Special Report 3: A Study of China’s
Technology Revolution
Song Zifeng and Nigel Dickens
Energy is a key driver of social development.
The energy transition correlates strongly with
social and economic reform. Among the many
drivers of the energy transition, a revolution in
energy technology is undoubtedly one of the
most critical.
To build modern energy systems that are
affordable, secure and sustainable, countries need
to push technological innovation. Although
innovation in energy is at a relatively high level,
it is unlikely to be high enough to achieve the
needed revolution in energy technology. The
International Energy Agency’s 2017 Tracking
Clean Energy Progress scorecard of 26 technologies finds that only three are on track for
wide-scale deployment. To deliver a low-carbon
energy system, more effort is needed in 15
technologies and eight are not on track. As many
of the current set of new energy technologies are
based on a pipeline of innovation that was started
in the 1970s, it is important to understand the
energy technology issues of the current era.
1 The Implications of Energy
Technology Revolution
It is extremely rare for innovations to be evenly
distributed across time and space. Instead, innovations tend to occur in a concentrated manner,
which is likely to trigger a technology revolution.
Technology revolution usually refers to the transition process, in which a technology or technologies is/are replaced by another technology or
technologies in the short term. This process—
from emergence to deployment and diffusion—
will eventually impact socioeconomic development. Up to now, countless energy-related
DRC Team Lead of Special Report 3:
Song Zifeng from the Research Department of Industrial
Economy, DRC of the State Council of China.
Shell Team Lead of Special Report 3:
Nigel Dickens, Economics and Analysis Manager—New
Fuels, Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd.
Contributors:
Philip Gradwell from Vivid Economics; Cameron
Hepburn, Huang Yanghua from the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences (CASS); Kang Xiaowan from the
Energy Research Institute, National Development
Reform Commission (NDRC); Huang Bibin from the
State Grid Energy Research Institute Co., Ltd.; Tu
Junming from China National Travel Service Group
Corporation Limited; Xing Lu from China National
Petroleum Corporation (CNPC); and Zhang Jun from the
State Grid Energy Research Institute Co., Ltd.
S. Zifeng (&)
Research Department of Industrial Economy, DRC
of the State Council of China, Beijing, China
N. Dickens
Economics and Analysis Manager—New Fuels,
Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd.,
London, UK
e-mail: Nigel.Dickens@shell.com
© The Author(s) 2020
Shell International B.V. and the Development Research Center (DRC) of the State Council of the People’s
Republic of China (eds.), China’s Energy Revolution in the Context of the Global Energy Transition,
Advances in Oil and Gas Exploration & Production, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40154-2_4
287
Technology Revolution
Song Zifeng and Nigel Dickens
Energy is a key driver of social development.
The energy transition correlates strongly with
social and economic reform. Among the many
drivers of the energy transition, a revolution in
energy technology is undoubtedly one of the
most critical.
To build modern energy systems that are
affordable, secure and sustainable, countries need
to push technological innovation. Although
innovation in energy is at a relatively high level,
it is unlikely to be high enough to achieve the
needed revolution in energy technology. The
International Energy Agency’s 2017 Tracking
Clean Energy Progress scorecard of 26 technologies finds that only three are on track for
wide-scale deployment. To deliver a low-carbon
energy system, more effort is needed in 15
technologies and eight are not on track. As many
of the current set of new energy technologies are
based on a pipeline of innovation that was started
in the 1970s, it is important to understand the
energy technology issues of the current era.
1 The Implications of Energy
Technology Revolution
It is extremely rare for innovations to be evenly
distributed across time and space. Instead, innovations tend to occur in a concentrated manner,
which is likely to trigger a technology revolution.
Technology revolution usually refers to the transition process, in which a technology or technologies is/are replaced by another technology or
technologies in the short term. This process—
from emergence to deployment and diffusion—
will eventually impact socioeconomic development. Up to now, countless energy-related
DRC Team Lead of Special Report 3:
Song Zifeng from the Research Department of Industrial
Economy, DRC of the State Council of China.
Shell Team Lead of Special Report 3:
Nigel Dickens, Economics and Analysis Manager—New
Fuels, Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd.
Contributors:
Philip Gradwell from Vivid Economics; Cameron
Hepburn, Huang Yanghua from the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences (CASS); Kang Xiaowan from the
Energy Research Institute, National Development
Reform Commission (NDRC); Huang Bibin from the
State Grid Energy Research Institute Co., Ltd.; Tu
Junming from China National Travel Service Group
Corporation Limited; Xing Lu from China National
Petroleum Corporation (CNPC); and Zhang Jun from the
State Grid Energy Research Institute Co., Ltd.
S. Zifeng (&)
Research Department of Industrial Economy, DRC
of the State Council of China, Beijing, China
N. Dickens
Economics and Analysis Manager—New Fuels,
Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd.,
London, UK
e-mail: Nigel.Dickens@shell.com
© The Author(s) 2020
Shell International B.V. and the Development Research Center (DRC) of the State Council of the People’s
Republic of China (eds.), China’s Energy Revolution in the Context of the Global Energy Transition,
Advances in Oil and Gas Exploration & Production, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40154-2_4
287