Innovation for the German energy transition- Insights from an expert survey

Germany has committed itself to drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through an energy transition, which combines the massive expansion of renewable energy in electricity generation with energy savings and energy efficiency improvements. Innovative low-carbon technologies will be central to a successful energy transition. In this context, we address three questions: (i) which innovative low-carbon technologies are key for the energy transition in different sectors of the economy, (ii) what are the obstacles to low-carbon innovations, and (iii) what are policy reform options to foster the German energy transition. Based on an expert survey, we find that key innovative low-carbon technologies are already available today. However, their market diffusion is hindered by insufficient pricing of CO2 externalities, lock-in effects, and counterproductive regulatory constraints. Overcoming these obstacles will require in first place a more stringent pricing of energy carriers based on their actual CO2 content.