Energy is the foundation of human survival and development, and technological innovation is the guarantee of human energy security and sustainable utilization. With the rapid development of the economy, the consumption of fossil fuels continues to increase, and humanity is facing increasingly serious energy shortages and environmental damage. Global climate change and energy transformation have become hot topics of international concern. Fossil energy will eventually be depleted, and seeking a way to replace fossil fuels and provide clean and sustainable energy for humanity in the future has become a hot topic of global concern.
In recent years, China has focused on green and low-carbon industries such as new energy, new materials, and energy conservation and environmental protection, continuously strengthening independent innovation and increasing policy support, effectively promoting green and low-carbon emerging industries. Since the promulgation and implementation of the Renewable Energy Law in 2006, the scale of new energy development and utilization represented by solar photovoltaic and wind energy has significantly expanded. According to statistics from the National Energy Administration, China’s installed capacity of new energy was 2.2 million kilowatts in 2006, and exceeded 530 million kilowatts in 2020. From less than 3% in 2006 to 37% in 2020, China has become the world’s largest country in the development and utilization of new energy. China is a global leader in the scale of the new energy industry. According to statistics from the China Solar Photovoltaic Industry Association, the main links in the solar photovoltaic industry chain, such as polycrystalline silicon, silicon wafers, battery cells, and modules, have an average global market share of over 70% in 2021; Domestic wind turbine manufacturers occupy 10 out of the top 15 global wind turbine manufacturers. Although China ranks first in the world in the field of new energy and has achieved certain results in innovative development of the new energy industry, it is of great significance to enable China to form an energy structure dominated by new energy, break free from China’s dependence on oil and natural gas in the Middle East, Russia and other countries, carry out technological innovation in the field of new energy, and drive the development of the new energy industry.
In the face of the new situation of achieving the “dual carbon” goal, technological innovation has always played a crucial role in the process of energy transformation towards low-carbon. Not only is it beneficial for energy conservation and emission reduction, but it also continues to reduce the cost of wind and solar photovoltaic power generation worldwide. Currently, major countries and regions around the world attach great importance to the development of new energy industry technology and continuously increase investment. The United States has formulated the Comprehensive Energy Strategy, Japan has formulated the Energy and Environmental Innovation Strategy for 2030, and the European Union has released the 2050 Energy Technology Roadmap, both of which regard energy technology as a breakthrough point for a new round of technological and industrial revolution. Technological innovation and disruptive breakthroughs in the new energy industry have become key means to continuously change the world energy landscape and initiate carbon neutrality actions in various countries around the world. With the implementation of China’s “innovation driven” development strategy, the new energy industry must take technological innovation as its development priority. The China Energy Technology Revolution and Innovation Action Plan (2016-2030) points out that technology determines the future of energy, and technology creates the energy of the future. Technological innovation will play an irreplaceable role in improving energy utilization efficiency and protecting environmental quality.
It can be said that the new energy industry is the most promising and strategic emerging industry in China, and it is the main force for replacing conventional energy in the future. It is also an important direction for the transformation, upgrading, and optimization layout of China’s energy industry. In the context of global climate change and environmental protection, the new energy industry has become one of the important strategies for countries around the world to promote sustainable economic development. The huge development potential and strong practical significance make the wind and solar thermal industries in the new energy field play a major role that can be replaced by conventional energy in the future. In the development process of China’s new energy industry, the evolution of technological innovation is characterized by a transition from the initial exploration stage to the follow-up and introduction stage, and then to the independent innovation stage. China has become the world’s largest new energy installation country, especially in the fields of solar photovoltaic and wind energy, and has a strong industrial foundation and technological accumulation. As the vanguard of the development of the new energy industry, new energy enterprises cannot do without technological innovation, whether it is to excavate reserves, improve energy extraction efficiency and utilization efficiency in various links, or vigorously develop new energy such as nuclear power and wind power. It can be seen that technological innovation plays an important, even central role in solving energy and economic problems, and more and more enterprises are beginning to attach importance to technological innovation and research and development investment. Although China’s new energy industry has made significant progress in technology research and application promotion, there is still a gap between achieving carbon neutrality goals. Mainly manifested in the lack of core technology, prominent dependence on imported key equipment and materials, and long-term reliance on imported digestion and absorption of key technologies; The innovation system and mechanism need to be improved, and the role of the market in the allocation of scientific and technological innovation resources needs to be strengthened; The integration of industry, academia, and research is not close enough, and the innovation subject status of enterprises is not prominent enough. The phenomenon of disconnection between innovation activities and industrial demand still exists; Lack of long-term planning and strategic layout, the current new energy policy system has not yet placed technological innovation at the core position; In accordance with the requirements of building a new development pattern of dual circulation and dual promotion, international cooperation in technological innovation in the field of new energy still needs to be strengthened.
