Cleantech Startups Thrive When They Collaborate With Government Agencies

By: Steve Hanley 

An international team of researchers at the University of Cambridge, the Technical University of Munich, and the University of Maryland reports that startups which collaborate with government agencies file 73% more patent applications than those who do not pursue such collaboration. Their report, published March 7 in the journal Research Policy, is entitled Governments as partners: The role of alliances in U.S. cleantech startup innovation. The findings could have important implications for new green startups in the cleantech sector.

“Our findings suggest that some of the signs commonly used to track innovation and business success, such as patents and financing, increase when new cleantech companies partner with US government departments or labs,” says study co-author Laura Diaz Anadon, professor of climate change policy at the University of Cambridge. According to Science Daily, the patenting activity of a startup climbs by more than 73% every time they collaborate with a government agency on “cleantech” development — from next-generation solar cells to new energy storage materials.

The study also found that every time a cleantech startup licensed a technology developed by a government agency, the company secured more than double the amount of financing deals when compared to similar startups and a 155% increase one year after taking out a license.

Professor Claudia Doblinger at the Technical University of Munich, said: “Government research laboratories have a major role to play in the climate challenge but also the growth of small businesses — twin objectives at the heart of many policy discussions such as the Green New Deal in the United States.”

Read more >> https://cleantechnica.com/2019/03/20/cleantech-startups-thrive-when-they-collaborate-with-government-agencies/