Winning and Losing Bets on Green Technologies

11 Pages Posted: 1 May 2010 Last revised: 13 May 2010

See all articles by Suman (Shuman) Talukdar

Suman (Shuman) Talukdar

Talukdar.Co

Michael B. Horn

Innosight Institute

Rich Alton

Harvard University - Business School (HBS)

Clayton M. Christensen

Harvard University - Technology & Operations Management Unit

Date Written: April 28, 2010

Abstract

As concerns over the recent economic malaise have combined with continuing concerns about climate change, many policy makers have held up a new generation of clean energy technologies as a way to address both problems at once. For our purposes, clean/green energy technologies are those which either harness power from renewable, sustainable sources or those which seek to reduce adverse human impact on the environment. Many of these technologies also hold the potential to contribute to energy independence. We include such technologies as solar, wind, and geothermal power, biofuels, smart power grids, as well as hydrogen and electric vehicle propulsion. We realize that more technical definitions of green energy exist, but we hope our use of the term here is both convenient and acceptable. In this article we will use several of our models of innovation like a set of lenses through which we will examine these potential new sources of energy, in hopes that we can help investors, technologists and policymakers frame their efforts in ways that will have the greatest impact.

Keywords: Green Technology, Clean Technology

JEL Classification: D6

Suggested Citation

Talukdar, Suman and Horn, Michael B. and Alton, Rich and Christensen, Clayton M., Winning and Losing Bets on Green Technologies (April 28, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1597315 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1597315

Suman Talukdar (Contact Author)

Talukdar.Co ( email )

United States

HOME PAGE: http://talukdar.co

Michael B. Horn

Innosight Institute ( email )

100 W. El Camino Real, #74B
Mountain View, 94040-2649
Canada

Rich Alton

Harvard University - Business School (HBS) ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Morgan 270C
Boston, MA 02163
United States

Clayton M. Christensen

Harvard University - Technology & Operations Management Unit ( email )

Boston, MA 02163
United States

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