Open AccessArticle

Breakthrough Position and Trajectory of Sustainable Energy Technology

Breakthrough Tech Innovation Group, Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2025, 17(1), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010313

Submission received: 29 October 2024 / Revised: 16 December 2024 / Accepted: 27 December 2024 / Published: 3 January 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Clean Energy and Green Economic Growth)

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Abstract

This research aims to determine the position and the breakthrough trajectory of sustainable energy technologies. Fine-grained insights into these breakthrough positions and trajectories are limited. This research seeks to fill this gap by analyzing sustainable energy technologies’ breakthrough positions and trajectories in terms of development, application, and upscaling. To this end, the breakthrough positions and trajectories of seven sustainable energy technologies, i.e., hydrogen from seawater electrolysis, hydrogen airplanes, inland floating photovoltaics, redox flow batteries, hydrogen energy for grid balancing, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, and smart sustainable energy houses, are analyzed. This is guided by an extensively researched and literature-based model that visualizes and describes these technologies’ experimentation and demonstration stages. This research identifies where these technologies are located in their breakthrough trajectory in terms of the development phase (prototyping, production process and organization, and niche market creation and sales), experiment and demonstration stage (technical, organizational, and market), the form of collaboration (public–private, private–public, and private), physical location (university and company laboratories, production sites, and marketplaces), and scale-up type (demonstrative, and first-order and second-order transformative). For scientists, this research offers the opportunity to further refine the features of sustainable energy technologies’ developmental positions and trajectories at a detailed level. For practitioners, it provides insights that help to determine investments in various sustainable energy technologies.

Keywords:

energy; innovation; renewal; technology; transition

1. Introduction

Innovative sustainable energy technologies are powerful tools to address challenges such as achieving environmental sustainability, democratizing energy use, and realizing the energy transition. In the public and academic discourse, politicians, business leaders, and academic researchers often emphasize sustainable energy technology as a potential solution to issues in these domains [1,2]. However, insight into the distance of various sustainable energy technologies from the market, industry, and society, and thus their breakthrough position and trajectory, is limited [3,4,5].

Breakthrough technology, which is a central concept in this study, is defined as “either an advance in technology that is so significant that attainable price/performance ratios are altered dramatically or entirely new kinds of applications are possible that change the behavior patterns of end users” ([6], p. 1789). According to this definition, sustainable energy technology can be considered breakthrough technology, since it implies new forms of energy generation, storage, distribution, and use. The development of such breakthrough sustainable energy technology can be conceptualized to go through different developmental stages, meaning that, depending on what stage this development is in, considerable amounts of time, money, and commitment are required to ensure sustainable energy technology progresses through all relevant developmental stages to become applicable on a large scale. Photovoltaic cells and wind turbines took over fifty years to become mass-scale applications; that is how much time passed between the first demonstration of projects involving these technologies [7] and the current large-scale application of both technologies [5]. Hydrogen has long shown great potential for large-scale application in transport and traffic. However, it is still a small niche player, and also other sustainable energy forms, such as tidal energy, energy storage in microgrids, and smart sustainable energy distribution, do not yet have large-scale applications [8]. However, these technologies hold immense promise, and with the right policies, investments, and strategies, they can revolutionize the energy landscape [9].

Knowledge about and experience with the relative breakthrough position, or the distance to market upscaling and societal implementation of sustainable energy technologies, is crucial, but still needs to be gained [3,4,5]. In this research, the central question is as follows: how can the breakthrough position and trajectory of sustainable energy technologies in terms of market upscaling and societal implementation be determined?

Answering this question is essential because it takes a long time to bring sustainable energy innovations to the market and apply them on a large scale. Answers to this question provide insight into the relative position of sustainable energy technology and the aspects that require attention to guide, accelerate, and improve the transfer to the market and society. Technologies often take over two decades to transition from initial development to established market versions. Bento and Wilson’s [10] analysis of sixteen technologies reported an average development time of 22 years. Sustainable energy technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and biogas require even more time, often 25 years or longer, to scale up and become dominant designs [5,11,12,13,14,15]. For CCS, Haszeldine [12] argues that 25 years or more is needed for full maturation. Similarly, biogas development involves several demonstration stages, with improvements in plant construction, operation, and efficiency over time [13]. Large-scale market adoption of these technologies may take up to fifty years [10,16,17]. Historically, technologies like solar energy also required extended periods for R&D and deployment. The process of technological upscaling and market acceptance is lengthy, with continuous improvements over time. Insight into these trajectories and the relative position of different sustainable energy technologies makes it possible to monitor portfolios of various technologies and steer them in a targeted and coherent manner toward large-scale applications.

To this end, this is the first study that aims to map and analyze the breakthrough position and trajectory of seven sustainable energy technologies, i.e., hydrogen from seawater electrolysis, hydrogen airplanes, inland floating photovoltaics, redox flow batteries, hydrogen energy for grid balancing, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, and smart sustainable energy houses, applying a sustainable energy technology development model [5], and using a multiple case-study research methodology [18]. For scientists, this research offers the opportunity to further refine the features of sustainable energy technologies’ developmental positions and trajectories at a detailed level. For practitioners, it provides insights that help determine investments in various sustainable energy technologies.

The plan of this paper is as follows. Section 2 presents an extensively researched model that is developed and further adapted and used in this research to analyze the seven sustainable energy technologies. Section 3 introduces the multiple case study research design that this study applies to assess the market upscaling and societal implementation position and trajectory of sustainable energy technologies. Section 4 assesses the breakthrough positions and trajectories of the seven sustainable energy technologies. Section 5 analyzes these results, discusses their potential and flaws in theory and in practice, and provides avenues for further research and application, with the aim of determining and managing a dynamic, sustainable energy portfolio. Section 6 concludes with an overview of the main findings and scope of the research.

2. Literature-Based Model of Sustainable Technology Innovation

Large parts of new sustainable energy technology development start in university laboratories and continue via corporate laboratories. This is often followed by constructing and testing industrial production facilities and distribution networks, ideally culminating in the market-based supply and use of newly generated sustainable energy. This process can take many decades, is complex, and has many manifestations and directions of development. The model this research uses to determine and analyze the breakthrough position and trajectory of sustainable energy technologies aims to describe several characteristics and aspects of this process.