Therefore, in order to solve the main problems faced by the development of China’s new energy industry mentioned above, it is urgent to establish a sound mechanism for driving technological innovation. Therefore, it is particularly important to summarize the evolution characteristics and laws of technological innovation in the development process of the new energy industry, point out the problems existing in the current technological innovation of China’s new energy industry, and study the research on technological innovation capacity and its influencing factors; And analyzing how technological innovation drives the development of the new energy industry, exploring the impact path of technological innovation driving the development of the new energy industry is also a key issue that urgently needs to be solved. These studies can help improve the technological innovation level and market competitiveness of the new energy industry, and better promote the development of China’s new energy industry through technological innovation. Break free from the development trap of excessive reliance on foreign technology and equipment imports, break free from the path lock of developed countries towards developing countries, and achieve sustainable development of the new energy industry.
Currently, major countries or regions around the world are taking the development of new energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics and wind energy as important breakthroughs in leading a new round of energy revolution and technological innovation. Technological innovation in the new energy industry is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. With the global energy transformation and the continuous promotion of China’s “dual carbon” goals, the importance of research and development, breakthroughs in new energy industry technologies, and their impact on the development of the new energy industry is becoming increasingly prominent. In this context, studying the mechanism and improvement path of technological innovation in promoting the development of the new energy industry has important theoretical and practical significance.
(1) A beneficial theoretical extension. Further improving the quantitative research and mechanism of the impact of technological innovation on the development of the new energy industry has enriched the relevant theories of technological innovation in the new energy industry. In recent years, under the background of “dual carbon”, Chinese scholars have continued to pay attention to research related to technological innovation and the new energy industry, both of which have a profound theoretical foundation. However, currently, scholars are paying attention to technological innovation in the new energy industry, but it is not yet rich enough. There are more qualitative discussions based on the industry level, and there is little quantitative research on the relationship between technological innovation and the new energy industry. This article analyzes the impact of technological innovation on China’s new energy industry through theoretical research and literature review, combined with the current situation and characteristics of policies and technological innovation in the new energy industry. It explores the differences in the impact of technological innovation on the new energy industry and proposes policy recommendations for improving the development path of China’s solar photovoltaic, wind energy and other industries driven by technological innovation. This reveals the mechanism by which technological innovation plays a role in the development of the new energy industry, which is a beneficial supplement to the theory of new energy industry development.
(2) Effective contributions in reality. Firstly, it helps to accelerate the improvement of technological innovation in industries such as solar photovoltaic and wind energy. Although China has made certain achievements in the field of new energy technology, there is still a certain gap compared to the international advanced level. The core and key technologies of new energy technology are still in the hands of a few developed countries, and China still lacks technological innovation capabilities. Therefore, this study is beneficial for the development of key new energy technologies in China. Secondly, provide guidance and support for the development of the new energy industry. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposes to accelerate the implementation of the innovation driven development strategy. Studying the impact path of technological innovation driving the new energy industry, better understanding the impact and mechanism of technological innovation on the development of the new energy industry, can use technological power to promote the development of the new energy industry, improve the quality and efficiency of the development of the new energy industry, and provide decision-making support for improving the development policies of the new energy industry. Thirdly, it will help promote China’s energy structure transformation and achieve the “dual carbon” goals. Currently, China is in a period of opportunity and critical energy transformation, and technological innovation is the core driving force for promoting the rapid development of the new energy industry and achieving energy transformation. This study investigates the influencing factors and mechanisms of technological innovation in promoting the development of the new energy industry, which is beneficial for increasing the market share of solar photovoltaic and wind energy enterprises, promoting China’s energy transformation, and achieving the “dual carbon” goals.