Abstract
The threats of environmental issues linked to the global climate change have been recognized to be one of the most serious problems challenging the world (Bailey and Tatikonda, 2018; Lee et al., 2015; Lerner, 2010; Zhang et al., 2019). Energy-intensive industries are listed as one of the main industries that should be strongly committed to sustainability transition. The transition to climate neutrality and alignment with EU Green Deal-inspired policies offers an opportunity for green energy firms to engage in transformative climate and innovation actions that meet the urgency of the climate crisis in this decade. The extant academic literature has so far mainly investigated the role of established firms as valuable actors in the broader cleantech field, without focusing on green energy early-stage ventures and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Such firms are deemed to play a significant role in pursuing innovation in this field (Cohen and Winn, 2007; Dean and McMullen, 2007; Garud and Karnøe, 2003; Hart and Milstein, 1999; McDaniels and Robins, 2017; Owen et al., 2018; Wüstenhagen et al., 2008), but they often face financial constraints to develop and scale their business (Ghosh and Nanda, 2010; Giudici et al., 2018; Hornuf and Schwienbacher, 2018; Josefy et al., 2017) because of high levels of uncertainty characterizing their inventions and their capital-intensive nature. The project will involve four broad research activities: 1) “The mapping of green energy in Europe”: is aimed at building a complete dataset of green energy companies with associated financial accounting information, patent data, and sources of financing. We will map the geographical distribution, the evolution over time, the current size, the patenting activities, and the sources of financing of the green energy sector. 2) “The Collection of EU-level and country-level targeted policies and regulations” that are central to the European Green Deal (and that can be declined at both European and national level). 3) “The enabling factors for the development of green energy firms”: is aimed at exploring the effects of the implementation of specific and targeted policies and regulations (at both EU-level and country-level) that are central to the European Green Deal and the effects of different sources of financing on the financial and innovative performance of green energy firms. 4) We will explore the extent to which the implementation of policies and regulations affect the offer of equity by VCs in the green energy sub-field. The results stemming from such research activities will lead to the definition of a set of policy recommendations.
Results achieved
This project focused on energy-intensive industries, which are recognized as key sectors requiring strong commitment to the sustainability transition. While existing academic literature has largely explored the role of established firms in the broader cleantech landscape, it has often overlooked early-stage green energy ventures and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The overarching goal of the project was guided by the idea that, to effectively identify the main drivers of development across different areas of intervention under the European Green Deal-particularly in the context of green energy firms-it is essential to address critical challenges at two interconnected levels: 1) System-level: this involves examining the regulatory and policy frameworks, both at the European and national levels, that influence financing, innovation, and growth dynamics in the green energy sector 2) Firm-level: this focuses on identifying the factors-especially those related to policy and entrepreneurial finance-that support value creation and growth among green energy firms. The project was structured into four main research activities, each corresponding to a specific Work Package (WP). While each WP had a lead institution responsible for its execution, the research teams collaborated closely to ensure consistency across the project and to produce the required deliverables. 1) “Mapping green energy in Europe and data collection” (WP1 & WP2 – led by Politecnico di Milano). This work focused on building a comprehensive dataset of green energy firms across Europe, integrating financial data, patent information, and sources of financing. 2) “Collection of EU and country-level targeted policies and regulations” (WP3 – led by Università degli Studi di Bologna). This activity involved the systematic collection and analysis of policy measures and regulations at both EU and national levels that are central to the European Green Deal. 3) “Enabling factors for green energy firm development” (WP4 – led by Politecnico di Torino). This research examined the impact of targeted policies, regulations, and equity financing on the performance and growth of green energy firms, with a specific focus on how these instruments support their development. 4) “Policy guidelines” (WP5 – led by Università degli Studi di Bologna). Based on the findings from the previous research activities, this final phase aimed to synthesize insights into actionable policy recommendations to support the green energy sector. The project successfully met all its stated objectives and delivered the intended outcomes. The main achievements are summarized as follows: Achievement 1: Development of a Comprehensive Dataset on European Green Energy Firms Project participants constructed a novel dataset of European green energy companies by applying a supervised machine learning (ML) algorithm to the extended business descriptions of firms across Europe. This methodology allowed for the accurate identification of relevant companies within the sector. The dataset was further enriched with detailed financial accounting data, patent information, and sources of financing, drawn from a variety of commercial databases and matched to the identified firms. To facilitate analysis and communication of the results, data visualization tools such as Tableau were employed. Achievement 2: Construction of a Policy and Regulation Dataset at EU and National Levels A parallel effort focused on building a comprehensive dataset of environmental policies and regulatory initiatives at both the EU and member state levels. These initiatives were systematically categorized across several key dimensions. The dataset was further enhanced with quantitative indicators measuring the stringency of government environmental policies, notably drawing on the work of Botta and Koźluk (2014) and the OECD’s Policy Stringency Index (PSI). Achievement 3: Analysis of Enabling Factors for the Development of Green Energy Firms Using the datasets developed in WP1–WP3, project participants investigated the key drivers enabling the growth and success of European green energy firms. This included: 1. Impact on CO₂ Emissions: An analysis of the role of green energy startups in reducing carbon emissions, considering both direct effects in the startups’ immediate geographic areas and indirect effects in neighboring regions. The moderating influence of environmental policies and innovation activity of the region was also assessed. 2. Role of Venture Capital: A second stream of analysis examined the impact of venture capital (VC) financing on cleantech company growth—measured by sales, employment, and total assets—using newly available data and a broader definition of the sector. 3. Knowledge Spillover Dynamics: A third analysis compared the structure of knowledge spillover networks in green versus non-green technologies to determine which domain promotes wider dissemination of innovation, broader geographic reach, and stronger interconnections between disparate technological fields. Achievement 4: Policy Implications and Recommendations Each deliverable and research output included a set of policy implications aimed at informing more effective mechanisms to support investment in green energy. These recommendations are grounded in empirical analysis and targeted at enhancing the policy framework supporting sustainability transitions. Achievement 5: Dissemination and Public Engagement Project findings were presented at numerous national and international conferences. A final event was held in Milan, where the results were discussed in comparison with other PRIN-funded projects at the national level. Dissemination activities were also carried out through dedicated webpages hosted by the Bureau of Entrepreneurial Finance (https://bef-research.com/), a joint research center of Politecnico di Torino and Politecnico di Milano. The Bureau aims to advance and disseminate world-class scientific research on venture financing.Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Laura Toschi
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze Aziendali
Coordinatore:
Politecnico di TORINO(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 66.000,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
28/09/2023
Data di fine:
27/09/2025
