Author(s)

YOUAH LEE, SUNGJUN HONG, HYOUN JONG KIM

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find issues that can be solved by energy technologies. In this study, future energy reports and R&D projects are analyzed using keyword ranking and clustering methodologies. New energy technologies are emerging as an optimal means of sustainable development, addressing climate change and energy demand issues. The number of investments in the development of energy technologies is also increasing. Generally, the planning of R&D in the energy sector focuses on technologies that are proposed by researchers in a bottom-up manner. These methods have limitations that sometimes prevent them from leading to new, innovative technologies. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce an R&D planning process that focuses on the problems to be solved. Firstly, future prospect reports published by EWG, Gartner, IBM, Davos, MIT, KISTI and KISTEP were analyzed. The keyword analysis results from 2012 to 2017 show that “systems”, “Nano”, and “batteries” are the most common words. In order to see the most recent trends, the data from 2016 to 2017 was then analyzed. “Intelligence” and “system” were found to appear frequently. The results thus show that the main keywords have recently changed. Secondly, R&D projects conducted by Horizon 2020 were analyzed by the same methodology. These organizations are representative R&D funding agencies in the EU, which is world leaders in energy technology. Keyword analysis results show that “energy”, “innovative”, “efficient”, “system” and “sustainable” are the most common words. Thirdly, keyword clustering analysis showed that “local energy system”, “smart grid energy”, “smart building”, “zero energy building”, and “thermal energy storage building” were highly related. Finally, the latest issues were reinforced through a news search and interviews with experts. As a result, we have identified eight major energy issues to be solved by energy technologies. The contribution of this study is to propose a different R&D planning approach focusing on problem oriented R&D issues.

Keywords

energy technology, R&D planning, keyword ranking, keyword networking