2.1. Model of Sustainable Energy Technology Innovation

The literature-based model [5] distinguishes three main stages, which are invention, product and production process development, and market development (see Figure 1) [19].

Altogether, these stages can be divided into seven sub-stages, of which concept development and testing form the invention stage; prototyping, production process development, and production organization constitute the product and production development stage; and niche market creation and sales are the basic sub-stages of the niche market development stage [19,22]. The development process ideally runs from left to right, as visualized by the arrowheads between the sub-stages pointing to the right. Stagnations can also occur, errors can be found that need to be resolved earlier in the process, or new insights can arise that need to be integrated earlier in the process, causing the process to come to a standstill or requiring one or more stages of the process to be revisited. This is visualized by the arrowheads between the sub-stages pointing to the left.

Invention stage. From a linear, left-to-right direction in the model, the scientific invention process starts with a sustainable energy idea, or a new sustainable energy concept. The initial idea is explored, tested, and evaluated through theoretical development. If the idea has potential, scientific experts transform it into a preliminary sustainable energy technological design or a working sustainable energy model [23].

Product and production development stage. This marks the start of the development of the product and production process. Further engineering and design activity prepares a sustainable energy product prototype. Production engineers also design and develop a prototype of the physical sustainable energy production and distribution process. Then, operational managers manage the staffing and organization of the sustainable energy production facility [24,25,26].

Niche market development stage. When this is completed, it marks the start of the sustainable energy technology niche market development stage. Marketing and sales activities are initiated to inform potential customers about the advantages and benefits of the new sustainable energy products and services. The goal is to develop a niche sustainable energy market that serves a small but increasing group of customers [27].

Ideally, stakeholders involved in developing new sustainable energy technologies go through these subsequent stages and sub-stages, resulting in first-generation sustainable energy technologies being delivered to and used by a niche market [19,22].

Although this process typically can be seen as linear and sequential over many years and is modeled as such in Figure 1, this linearity must also be put into perspective. In addition to linearity, the sustainable energy technology development process is characterized by simultaneity, repetition, iterative feedback loops, delays and throwbacks, sudden accelerations, multiplicity, failure, and non-linearity.

2.2. Research and Development (R&D) and Experiments and Demonstrations (E&Ds) in the Model

In the basic model, from left to right, innovative activities initially occur in research and development (R&D) projects and, subsequently, in technical, organizational, and market experiments and demonstrations (E&Ds), as marked in Figure 2. These R&D projects and technical, organizational, and market E&Ds can be significant in number and size, with many organizations involved, geographically dispersed, spanning multiple years or decades, and requiring substantial resources [28,29,30].

R&D projects. In the invention stage, the new sustainable energy technologies are discovered and developed in various sequential and parallel R&D projects in laboratory-based programs. This fundamental and applied R&D is conducted by collaborative, publicly funded, and administered university research laboratories. The R&D projects in the invention stage are often hidden from view [19].

Experiments and demonstrations (E&Ds) are needed to transfer from the invention stage to the product and production development stage and the niche market development stage [23,24,27,31,32]. In the basic model, from left to right, technical E&Ds, organizational E&Ds, and market E&Ds are set up to further develop the science-based, R&D-driven sustainable energy technology toward production facilities, market acceptance, and societal implementation [22,33,34,35].

Technical E&Ds. Most technical E&Ds are typically located in a laboratory, with public universities and public research centers as the leading stakeholders and public funding organizations and private firms as their partners. The primary sequence of the operational processes in technical E&Ds is that universities and academic research centers start with a research grant and develop new lab-based insights into innovative sustainable energy technology. After this, the latest knowledge is applied, and the prototypes for sustainable energy products and production processes are created in and around the laboratory [24,36,37,38]. At this moment, private firms enter the stage, intending to improve the prototypes further, often with additional governmental funding [25,39].

Organizational E&Ds. Organizational E&Ds can start when technical E&Ds fade out. They imply that public and private organizations collaborate to physically build prototypical production facilities where sustainable energy product prototypes are manufactured in large(r) batches. The sustainable energy product prototypes are prepared for prototypical production processes through further engineering and design, and then the necessary staffing, organization, and logistics are organized and implemented [25,40].

Market E&Ds. When the organizational E&Ds have created the prototypical production processes, efforts and resources are invested in market E&Ds. The central aim of market E&Ds is to adjust further and adapt the innovative technology-driven sustainable energy products and the corresponding production facilities to the needs, wishes, and ideas of a small but growing customer and user base, i.e., the niche market. In market E&Ds, there is a focus on establishing and improving a niche marketing, sales, delivery, and after-sales organization [27]. Marketing and sales activities are initiated to inform potential customers and users about the advantages and benefits of the new technology-driven sustainable energy products and accompanying services. The market E&Ds’ goal is to develop market niches where increasing groups of customers and users can be attracted and served [8,22,33,41,42,43].

2.3. Partnership Types

As the focus of the E&Ds develops from technical to organizational to market, the partnerships between the public and private organizations also change, as shown in Figure 3.

Public partnerships in R&D projects. The financing of fundamental R&D projects is mainly a government matter, and universities specifically manage these projects. The R&D projects that precede the technical E&Ds are primarily collaborations between publicly funded and public interest-serving academic research organizations. However, when R&D projects develop into technical E&Ds, additional participation from commercial organizations is also required [44,45,46,47].

Public–private partnerships in technical E&Ds. The further development of scientific knowledge in the form of sustainable energy products and production process prototypes in technical E&Ds is usually only financed to a limited extent by government funds. The participation of private organizations is necessary to invest, facilitate, and implement sustainable energy prototyping. Yet the university researchers who participated in the publicly organized R&D projects and now join the public–privately organized technical E&Ds remain dominant because of their knowledge salience over their colleagues from private stakeholders who have entered more recently. Based on their stronger knowledge position, they lead the process of transforming scientific knowledge into working sustainable energy prototypes. The transfer from R&D projects to technical E&Ds implies that collaboration shifts from partnerships with just public parties to public–private partnerships, with the public partners still in a dominant position [48,49,50,51,52,53].

