6. Energy technology innovation
Key data
Government clean energy RD&D spending (2018): USD 110.61 million* Total public energy RD&D spend: USD 652.8 million**
Total public energy RD&D per thousand GDP units: 0.23** (IEA median: 0.33; mean: 0.36)***
Private energy RD&D spend: USD 418 million
*Budget reported as part of Mission Innovation. **Estimate based on available data for 2017 and 2018.
***Median and mean of 25 IEA member countries for which 2017 data are available.
Overview
India is making significant efforts to accelerate energy technology innovation as a means to achieve national policy goals such as enhancing country-wide energy access, fostering economic growth, containing air pollution and meeting climate targets. In recent years, notable success stories have emerged in India’s innovation system.
India’s energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) landscape is dominated by the public sector, specifically the central government, and involves a broad range of ministries and related agencies. The role of private sector actors in technology innovation is expected to become increasingly important looking ahead. Under the “Make in India” initiative, the focus is on public–private collaboration to tap into the RD&D capabilities of private actors and scale up domestic technology development and deployment. In 2018 the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated India’s total government spending on energy RD&D at USD 652.8 million across government.
The IEA estimates suggest that the government budget for energy RD&D in India as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) is below, but not far off, the average of IEA member countries (based on available data). India’s innovation-specific policy support and national Missions have been important in driving key energy technology development in recent years, in addition to funding support. Recent years have shown a marked increase in funding, especially as India works to double its spending on clean energy RD&D over five years under Mission Innovation (MI). India has also, more generally, been a leader in MI and other multi-lateral collaborations such as the Technology Collaboration Programme organised by the IEA.
India could benefit from a more strategic approach to energy RD&D in the future, including by: a) further improving inter-ministerial co-ordination to align innovation priorities; b) outlining a long-term energy RD&D roadmap to embed RD&D programmes in broader
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6. ENERGY TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
energy policies and steer innovation towards national goals; and c) strengthening institutional and legal frameworks, including intellectual property regimes. Such an endeavour would benefit from the consistent collection and monitoring of energy RD&D data.
Energy technology RD&D and innovation policies
India’s draft National Energy Policy has a dedicated focus on energy technology innovation, acknowledging the central role that energy technology can play in “enhancing supply of energy at affordable prices, and deliver it efficiently and sustainably” (NITI Aayog, 2017). The draft also notes the role of government support in acquiring technologies from abroad, encouraging RD&D for unmet domestic needs, and funding innovation directly in some cases. The draft policy is consistent with the Make in India campaign and parallel efforts to improve energy access through electrification.
In the last decade, India has been conducting RD&D in a wide range of technology areas related to energy supply (e.g. advanced biofuels, wind, solar, hydrogen and coal) and demand (e.g. electric mobility and sustainable buildings). In some instances, sectorspecific policy documents lay out government initiatives and embed RD&D activities in broader national policy plans, such as the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy (MNRE, 2015), the National Policy on Biofuels (MoPNG, 2018), and the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) (MoEFCC, 2019).
For example, the ICAP seeks to “provide sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all while securing environmental and socio-economic benefits”, and mentions Make in India considerations (i.e. the national agenda). In parallel, the plan identifies cooling “as a thrust area of research under national Science & Technology Programme” with “robust R&D on alternative cooling technologies to provide push to innovation” (i.e. the RD&D agenda). The ICAP process required inputs from multiple stakeholders, including several public bodies, industry, think tanks, academia and RD&D institutions, which also stimulates the innovation ecosystem.
In 2018 India launched the Global Cooling Prize in collaboration with MI and the Rocky Mountain Institute, an impact-oriented technology innovation programme offering USD 3 million for solutions that have at least five times less climate impact than current room air conditioners. The policy rationale is that initiatives that combine policy push and RD&D funding provide incentives for a wider range of technology developers to innovate than budget-constrained RD&D funding alone. The intention is to encourage more creative solutions to pressing national challenges. About 140 teams from 31 countries submitted innovative ideas for the prize; ten finalists will develop prototypes with financing of USD 200 000 in 2020; and the winning cooling technology will be awarded USD 1 million by the end of 2020.
To address specific technology areas, the government has initiated energy-related national missions, building on the National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008) (IEA, 2019a). These missions generally mention RD&D components alongside deployment targets and incentive mechanisms. These include the following:
National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (2009) (IEA, 2019b)
National Solar Mission (2010) (IEA, 2019c)
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