Innovation & Alternative Energy Technologies

Forecasts for the future supply of energy include considerable growth in alternative, sustainable, sources of energy or the deployment of technologies to reduce the carbon impact of current energy sources. There is the expectation that these innovations will come to market and reach significant scale in remarkably short timescales.

In this module you will explore the established views on innovation and then look at how alternative energy technologies are progressing. You will consider what factors can accelerate or slow down the path an innovation takes to commercialisation and growth in the marketplace. These factors include a company's own approach to innovation as well as the role governments and regulators play in shaping development trajectories.

The module is taught in two parts; one focuses on innovation in general, the other on alternative energy sources.

The Innovation Management Toolkit

From R&D to Innovation
Innovation in context: markets, legislation and regulatory influences
Resourcing and protecting innovation.

Innovating in Alternative Energy Technologies

Bio-fuels: innovation and regulation
Fuel cells: innovation across systems
Photovoltaics: achieving affordable innovation
Wind energy: scalable innovation
Distributed energy: innovation in efficiency
Carbon capture and storage (CCS): innovation requiring major investments.

By the end of this module you will have:

Understood the main conceptual frameworks which have shaped research and practice on innovation
An appreciation of the role of innovation in organisational and national performance
Appreciated the role of markets and regulation in shaping innovation and market development
Gained insight into innovation across the global energy industry and understood the practical steps firms can take.