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Abstract This paper, for the first time, presents comparable projections of travel behaviour impacts of the introduction of autonomous vehicles (AVs) into the private car fleet for two countries, namely the USA and Germany. The focus is on fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) which allow drivers to engage in other activities enroute. Two 2035 scenarios – a trend scenario and an extreme scenario – are presented for both study countries. For these projections, we combine a vehicle technology diffusion model and an aspatial travel demand model. Factors that influence AV impact in the behavioural model are mainly new automobile user groups, e.g. travellers with mobility impairments, and altered generalized costs of travel, e.g. due to a lower value of travel time savings for car travel. The results indicate that AV penetrations rates might be higher in Germany (10% or 38% respectively) than in the USA (8% or 29% respectively) due to a higher share of luxury cars and quicker fleet turnover. On the contrary, the increase of vehicle mileage induced by AVs is not higher in Germany (+2.4% or +8.6% respectively) than in the USA (+3.4% or +8.6% respectively). This is mainly due to the lack of mode alternatives and lower fuel costs resulting in a higher share of travel times among the total generalized costs of travel in the USA. These results clearly indicate that context factors shaped by national policy will influence AV adoption and impact on travel demand changes. Based on these results the paper draws policy recommendations which will help to harness the advantages of AVs while avoiding their negative consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germany has served as a role model in photovoltaic technology diffusion amongst house owners in the last two decades. A strong feed-in tariff scheme based on the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) supported - and to some extent - enabled this development, but due to skyrocketing costs it already has been and will be further reduced. So far changes in public policy have only slightly affected house owners with photovoltaic panels on their own house, but future policies have not been decided yet. This article uses the methodology of System Dynamics to develop a model of the German photovoltaic market for small plants on private houses and tests public policies. Amongst them are different scenarios regarding the reduction or even removal of the feed-in tariff scheme in Germany. The results can improve German public policies in the field of photovoltaic technology diffusion and serve as an example for other countries and other renewable energy diffusion cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Startups play a crucial role in introducing radical innovations and need to maintain a high level of product innovativeness (PI) to consolidate their business models and remain competitive. However, startups often face challenges and limitations that hinder their PI efforts and require external support from innovation intermediaries. Despite the prevalence of research on intermediaries, there is a limited understanding of the effect of their activities and capabilities - commonly referred to as orchestration functions - on startups' innovativeness. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the causal relationships between configurations of orchestration functions of intermediation and product innovativeness in startups. Drawing on the latest literature, we identify five orchestration functions that comprise the intermediary's impact structure, including Network Composition and Process Management (NCP), Fostering Networking and Partnerships for Resource Mobilization (FNP), Intermediation for Technology Transfer, Collaborative Research, and Commercialization (ITC), Identification and Mediation of Different Interests (IMD), and Evaluation and Validation of Outcomes (EVO). Using a mixed-methods approach incorporating the fsQCA method, we conducted a longitudinal investigation of 14 startups and their relationship with an innovation intermediary in Germany. Our results reveal that three specific configurations of all five intermediary functions can explain product innovativeness in startups. This study provides a valuable contribution to academia by proposing a set of configurations of orchestration functions that can explain startups' performance and provides practical implications for practitioners looking to enhance product innovativeness in startups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To many, a lot of secrets are at the bottom of the often-cited catchphrase “Smart Grid”. This article gives an overview of the options that information and communication technology (ICT) offers for the restructuring and modernisation of the German power system, in particular with a view towards its development into a Smart Grid and thus tries to reveal these secrets. After a short outline on the development of ICT in terms of technology types and their availability, the further analysis highlights upcoming challenges in all parts of the power value chain and possible solutions for these challenges through the intensified usage of ICT applications. They are examined with regard to their effectiveness and efficiency in the fields of generation, transmission, distribution and supply. Finally, potential obstacles that may defer the introduction of ICT into the power system are shown. The analysis suggests that if certain hurdles are taken, the huge potential of ICT can create additional value in various fields of the whole power value chain. This ranges from increased energy efficiency and the more sophisticated integration of decentralised (renewable) energy plants to a higher security of supply and more