Clean energy and mobility offer Germany new technology leadership opportunities - consultancy
Clean Energy Wire
Germany could reap significantly greater economic benefits from climate-neutral energy generation and clean mobility if it makes more targeted investments and better integrates these technologies into industrial value creation chains, according to an analysis by consultancy BCG. The report, titled “Growth Paths” (Wachstumspfade), analysed six future technology focus fields identified in the “High-Tech Agenda” by Germany’s research ministry (BMBFTR). Besides clean energy and mobility, these included artificial intelligence, quantum technology, microelectronics, and biotechnology. BCG estimates that Germany could unlock a high-tech potential worth up to 1.7 trillion euros by 2030, provided that new procedures and technological solutions are implemented effectively.
The consultancy noted that Germany has lost its leading position in many energy transition technologies. However, the race is still on for leadership in sectors such as industrial heating or nuclear fusion. With the global market for climate-neutral energy generation projected to reach up to 570 billion euros annually by 2030, the country could make sizeable gains by turning research strengths into competitiveness, BCG argued.
Similar opportunities exist in climate-neutral mobility, which is already reshaping central industrial value creation chains in Germany that carry the risk of “new dependencies,” particularly in battery technology and automated driving, BCG said. Strengthening battery production in Europe and expanding automated driving across different transport systems could help secure the sector’s position during the transition, the authors wrote.
“The decisive factor: rigorously transferring existing strengths into industrial value creation,” they said, arguing that countries like China or the US are already pursuing this approach systematically, increasing pressure on Germany to respond. Clear procedures for technology transfer and sufficient venture capital are essential if the country is to make better commercial use of its strong research and development base, the consultancy added.
Germany continues to lag behind the US and China in patent numbers, start-up activity and venture capital volumes, BCG found. The High-Tech Agenda offers an opportunity to “reinvent” the country’s industrial basis and make the economy more resilient, the authors said. The key challenge, the report concluded, would be bringing policymakers, industry, research, and start-ups together in “innovation ecosystems” that raise sufficient capital for scaling up new technologies. State-backed pilot projects and purchase agreements could help reduce early market risks and accelerate deployment.