Private–public partnerships in organizational E&Ds. As the sustainable energy prototypes are further developed and improved in technical E&Ds, the dominant knowledge position of the scientists decreases due to learning effects among the commercial participants involved and because of a shift in attention from sustainable energy product prototypes to the development of prototypes for the production process and the production organization [23,49,54,55,56]. This is the moment the organizational E&Ds start, and the representatives of the commercial organizations take over the leadership. The academic scientists remain involved, but their influence and participation are decreasing. In the meantime, the government is continuing but also reducing its funding support, and the aim is that commercial firms will take over and increase their funding and investments. In that case, the commercial stakeholders continue and increase their investments in time, resources, and finances in the organizational E&D process, with which the collaboration transitions from a public–private partnership into a private–public partnership, with the private organizations in the lead and public organizations to follow [52,57,58,59].

Private partnerships in market E&Ds. When the production facilities have been designed and are working, market E&Ds are set up to offer newly developed sustainable energy products and related services to potential users and buyers. In these market E&Ds, the influence and interest of the scientific partners continue to decrease, and the commercial parties are fully taking over [52,60]. The collaborating commercial market parties in market E&Ds focus autonomously, without interference from scientific parties, on further developing, adapting, and improving the sustainable energy product and service proposition based on the wishes and requirements of potential customers. Universities are withdrawing at an increasing rate. The government is withdrawing as a funder, leaving commercial exploitation to the market parties. The private–public partnerships that manage the organizational E&Ds develop into private partnerships that control the market E&Ds, with commercial stakeholders in the lead and public stakeholders further withdrawing from it [58,59,60,61].

2.4. Organizational Locations

As the partnerships change in the development process from technical to organizational to market E&Ds, the locations where sustainable energy technological innovation and transition occur also change, which is visualized in Figure 4.

R&D projects in university laboratories and technical E&Ds in university and firm laboratories. In technical E&Ds, sustainable energy product prototypes are developed in the university laboratories where the R&D projects were initially conducted. Over time, given the objective of commercially exploiting the sustainable energy product prototypes, this product prototype development is also being transferred to the laboratories of the companies participating in the technical E&Ds. Furthermore, in the meantime, to develop production processes that can produce the product prototype batch-wise, production process prototype development is started in and near the company laboratories since these companies aim to build and run these production facilities [24,25].

Organizational E&Ds on production sites. While private commercial firms take over the lead from public research organizations, aiming to commercialize the sustainable energy prototypes of the products and accompanying production processes, the shift from university laboratories to corporate laboratories continues to evolve. This leads to the development of physically functioning production facilities on corporate production sites. The physical location where E&D activities occur changes from university and firm laboratories to business premises, factories, and offices for production facility building and exploitation in organizational E&Ds [23,39,62].

Market E&Ds on marketplaces. After the production facilities have been built, market E&Ds are organized, and the first sustainable energy product versions and related services are evaluated on the market. Once again, there is a change in the physical location—the physical location shifts from production sites to marketplaces. In supply and demand markets, new sustainable energy products and services are tested, improved, and adapted, interacting with users and customers and intending to increase sales and turnover. The physical location where E&D activities occur changes from business premises, factories, and offices for production facilities to supply and demand markets to exploit sustainable energy products and services [22,26,27,33,42].

2.5. Upscaling Types

The development from technical to organizational to market E&Ds leads to three forms of market upscaling and societal implementation of sustainable energy technology. These three forms of upscaling are demonstrative upscaling and first- and second-order transformative upscaling, as shown in Figure 5.

Demonstrative upscaling. By organizing and completing technical, organizational, and market E&Ds, collaborating organizations create, develop, and improve sustainable energy technology-based products, services, production processes, and logistical processes, making and serving small niche markets. The organizations participating in these E&Ds create new ventures in niche markets that do not yet exist, thus constituting an innovation in themselves and influencing developments in adjacent E&Ds for developing similar or different forms of sustainable energy [63,64,65]. The new ventures serve small niche markets, and this combination of venture creation, niche market development, and small market growth is called demonstrative upscaling [5].

First-order transformative upscaling. In the meantime, the companies that participate in the three types of E&Ds explore which newly developed sub-products or sub-processes they can immediately apply cost-neutrally or as quality improvements in their existing, standardized production and service processes outside the E&Ds. This means that innovative sub-products, -services, or -processes from E&Ds are transferred and integrated into the incumbent firms existing industrial products, services, and processes [9,44,63,65,66,67]. This upscaling type is characterized by large and substantial upscaling, leading to changes in existing, standardized production and consumption systems and patterns of incumbent firms, which we will refer to here as first-order transformative upscaling [5].

Second-order transformative upscaling. Finally, when the small ventures and niche markets created by demonstrative upscaling continue to grow, become more independent and autonomous, and this growth leads to the transformation of the small ventures and niche markets into large companies and ditto markets [63,64,65], there is second-order transformative upscaling [5]. Small markets and companies then outgrow their niche status and become a new market and societal standard on a large scale, with a significant influence on suppliers, financiers, customers, and communities, in addition to other existing and new markets and standards.

3. Methodology and Methods

Case study research design. The research methods used in this study are based on case study research methodology [18]. Based on a theoretical framework—in this study, the model of sustainable energy technology innovation, several cases—in this research, seven cases where each case concerns a specific sustainable energy technology—are characterized and analyzed to position them according to their breakthrough potential in the model’s breakthrough trajectory [18]. This approach aims to describe and analyze the market upscaling and societal implementation breakthrough position and trajectory of various sustainable energy technologies.

The model used as a theoretical framework is presented in Section 2. The seven sustainable energy breakthrough technologies are listed and described in Table 1. Seven sustainable energy technologies were selected, with the following selection criteria: the technology has passed the invention stage and is in the E&D trajectory, the selected technologies are different from each other, and the technologies are applied in multiple and different societal and industrial sectors. This enabled the search for characteristics of various sustainable energy technologies [18].

