Intra-EU knowledge flows in the renewable energy sector: a patent citation analysis

We test whether demand-pull environmental measures, introduced with the 1997 Commission White Paper and following Directives, had an impact on the fragmentation of EU research and innovation effort in the strategic field of renewable energy. By focusing on knowledge spillovers, we study the pattern and evolution of knowledge flows within the EU and between the EU and two frontier innovators: the United States and Japan. This research question is motivated by increased concern that the fragmentation of EU renewable energy research and innovation systems may hamper the ability to address climate challenges at socially acceptable costs.