In this webinar we try to map innovation in the electricity markets. Anticipating innovation trajectories could help decision makers develop new capabilities to take advantage of incremental and disruptive effects in this sector. Although businesses, entrepreneurs and investors are well suited to turn the most promising ideas and inventions into products and services, few studies have focused on their business value proposition to identify such technological trends. We try to fill that void by analyzing actual innovations pursued by startups worldwide in the electricity sector. We compiled a database of 320 startups whose focus is centered in the electricity sector. We classified these startups according to their business proposition in the context of megatrends disrupting the electricity sector and their specific technological domain. The collection of startups was also linked to a conceptually focused review of the relevant literature on innovation. Based on this analysis we put forward 5 propositions for the future of the electricity sector in the midterm.

Moderator: Frank Felder

Prof. Frank Felder is an engineer, energy policy analyst, and Program Director for Energy Transitions and Electric Power. Prior to joining KAPSARC, Frank was a Research Professor at the School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, Director of the Rutgers Energy Institute, and Director of the Center for Energy, Economics and Environmental Policy. In those roles, he conducted original and applied research in the areas of electric power system modeling, clean energy policies, and climate change for academic foundations, government agencies, and energy utilities. He has also worked as an economic consultant and nuclear engineer.

Speakers: Rolando Fuentes

Dr. Rolando Fuentes is Research Professor at EGADE Business School- Tec de Monterrey and Visiting Research Fellow at KAPSARC. Dr. Fuentes is an economist from the Tecnológico de Monterrey (graduated with honors) and holds a PhD and an Msc in Environmental Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE) and the University College London (UCL), respectively. He was recipient of the British Chevenning Scholarship in 2001. He received the best paper award from the 8th Conference of the Regulation of Network Industries 2019, organized by the Florence School of Regulation.