Data collection. A research project was set up for each sustainable energy technology. These studies were conducted in February–June 2023 (see [68,69,70,71,72,73,74]). During this period, seven researchers each collected 20–30 scientific articles and 30–40 practical sources (interviews and articles in practical journals, publications, podcasts, and videos on the internet) for each sustainable energy technology. They searched for and gathered articles and sources. Based on an analysis of the articles and sources, using the described characteristics of the research model, the technologies positions were located in the model. This analysis took place in a setting where the researchers presented and justified the analysis orally and visually to a panel of 25 fellow researchers and a panel of 3 senior researchers (May 2023), resulting in feedback and adjustments, and then submitted it in writing to the senior researchers (June 2023), resulting in feedback, adjustments, and seven final research reports of 30–60 pages each (July 2023). These reports were assessed by two senior researchers, who assessed the quality of the research based on aspects such as internal validity, repeatability, verifiability, and consistency. Additionally, to further verify the findings in these reports, the senior researchers collected eight documents and checked if the findings in the reports were supported by these documents. The additional documents gathered and used were websites aimed at a broad audience (three websites per sustainable energy technology), research reports aimed at a professional practice-oriented audience (two reports per sustainable energy technology), and scientific peer-reviewed research articles aimed at a scientific audience (three articles per sustainable energy technology). All documents were stored in a case-study database and used to describe the characteristics of the sustainable energy technologies. For an overview of the documents in the case study database, see [68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130].

Data analysis. The theoretical model is applied to characterize the trajectory taken and current breakthrough position—at the moment of study, mid 2023—of the seven selected sustainable energy technologies. The model is used to assess each sustainable energy technology’s position in the “invention → product(ion) development → niche market development” trajectory, and to qualify its partnership type, organizational location, and upscaling type [18].

Research validity. The validity of the research is guaranteed by taking several measures into account. The extent to which the research studies relevant and reliable data and concepts is assured by empirical data source triangulation and theoretical concept triangulation [131]. In this study, empirical data source triangulation implies that analyses of sustainable energy technologies are based on multiple and different types of data sources and aim to find empirical patterns supported by multiple data sources. In addition, in this study, theoretical concept triangulation entails using extensively researched concepts and relationships between these concepts from the scientific literature base. The description of concepts and the modeled relationships between concepts in the research model have a strong basis in the research literature, and this ensures that the concepts and the relationships between them are examined and considered relevant and essential based on previous research [131].

4. Assessment of Breakthrough Positions and Trajectories of Sustainable Energy Technologies

The mid-2023 breakthrough position and trajectory of the seven sustainable energy technologies is visualized in Figure 6. The breakthrough position of each sustainable energy technology is visualized with an arrow, which shows the trajectory a sustainable energy technology has already undergone, and has yet to undergo. The technologies on top have a relatively large distance from the market and society, and the technologies at the bottom are relatively close to, or are already applied and upscaled in the market and society.

Progress in the stages and sub-stages, and whether or not it leads to upscaling, is influenced by various factors, such as the stakeholders involved and their collaboration, and by the locations, and markets involved. The meta-factors affecting this, such as economic, political, regulatory, geographical, and demographic developments, are relevant, but are not included in this study’s research question, modeling and findings. This can be integrated in future research, which will be addressed in this article’s discussion section.

In addition to the visual positioning of the sustainable energy technologies in the model, the sub-sections beneath describe the form of collaboration used to push the technology towards the market and society, the organizational location where this takes place, and the scaling-up results that are possible, can be expected, or are already visible, referring to the sources in the case study database (see [68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130]).

4.1. Hydrogen from Seawater Electrolysis

Partnership type: Collaborations for hydrogen from seawater E&Ds are technically oriented and public–private. Collaborating governments, offshore wind providers, solar energy providers, hydrogen-producing companies, and utilities are jointly developing the production technology to convert wind and solar energy into hydrogen on platforms at sea via electrolysis. Boosted by government subsidies and support, these parties are developing prototypes for hydrogen production through electrolysis and for the physical and logistical storage and distribution of hydrogen from sea to land [68,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82].

Organizational location: The locations where all this takes place and is organized are platforms at sea and transport channels to the mainland. At sea, where wind and solar energy is captured, it is converted and stored in hydrogen, which is transported to land. This combination of technologies and distribution is technically under development, aiming to develop and improve prototypes. The presence of wind turbines and photovoltaic panels at sea offers an opportunity for energy storage in this form, as not all energy can be transferred to land due to infrastructural limitations or the absence of applications. This makes storage and distribution at and from these locations an option that is currently being technically developed [68,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82].

Upscaling situation: There is no question of demonstrative upscaling due to the early stage of the E&Ds. Hydrogen production by seawater electrolysis, fueled by sustainable energy from the wind and sun, for example, is still in the technical development and improvement phase. First-order transformative scaling-up may occur when participating parties broaden and deepen their knowledge and experience with electrolysis and hydrogen storage and put what they have learned into practice in their ongoing operations. There is no second-order scaling-up, as the development is still in the technical E&D stage [68,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82].

4.2. Hydrogen Airplanes

Partnership type: Collaborations for hydrogen airplane E&Ds are highly technical and public–private. Test flights with hydrogen airplane prototypes are taking place in various countries worldwide. These test flights are collaborations between national research centers and aircraft manufacturers, supported by national and international subsidy schemes. Meanwhile, production facilities are also being prototyped and tested to create production capacity. In this part of the prototyping, the private sector takes the lead from the university participants [69,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90].

Organizational location: The development of the prototypes for the airplane entails a strong collaboration between university developers and commercial aircraft manufacturers. The development, construction, and testing of hydrogen airplane prototypes occur in the R&D locations of aircraft manufacturers. Collaborations are aimed at technical learning to develop hydrogen airplanes with sufficient range that are safe and preferably cost-neutral. Prototypes developed for testing are still small and suitable for short and medium distances and with limited numbers of passengers [69,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90].

