Technological revolutions, such as electrification, motorisation of transport or digitalisation, have been the main drivers of economic development. These revolutions not only see the emergence of novel sectors but also disrupt established industries. This paper focuses on how the latest revolution, characterised by ICT, the internet of things and AI technologies, is disrupting existing industries focused on the case of the home security sector. Using a large catalogue retailer in the UK, the paper examines the product range offered within the home security category, analysing product descriptions to understand the level of digitalisation in the sector. In a second step, the paper characterises the sector by examining firms offering products related to the internet of things, and by looking at their characteristics, such as age and sector of activity. The analysis shows that the introduction of smart products within this sector is led by newly created firms specialising in digital innovation and connected products. These firms are in turn bought by larger groups, leading the technological revolution. The paper finally reflects on the change in industrial structure occurring in mature sectors following the introduction of innovative products linked to the current technological revolution. It discusses the relative role of incumbents, start-ups and the dominant companies leading the technological revolution in this diffusion process.
Although the economic impact of standards has been investigated for over two decades, the effect of the entire quality infrastructure, encompassing standards, conformity assessment, accreditation, metrology, and market surveillance, has been examined primarily through specific case studies. The objective of this analysis is to conduct an econometric analysis to assess the economic value of quality infrastructure on Gross Domestic Product. After a review of the small but growing literature, indicators for the different elements of the quality infrastructure are presented. The panel regression is based on a timeseries of available indicators for a set of European countries. After assessing the impact of each element of the quality infrastructure separately, a comprehensive model is estimated to calculate its total effect. We find that standards are significantly associated with the GDP of the countries, which corroborates earlier studies. Furthermore, the generally good data coverage for ISO 9001 certifications reveals a significant influence of conformity assessment on GDP. Participation in the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) as an indicator for accreditation plays also a substantial role for the country's GDP. However, the approximation of market surveillance by the cases reported in the European Rapid Alert System for Dangerous Products (RAPEX) must be critically assessed due to the ambivalent results. The paper concludes by discussing the overall approach and the revealed results, the limitations and, ultimately, the implied policy recommendations.
The decarbonisation of industry, which is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, is closely linked to the energy system and its transformation. This study quantifies the impacts of industrial decarbonisation on the European energy system, considering uncertainties in electricity and hydrogen demand and constraints on renewable energy sources (RES) deployment and cross-border infrastructure expansion. Using a scenario-based approach, we link the detailed bottom-up model FORECAST-Industry with the multi-energy system model METIS-3 to analyse six scenarios that explore variations in hydrogen and electrification adoption and supply-side constraints. By 2050, electrification is projected to be the cornerstone of industrial decarbonisation in the EU27+UK, with demand reaching 1528-1854 TWh compared with 976 TWh in 2020, while hydrogen demand ranges between 416 and 1785 TWh by 2050, concentrated in energy-intensive sectors. Meeting the energy demand of all sectors will require unprecedented expansion of RES, with annual capacity additions of 56-73 GW for solar and 37-55 GW for wind. Developing a pan-European hydrogen network is a robust element that reduces costs even under scenarios with constrained RES deployment or low industrial hydrogen demand. From a technoeconomic perspective, optimal deployment of RES potentials, supported by robust hydrogen infrastructure, could enable the EU to meet its own hydrogen demand domestically at a competitive marginal system cost of 55-64 & euro;/MWh. Less ambitious RES deployment or cross-border capacity limitations lead to a 19.5 % increase in the costs of hydrogen and a greater reliance on hydrogen imports, covering up to 23 % of demand. By providing high sectoral and process-level detail, the study captures a wide range of potential hydrogen uses and the corresponding need for hydrogen infrastructure.
Investigating the dynamics of regional development is central to the broader literature on the geography of innovation. While the role of innovation in economic modernisation, industrial growth, and the restructuring of regions has long dominated the scientific discourse, increasing attention has recently been directed towards major societal challenges and the need for transformative change. However, integrative perspectives on how regions cope with the dual challenge posed by structural and transformative change remain scarce. Against this background, the contributions in this special issue provide new insights into how regional development, particularly in lagging and old industrial regions, unfolds, shaped by region-specific actor constellations, agency, and institutional settings. This editorial synthesises the articles and outlines future research directions.
This synthesis integrates spectral design, precise metrology, and advanced device engineering into a unified framework for unassisted solar-to-hydrogen operation. The interplay between light absorption by the electrolyte and optical utilization is addressed by employing representative reference spectra and spectral budgeting to quantify realistic STH prospects and to guide electrolyte-compatible concepts. By linking absorption losses, photovoltage requirements, and photocurrent generation to concrete material choices and junction configurations, a pathway toward high efficiency under practical conditions is delineated. The full implementation of the derived design implication requires an advanced device architecture. Immersed multi-junction photoelectrochemical electrodes produced by inverted metamorphic (IMM) epitaxy with a transparent graded buffer permit independent bandgap tuning of each junction, reducing interfacial voltage losses by approximately 0.55 V relative to traditional uniformly p-doped photocathodes. However, illumination conditions and measurement practices shape reported performance. Artificial light and imperfect metrology can skew benchmarks and hinder cross-study comparability. Spectrally corrected benchmarking and standardized measurement protocols are advocated to establish credible performance standards that reflect real operating conditions, enabling apples-to-apples comparisons across studies and devices. Testing with spectrally corrected metrics yields solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies exceeding 16% for GaInP/GaInAs IMM tandems, representing a substantial improvement over prior high-performance configurations.
