European Innovation at a Crossroads
The old continent struggles to commercialize its innovations
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In light of Northvolt’s official bankruptcy earlier this month and the geopolitical changes since Trump took power, I believe it’s an opportune moment to revisit the topic of European competitiveness.
Last year, I wrote an article on this very issue, analyzing the market capitalization of various companies. The findings were sobering: European companies were nowhere to be seen in the Top 10. I concluded that piece by proposing measures to help Europe reclaim its competitive standing.
In my analysis I wrote:
‘‘The International Energy Agency chief, Fatih Birol, proposed that Europe needs ‘’a new industrial master plan’’. Europe needs exactly less of that. Europe has been very good at proposing plans, but very poor in executing these plans. Europe holds 38% more cleantech patents than the USA and twice more than China, yet these patents are not seeing the light of the day.’’ — Europe’s Technological Stagnation