Upscaling situation: The E&Ds are still in the technical stage, aimed at developing and improving prototypes for hydrogen airplanes and their production systems. This is on the border of a passage to organizational E&Ds in which the prototypes for the aircraft are deemed good enough to be produced. More attention is being focused on further developing and improving the prototyping and technical aspects of the production process. There is currently no demonstrative scaling-up. First-order transformative upscaling is possible when aircraft manufacturers see an opportunity to apply hydrogen technology and experiments in subsystems of their regular fleet. Second-order transformational upscaling is still non-existent [69,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90].

4.3. Inland Floating Photovoltaics

Partnership type: The technological development of photovoltaics in terms of both the technical systems and the connection to existing and new infrastructure is at an advanced stage where several generations of technologies have been developed and improved in technical E&Ds. For the application of photovoltaics on inland waters, these technologies and possible scale-ups are adapted by private parties, general utility organizations, and the government in organizational E&Ds, in private–public partnerships. This development is ready for the first steps towards opening up niche markets. Collaborating with energy utilities and water utility organizations, and with facilitating, regulatory, and subsidizing government, producers of floating photovoltaics focus on further developing the production systems, thereby realizing additional sustainable energy capacity, which currently still costs more than roof and land photovoltaics [70,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98].

Organizational location: The development of floating photovoltaics energy production and distribution takes place on inland water bodies, whereby, on the one hand, a generic water-resistant photovoltaics-based energy generation and distribution system is developed. On the other hand, this system is adapted to the specific characteristics of the water feature and the natural situation where the floating photovoltaics system is installed. The collaboration focuses on further developing the production, installation, and exploitation processes of floating photovoltaics on inland water to offer this additional sustainable energy option reliably and without a significant increase in energy costs. The collaboration focuses on perfecting the functioning of floating photovoltaics as a new option interwoven into the existing energy network [70,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98].

Upscaling situation: The development of this technology is about to be prepared via market E&Ds for E&D upscaling in niche markets, supplying local buildings and installations close to inland water bodies. This enables firms to gain experience and further scale up the technology in niche markets, i.e., demonstrative upscaling, which can grow into larger institutionalized markets, i.e., second-order transformative upscaling. Immediate first-order transformative upscaling will be possible, as the commercial incumbent firms involved can also apply the knowledge and experience with water resistance of photovoltaics in situations of already developed PV installations in other wet environments, such as coastal areas [70,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98].

4.4. Redox Flow Batteries

Partnership type: Redox flow battery technology has already been developed in technical E&Ds and further developed to higher reliability and applicability. Currently, organizational E&D private–public collaborations between producers of redox flow batteries, public energy utilities, aim at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of redox flow batteries, as well as increasing their applicability in smart energy grids and critical energy systems [71,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106].

Organizational location: The search for integration of redox flow batteries in energy systems occurs within these companies and utility organizations, with the government facilitating the search through subsidy schemes. The organizational E&Ds focus on developing and improving redox flow battery production capacity and applications, enabling the first market E&Ds to start creating and serving a market for it. Participants in these upcoming market E&Ds learn to use redox flow batteries to occupy a part of the market in which Li-ion batteries are dominant. They capitalize on the advantages of redox flow batteries, i.e., high safety, storage duration, and lifespan, and bypass disadvantages, such as large volumes and high costs [71,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106].

Upscaling situation: The redox flow battery technology is at the interface of organizational E&Ds and market E&Ds. The first areas of application can be found in the backup energy requirements of general utility organizations, but also commercial organizations that want to operate twenty-four/seven and limit their energy risks. This implies the start of demonstrative upscaling and second-order transformative upscaling at a later stage. First-order transformative scaling is also active, as participating private and public organizations can manage the energy buffers and risks related to their current business activities with the options arising from the redox flow battery [71,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106].

4.5. Hydrogen Energy for Grid Balancing

Partnership type: Hydrogen technology has already undergone significant technical development in many technical E&Ds. Its application and production methods have also been addressed in organizational E&Ds through the development of successive prototypes for hydrogen production and distribution and conversion into electrical energy. The first hydrogen applications in niche markets are visible in households. These market E&D mainly private cooperations between energy generators and providers, utilities, and companies in the field of hydrogen production and storage and regulatory and policy-making governments focus on implementing hydrogen in the energy grid, with households, industry, and general utility organizations as end users [72,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114].

Organizational location: Production processes and niche markets develop at the interface of organizational and market E&Ds. Hydrogen is produced and distributed by production sites. A distribution infrastructure ensures the supply of hydrogen for use by, for example, industry and households. The collaborating, producing, and distributing organizations work together in the physical places where sustainable energy is captured, converted into hydrogen, distributed, and used. Participating stakeholders learn to store all kinds of sustainably obtained energy in the form of hydrogen and then use this hydrogen as a sustainable form of energy in energy grids to meet peak demand [72,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114].

Upscaling situation: Hydrogen is not yet a dominant factor in the energy grid. Still, it is on the threshold of market exploitation, as it is at an advanced and tested stage in terms of functional technology and production organization. This implies that first-order transformative scaling-up is the order of the day, as evidenced, for example, by the growing use of hydrogen in otherwise conventional vehicles in several markets worldwide. To achieve a demonstrative upscaling breakthrough of hydrogen as an energy source in the grid, commercial parties, assisted by governments, are continuing to experiment with hydrogen projects. The extent to which and speed at which second-order transformative scaling-up can be achieved depends on energy needs, legislation, and sustainability considerations [72,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114].

4.6. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

Partnership type: Private collaborations of car manufacturers, hydrogen fuel cell manufacturers, and hydrogen-producing companies focus, supported or sometimes hindered by government policy, on developing an infrastructure that can coexist and compete with existing fossil and electric infrastructures for cars. Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are now present in the portfolios of car manufacturers and are competing for a place in the dealer networks of these globally operating incumbents. For example, this technology is still in its early stages of market penetration compared to battery-powered electric cars. Still, the technical and organizational E&Ds have developed and improved hydrogen fuel cell technology, including the production and distribution system. Market E&Ds have, in the near past, ensured that applications in niche markets have emerged, such as a system of hydrogen-powered buses in various areas [73,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122].

