Hydrogen fuel cells and alternatives in the transport sector issues for developing countries : UNU conference, Maastricht, 7-9 Nov. 2005

Abstract

This paper applies an innovation systems approach to analyse the establishment of the internal combustion engine in the automotive industry and the emergence of hydrogen fuel cells as a possible successor. New wave technologies such as information and communications technologies (ICTS), biotechnology, nanotechnology and hydrogen-based technologies have defining features that differentiate them from earlier industrial technologies: their science-base, patent-intensity and systems embeddedness. “To exaggerate only a bit, current attempts to forestall greener technologies is as if, at the end of the 19th century, we invested in breeding faster horses to compete with the emerging internal combustion engine.”