployment of emerging technologies. This thesis is centred around the question of how to accelerate the development and deployment of CCS technologies, using a multi-disciplinary research focus. After all, the innovation process is not only influenced by technological characteristics. The social-economic environment in which a technology is developed and deployed – called the ‘Technological Innovation System (TIS)’ - is deemed of great importance. A well functioning Innovation System would greatly support the final market uptake of CCS technologies. So identifying strengths and weaknesses in the present Innovation System is of crucial importance to technology managers and policy makers that wish to accelerate the innovation process. In order to do so, the research presented in this thesis applies the Innovation System Functions approach. System Functions are key processes required for an Innovation System to develop and grow and, thereby, to increase the commercial chances of the new technology. In recent scientific articles published by the Innovation Studies Group of the Utrecht University, seven functions are discerned, each covering a critical aspect of technology development, namely entrepreneurial activities, knowledge development, knowledge diffusion, guidance, market creation, resources mobilization and the creation of legitimacy. For a better understanding of the innovation processes, in this thesis the innovation systems functions are used to compare the growth and performance of CCS Innovation Systems in the United States, Canada, Norway, Australia, and of course the Netherlands. Such a comparison offers the possibility to learn from each other’s experiences regarding the development of CCS and strategies that could accelerate the deployment of CCS technologies in the Netherlands and abroad
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