Organizational location: The introduction and rollout of hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles in niche markets occur in the supply and demand market. Niche markets are targeted through the car manufacturers’ existing and new dealer networks. In addition, hydrogen supply and delivery must occur via existing and new fuel infrastructures along roads. Bus and car manufacturers have included the hydrogen variant as a strategic option in their product portfolios. The demand for sustainable vehicles, the price of fossil fuels, international laws and regulations regarding fossil and sustainable energy, the emergence of other sustainable alternatives such as battery-powered electric cars, and subsidy schemes determine the extent to which and the speed with which niche markets for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles develop and will further develop into dominant markets [73,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122].

Upscaling situation: The organizations participating in the technical, organizational, and market E&Ds have all expanded their existing product portfolios with hydrogen-powered transportation products, opening up the opportunity for immediate transformative upscaling of both the first and second order. There is also demonstrative upscaling in several areas and markets, but to a limited extent. Most automotive companies have one or a few hydrogen electric vehicles in their portfolios, and are awaiting changes in market demand, regulations, and financial boundaries and possibilities [73,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122].

4.7. Smart Energy Houses

Partnership type: Private collaborations of architects, project developers, construction companies, and suppliers concentrate on providing new, intelligent, energy-effective, and -efficient products and services that can be integrated into building designs and construction practices, supported and directed by government policy, regulations, and subsidies and penalty schemes. The development of smart energy houses has also passed the technical, organizational, and market E&D stages, in which collaborating private parties focused on expanding markets for homes with smart, sustainable energy applications such as heat pumps, photovoltaic panels, heat exchangers, lighting, batteries, and insulation options, monitored and controlled by sensors and information technology [74,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130].

Organizational location: This development mainly takes place in the commercial domain, led by collaborating commercial parties who are provided with support and preconditions by the government. Sales-stimulating aspects such as purchase costs, usage costs, ease of use, independence from energy providers, sustainability wishes, and esthetic quality determine how these homes continue to grow in the market, supported by government policy toward sustainability. Collaborating organizations focus on making the energy modules and systems in housing designs more sustainable in a market-oriented manner [74,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130].

Upscaling situation: Technical, organizational, and market E&Ds from the past have enabled participating companies, such as project developers, architects, contractors, suppliers, and advisors, to experiment with the various sustainability options and also to apply the options that turned out to increase quality, are cost-neutral, or realize cost savings in their regular projects and activities. This led to participants applying what they learned in E&Ds to their regular business activities, i.e., first-order transformative upscaling. It also led to E&Ds creating a niche market for advanced smart energy houses, i.e., demonstrative upscaling. A large number of E&Ds in smart sustainable home construction have also caused second-order transformative upscaling to occur, as there are now companies that entirely focus on developing, designing, building, and marketing smart energy homes on a large scale [74,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130].

5. Discussion

Research has led to a visual and descriptive analysis of the breakthrough position and trajectory of seven sustainable energy technologies. These technologies can be divided into three clusters, each with their own characteristics, possibilities, and points of interest.

5.1. Assessment of Seven Sustainable Energy Technologies’ Breakthrough Position and Trajectory

This research focuses on the question how to analyze the breakthrough position and trajectory of sustainable energy technologies in terms of market upscaling and societal implementation. To provide answers to this question, in this research, we conducted a multiple case study of seven sustainable energy technologies. We applied a literature-based and extensively researched sustainable energy technology innovation model to assess the breakthrough position and trajectory of seven sustainable energy technologies in terms of the partnership type, the organizational location, and the types of upscaling. This assessment led to a visual and descriptive overview of the breakthrough position and trajectory of the selected sustainable energy technologies, individually and relative to each other.

The seven technologies examined can be divided into three clusters, with an increasing breakthrough position concerning market upscaling and societal implementation. Cluster 1 comprises sustainable energy technologies in the technical E&D stage, cluster 2 in the organizational E&D stage, and cluster 3 in the market E&D stage.

Cluster 1. Technical E&D-stage technologies. The sustainable energy technologies “hydrogen from seawater electrolysis” and “hydrogen airplanes” are still in the technical E&D stage, where they are cautiously hovering on the threshold of a transition to larger-scale organizational E&Ds for further development of production and logistics facilities. First-order transformational scale-up outcomes are possible and have been identified concerning the development of these two technologies.

Cluster 2. Organizational E&D-stage technologies. The sustainable energy technologies “inland floating photovoltaics”, “redox flow batteries”, and “hydrogen energy in the grid” have passed the technical E&D stage and essentially completed the organizational E&D stage. They are on the threshold of market E&Ds, where niche markets can be tapped and developed. First-order transformational scale-up outcomes regarding developing these technologies and the production processes are possible and have been identified.

Cluster 3. Market E&D-stage technologies. “Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles” and “smart sustainable energy houses” have completed the market E&D stage and already serve niche markets, with the latter currently growing into an independent and dominant market position. For both technologies, demonstrative upscaling is possible and has been observed. First-order transformational upscaling outcomes concerning the application of these aspects and elements of these technologies, as well as the production, distribution, and service processes, are possible and have also been observed. Both technologies are ready for second-order transformational upscaling, with the latter having taken substantive steps in this direction.

5.2. Contribution to Practice

The literature reports generic aspects on which E&D management in practice should focus for each of the three clusters, which are also found in the seven sustainable energy cases (see Table 2).

Cluster 1. Technical E&D-stage technologies. For sustainable energy technologies in cluster 1, this study finds it essential to recognize and acknowledge areas of tension concerning product application and development between academically interested researchers from universities and commercially driven researchers/engineers from companies. Differences in insight and interests often exist and may remain under the radar, but they are active and may need to be bridged [25], concerning product development [69,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90] and application [68,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82]. In addition, when the development of product prototypes shifts from university laboratories to corporate laboratories, a physical distance must also be bridged [4,5,20,21] concerning product development [69,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90] and application [68,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82]. Although demonstrative upscaling is still a long way off, opportunities to apply technical innovation elements and aspects in the ongoing business activities of the incumbent companies involved can already be monitored and seized [63,67,68,69,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90].

