Analysis of international efforts in energy research and development

Research and experimental development comprise innovative and creative work undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge of science, engineering, and society. This knowledge reserve is used to improve living conditions and standards, including economic growth. Research and development (R&D) expenditures are useful measures of the scale and direction of technological innovation within a country, industry, or scientific field. Administrators concerned with economic growth and performance rely on R&D statistics as one possible type of indicator of technological change. R&D statistics are an essential tool in many government programs and evaluations (OECD 1993). The objective of the analysis was to identify and evaluate R&D funding sources, levels, and trends in the energy sectors of selected industrialized countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States) and the European Union (EU). Fossil fuel technologies, particularly fuel cells and advanced gas turbines, were the focus of the analysis, whose results are presented in this report