Many government interventions seek to increase the efficiency of industrial processes and to stimulate innovation. In this article we present and analyse four case studies of innovations in energy-efficient industrial process technologies: two in the paper and pulp industry and two in the iron and steel industry. We study the various networks around these technologies and investigate how they are affected by government intervention. An important relationship (an inverted U) is found between the momentum of the networks and the effectiveness of government R&D support for energy-efficient process technologies. It is concluded that R&D support can only be effective when it takes account of the characteristics of so-called 'slow technologies'.

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Stimulating research and development (R&D) of innovative energy-efficient technologies for industry is an attractive option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Impulse technology, an innovative papermaking technology, is always included in studies assessing the long-term potential of industrial energy efficiency. Aim of this article is to analyse the R&D trajectory of impulse technology in order to explore how government can stimulate the development of industrial energy-efficient technology. The concept of 'momentum' is used to characterise the network of actors and to understand the effect of government R&D support in this particular case study. The network analysis convincingly shows that although marketed as an energy-efficient technology, other benefits were in fact driving forces. Researchers at various national pulp & paper research institutes were successful in attracting government R&D support by claiming an improved energy efficiency. The momentum of the technology network was modest between 1980 and 1990. Therefore, government R&D support accelerated the development of impulse technology in this period. However, when the perspectives of the technology deteriorated-momentum decreased-researchers at national research institutes continued to attract government R&D support successfully. But 25 years of R&D-and over 15 years government R&D support-have not yet resulted in a proven technology.The case study illustrates the risk of continuing R&D support too long without taking into account actors' drivers to invest in R&D. Once momentum decreased, government should have been more circumspect in evaluating the (energy efficiency) promise of impulse technology. The major policy lesson is that government has to look beyond claimed energy efficiencies; government has to value (qualitative) information on (changing) technology networks in deciding upon starting, continuing or pulling out financial R&D support to industrial energy-efficient technology.@en

Strip casting technology in steel-making is known as an innovative energy-efficient technology. Stimulating the development (R&D) of such industrial process technologies is an appealing government intervention strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this article, we analyse (a) the R&D trajectory of strip casting technology and (b) the effect of government intervention on the development of this particular energy-efficient technology. For this purpose we made a detailed investigation of the networks within which the technology was developed.The huge capital cost advantages of strip casting technology were already notified back in the 19th century. However, only after 1975 a robust technology network emerged. There is no single, simple determinant explaining the slow emergence of the technology network: The innovative technology had to become a more incremental improvement to the conventional production facilities before R&D was seriously pursued. Once the technology network emerged, it proved to have a strong momentum of itself. Steel firms maintained their confidence in the strategic cost advantages of the technology and persistently invested in up-scaling the technology. The effect of government intervention was minimal, because the technology network had its own strong momentum. All in all, R&D was only loosely influenced by energy-efficiency considerations or by government intervention.The major policy lesson is that information on technology networks and its momentum-in addition to classic information on energy-efficiency improvements and investments costs-is required to improve the effect of government intervention in the field of industrial energy-efficiency R&D and innovation.

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Innovative energy-efficient technologies are likely to make an important contribution to the limitation of CO2 emissions in industrial sectors in the longer term. In this article, we explore the balance of 'internal' and 'external' factors in driving the RandD development of a successfully introduced energy-efficient technology in order to improve our understanding of the effect of government intervention in stimulating the development of such technologies. In the case of shoe press technology, internal factors were decisive for Beloit's success in bringing a radical new press design to the market in 1980. However, Beloit's success was grounded in external factors; they had a thorough knowledge of the needs of paper manufacturers - reducing the cost per ton by improving machine speed or reducing capital intensity; and they were also an appreciated partner in paper machine business. During the diffusion of the technology, the technology's market success, an external factor, stimulated ongoing improvements in shoe press technology. Some policy lessons regarding the possibilities for government to stimulate the development of energy-efficient technologies can be drawn: (a) when the development of a technology (that amongst others positively impacts energy use) has a strong momentum, government intervention is unnecessary; (b) government should acknowledge (and cultivate) the decisive role 'champions' or devoted actors can play; and (c) government should try to anchor energy-efficiency as a more important criteria for R&D activities among actors that can make a difference in the development technologies for mature industries.@en