Cluster 2. Organizational E&D-stage technologies. For sustainable energy technologies in cluster 2, this research confirms that it is relevant to monitor the collaborative tensions between the engineers who create prototypes of the products and production process and the professionals who coordinate the organizational arrangements and manage the human organization involved [25], specifically concerning production, distribution and product application [70,71,72,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114]. In this cluster, it is essential to recognize investment risks for the incumbent companies involved and to develop business models for initial [70,71,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106] and ongoing [72,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114] niche market entrance in which all participating companies, incumbents and start-ups, have the prospect of achieving a break-even point and, ultimately, a profit margin [9,39,58,59,67]. Although there is no demonstrative upscaling yet in this cluster, first-order transformational upscaling can also be achieved here, with technical and organizational innovations that can break through from the E&D process to the regular business activities of the incumbent companies involved [63,70,71,72,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114].

Cluster 3. Market E&D-stage technologies. For sustainable energy technologies in cluster 3, this study found that it is crucial to ensure a smooth transition from the internal organization of the production process to the commercial business development and the sales process in the marketplace, and resolve tensions between production engineering and business developers [4,5,20,21], concerning upscaling issues [73,74,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130]. This transition may reveal friction between what is technically and organizationally possible and what the market and society wish for and require. Friction can lead to market failure, and bridging internal organization–external market discrepancies is a central point of attention here [34,35,42,67,73,74,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130]. On the one hand, this can be achieved by adapting and organizing production processes differently. Still, adjustments can also be made to the sustainable energy product if this boosts market introduction and upscaling [63]. In this cluster, all demonstrative and transformative upscaling variants can be achieved [63,73,74,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130].

5.3. Scientific Contribution, Research Limitations, and Avenues for Further Research

The scientific contribution of this research is its first-time utilization of the technology innovation model for assessing energy technologies’ breakthrough position and trajectory regarding market upscaling and societal implementation [4,5,20,21]. This application substantively marks and explains the market upscaling and societal implementation position of a portfolio of seven sustainable energy technologies. The application of the model visualizes, describes, and explains why and how investing in various sustainable energy technologies goes further than investing in technological R&D and technical E&Ds. After R&D projects and technical E&Ds are completed, there is still a long way to go, with a long-term and resource-consuming trajectory of various organizational and market E&Ds, in which companies need to invest, and support from governmental policy, regulation, legislation, and financing remains crucial [8].

In addition to the scientific contribution of this research, it also has several shortcomings that can be overcome in future research. First, only seven sustainable energy technologies are examined using the model. This supports the usability of the model and gives an insight into the breakthrough position and trajectory of these technologies. Still, it is not a comprehensive overview of a complete collection of sustainable energy technologies. Also, it does not provide an overview of the interaction between E&Ds for geographically, technologically, economically, and organizationally different E&Ds. Future research can investigate the breakthrough position and trajectory of a more extensive, more exhaustive, and preferably more complete collection of sustainable energy technologies. Furthermore, the stimulating and restrictive interactions between multiple R&D-to-market trajectories of similar and different sustainable energy technologies, also considering geographic, technological, economical, and organizational differences, are not an integral part of this study and are subjects that lend themselves to further research.

Second, the sustainable energy technology innovation model assumes a practice in which technical, organizational, and market E&Ds occur. The model excludes the possibility that practical development and market adoption and diffusion of sustainable energy technologies are achieved in different ways; for example, by a sizeable government-led investment program with heavy regulation, subsidy schemes, and regulatory measures. This implies that an R&D and E&D-centered view of adopting and diffusion of sustainable energy technology innovation may be helpful but also too narrow, or limiting, implying that alternative innovation approaches deserve attention. Future research can thus focus on researching sustainable energy technology breakthrough positioning and trajectories with alternative theories and models of sustainable energy technology innovation. Another relevant consideration is that economic, political, regulatory, demographic, and geographical factors that influence the course of events in E&Ds are not included in the model, although further research could do so.

Third, the model in this research assumes a gradual transition from fossil to sustainable energy, which does not take into account a more sudden or even shock-wise revolution towards sustainable energy, for example, due to natural disasters of a greater nature than we have hitherto been accustomed to, (trade) wars, or extreme political upheavals. Follow-up research is necessary to estimate developments and options under such circumstances.

Fourth, although the model used in this research indicates where a sustainable energy technology is positioned in its trajectory, it does not accurately determine the time it takes to move a sustainable energy technology towards the three scale-up forms. The literature talks about taking 15 to 50-plus years to scale up sustainable energy technology [10,11,12,13,16], but additional research is needed to further determine, articulate, and explain these periods.

6. Conclusions

Scientific insight into the breakthrough position and trajectory of sustainable energy technologies in terms of market upscaling and societal implementation can be improved. More must be understood about the required collaboration between public and private organizations over twenty to fifty years to develop, produce, sell, and scale up multiple portfolios of sustainable energy.

Given the importance of making energy generation, storage, and supply clean and sustainable, it is essential to determine the distance between the market and society that still needs to be bridged by a portfolio of various sustainable energy technologies. This enables public and private organizations to estimate how much time, money, and effort will be required for different technologies, allowing for more informed choices to be made with regard to sustainable energy technology investment.

In this research, the central question is as follows: how can the breakthrough position and trajectory of sustainable energy technologies in terms of market upscaling and societal implementation be determined? To this end, the breakthrough trajectories of seven sustainable energy technologies, i.e., hydrogen from seawater electrolysis, hydrogen airplanes, inland floating photovoltaics, redox flow batteries, hydrogen energy for grid balancing, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, and smart sustainable energy houses—are characterized and analyzed. This is guided by applying a sustainable energy technology innovation model that visualizes and describes the experimentation and demonstration (E&D) trajectories of these technologies in terms of organizational forms, location changes, and upscaling mechanisms.

The results of the research are a visual and descriptive overview, concerning the seven sustainable energy technologies’ breakthrough position and trajectory, in terms of:

Development stage: prototyping, production process and organization, and niche market creation and sales;
E&D stage: technical, organizational, and market;
Form of collaboration: public–private, private–public, and private;
Location: university and company laboratories, production sites, and marketplaces; and
Scale-up type: demonstrative scale-up, and first- and second-order transformative scale-up.