efficient organisation of market processes. The results are true for the German power market but can in many areas also be transferred to other industrialised nations with liberalised power markets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been in the fourth wave of the low emission vehicle development since 2006. Moreover, the BEV technology diffusion is beyond national boundaries due to the changes in the innovation mode and product characteristics. The paper adopts priority patent applications and international patent families to map the BEV transnational technology diffusion from the perspective of global technology innovation (GTI). Our study finds the sources and recipients of BEV technology are concentrated in a few countries or regions, while the transnational technology diffusion is uneven, especially in the core group. The key drivers of technology diffusion are the innovation capacity of countries and the scale of countries' market demand for BEV technology. Our findings enrich the literature on transnational technology diffusion and help policy-makers or company managers better understanding of why some countries may achieve success while others made little progress in the similar context of promoting BEV development. • Mapping the technology diffusion of battery electric vehicles by using patent data. • The transnational technology diffusion of battery electric vehicles is uneven. • The technology sources and recipients of battery electric vehicles are concentrated. • The market proximity between the U.S. and China is closer, so does Germany and China. • Innovation capacity and market scale are key drivers of technology diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Scenario-based simulations with EnergyPLAN based on Choice Awareness Theory. • Evaluation of recent coal power phase-out plans on annual and hourly bases. • Decarbonising effects of the coal phase-out and electrolytic hydrogen production. • Analysing the coherence of phase-out policies and low carbon technology diffusion. We analyse whether Germany will fall short of the country's decarbonisation targets. Bearing this potential failure in mind, the present study investigates technological options and their effectiveness for decarbonising the energy system from a systemic perspective. We consider the country's coal phase-out, the increasing amounts of electricity from renewable energy sources, more efficient heating concepts as well as the evolving of smart charging infrastructures and large-scale storage options. Based on the declared plans of the federal authorities and alternative proposals of environmental associations, ten distinct decarbonisation scenarios for the period from 2020 to 2030 form the basis of our models. Using the Energy PLAN simulation tool, annual and hourly performance indicators were computed in order to evaluate the effectiveness of decarbonisation measures. In particular, we examine the increasing usage of electrolysers for both the absorption of excess electricity and the production of hydrogen as a substitute for fossil fuels in relation to the timing of the coal phase-out. Pursuing this approach, we demonstrate the coherence between coal phase-out policies and low carbon technology diffusion. Our findings reveal that implementing the coal phase-out earlier than has been scheduled by the country's Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment mitigates the non-achievement of the decarbonisation targets. Moreover, our results suggest the upscaling of domestic electrolyser capacity to up to 9554 MW by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Assessment of responsiveness' role in mechanisms for adjusting economic incentives. • Agent-based model of feed-in tariff for solar adoption in Germany, Spain, Switzerland. • More responsive designs meet deployment policy goal accurately and lower uncertainty. • Surprisingly, results show diminishing returns of responsiveness that add policy cost. • Country-specific attributes shown to influence solar power diffusion patterns. A rapid, global diffusion of clean energy technologies is central to the efforts to curb global carbon dioxide emissions. Deployment policies based on economic incentives have proved effective in accelerating the uptake of renewable technologies, such as solar photovoltaics, and could quicken the adoption of others. However, their outcomes were often uncertain and costly as many countries struggled to adjust incentives while technology prices fell rapidly. This study addresses this challenge by investigating the role of responsiveness – the policy's ability to react to changes in the context in which it operates – in the design of mechanisms for adjusting incentives over time. This paper employs an agent-based model to evaluate quantitatively six policy designs with varying degrees of responsiveness for adjusting a feed-in tariff for solar photovoltaics in three countries – Germany, Spain, and Switzerland – for over a decade. Our first finding confirms that more responsive policy designs tended to produce policies that meet their goals more accurately and certainly. Between the least and the most responsive designs, deviation from policy goals was reduced by 60% and uncertainty was reduced by more than 50%. Our results also suggest that policy responsiveness could have diminishing returns: improvements in the policy's accuracy and certainty tended to become smaller while policy costs per capita tended to become larger as design responsiveness increased. Finally, simulation results show how country-specific attributes influence the diffusion pattern of the technology. These findings have major implications for the design of future deployment policies supporting the diffusion of clean energy technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]