Furthermore, the research results provide an overview of the management aspects of each technology that require attention based on the position they occupy in the R&D-to-market trajectory. These are:

Tensions between academic researchers, product(ion) engineers, and organization and business developers;
Physical and professional distances between professionals from laboratories, production sites, and marketplaces;
Differences in and coherence between demonstrative upscaling and first- and second-order transformative upscaling of sustainable energy technologies.

For scientists, the outcomes of the research offer the opportunity to further refine the features of the model at a detailed level. This can, for example, be realized by further articulating and investigating the features of the development stages, forms of collaboration, types of locations, and upscaling characteristics.

For practitioners, the described model, methodology and application provide insights that help determine investments in various sustainable energy technologies in their sustainable energy portfolios. They can, for example, use it as an instrument that assists in strategic investment decision-making regarding a combination of technologies in different stages of development, which creates a pipeline of sustainable solutions for both present and future-oriented sustainable energy scenarios.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, B.B.; Methodology, B.B.; Validation, B.B.; Formal analysis, B.B.; Resources, B.B.; Data curation, B.B., S.H., M.H. and C.R.; Writing—original draft, B.B.; Writing—review & editing, B.B., S.H., M.H. and C.R.; Visualization, B.B.; Supervision, B.B., S.H., M.H. and C.R.; Project administration, B.B. and S.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data are contained within the article.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Basic model of sustainable energy technology innovation ([4,5,20,21], adapted).

Figure 2. Innovative R&D and E&D activities ([4,5,20,21], adapted).

Figure 3. Partnership types ([4,5,20,21], adapted).

Figure 4. Organizational locations ([4,5,20,21], adapted).

Figure 5. Upscaling types ([4,5,20,21], adapted).

Figure 6. Assessment of sustainable energy technologies’ breakthrough positions and trajectories.

Table 1. Sustainable energy technologies.

Sustainable Energy Technology	Description
Hydrogen from seawater electrolysis	Splitting of seawater into oxygen and hydrogen gas, using electricity.
Hydrogen airplanes	Airplanes that convert chemical energy from hydrogen into electricity as a power source.
Inland floating photovoltaics	Photovoltaic systems placed on inland water bodies.
Redox flow batteries	Storage devices that convert chemical to electrical energy.
Hydrogen energy for grid balancing	Energy production and storage in hydrogen and conversion of this energy into electricity for peak demand use in energy networks.
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles	Vehicles that convert chemical energy from hydrogen into electricity as a power source.
Smart sustainable energy houses	Homes that use internet-connected devices to manage the effectiveness and efficiency of sustainable energy applications.

Table 2. Focus points for sustainable energy technology E&D management.

Cluster	Management Focus
Technical	1. Tensions between university and company researchers and engineers [25]. Hydrogen from seawater electrolysis: tensions concerning product application [68,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82]. Hydrogen airplanes: tensions concerning product development [69,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90].
	2. Physical distances between university and corporate laboratories [4,5,20,21]. Hydrogen from seawater electrolysis: problematic distance concerning product application [68,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82]. Hydrogen airplanes: problematic distance concerning product development [69,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90].
	3. Technical first-order transformational scale-up opportunities [63,67]. Hydrogen from seawater electrolysis: technical first-order transformational upscaling [68,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82]. Hydrogen airplanes: technical first-order transformational upscaling [69,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90].
Organizational	1. Tensions between product(ion) engineers and organization developers [25]. Inland floating photovoltaics: tensions concerning production and product application [70,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98]. Redox flow batteries: tensions concerning production, distribution and product application [71,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106]. Hydrogen energy for grid balancing: tensions concerning production and product application [72,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114].
	2. Covering investment risks and developing business models for the companies involved [9,39,58,59,67]. Inland floating photovoltaics: focus on risk coverage and business models for initial market niche entrance [70,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98]. Redox flow batteries: focus on risk coverage and business models for initial market niche entrance [71,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106]. Hydrogen energy for grid balancing: focus on risk coverage and business models for ongoing market niche entrance [72,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114].
	3. Technical and organizational first-order transformational scale-up opportunities [63]. Inland floating photovoltaics: technical and organizational first-order transformational upscaling [70,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98]. Redox flow batteries: technical and organizational first-order transformational upscaling [71,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106]. Hydrogen energy for grid balancing: technical and organizational first-order transformational upscaling [72,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114].
Market	1. Tensions between production engineers and business developers [4,5,20,21]. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles: tensions concerning upscaling [73,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122]. Smart sustainable energy houses: tensions concerning upscaling [74,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130].
	2. Alignment with market and societal wishes and requirements [34,35,42,67]. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles: Alignment with market demand and societal change [73,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122]. Smart sustainable energy houses: Alignment with market demand and societal change [74,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130].
	3. Demonstrative upscaling, technical, organizational, and market first-order transformational upscaling, and second-order transformational upscaling opportunities [63]. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles: Demonstrative upscaling, first-order transformational upscaling, and second-order transformational upscaling opportunities [73,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122]. Smart sustainable energy houses: Demonstrative upscaling, and first- and second-order transformational upscaling [74,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130].

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Bossink, B.; Hasanefendic, S.; Hoogstraaten, M.; Ramanan, C. Breakthrough Position and Trajectory of Sustainable Energy Technology. Sustainability 2025, 17, 313. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010313

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Bossink B, Hasanefendic S, Hoogstraaten M, Ramanan C. Breakthrough Position and Trajectory of Sustainable Energy Technology. Sustainability. 2025; 17(1):313. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010313

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Bossink, Bart, Sandra Hasanefendic, Marjolein Hoogstraaten, and Charusheela Ramanan. 2025. "Breakthrough Position and Trajectory of Sustainable Energy Technology" Sustainability 17, no. 1: 313. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010313

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Bossink, B., Hasanefendic, S., Hoogstraaten, M., & Ramanan, C. (2025). Breakthrough Position and Trajectory of Sustainable Energy Technology. Sustainability, 17(1), 313. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010313

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