Transformative innovation policy in energy transition and digitalization: a geopolitical and security perspective

Geopolitics and global security increasingly shape the conditions for energy innovation and innovation-industrial policies and, hence, also transformative innovation policy (TIP) that aims for systemic innovation generating environmentally and societally beneficial systemic change. Connections between TIP and security/geopolitics have been less explicit previously but have heightened after the global geopolitical context has become more turbulent, with many countries increasingly oriented to protectionism and narrow conception of security. This paper contributes to an emerging debate on TIP, security, and geopolitics, drawing examples from the energy and digital sectors. It centres on the core principle of TIP - directionality - to explore potential interconnections with geopolitics and security. It also provides an overview of the interconnections between transformative innovation and geopolitics/security in three continental contexts: energy transition in Europe and Asia, and digitalization in Africa. Via exploring the phenomenon in the three contexts, we find that, although increasing attention is given to directionalities towards environmental and social sustainability, the prioritization of economic growth and traditional security appear to undermine them. Directionality is essential for realizing sustainability in a world undergoing energy transitions and rapid digitalization. Yet, recent global security and geopolitics developments may mostly hinder TIP-based directionalities in practice, unless specific policy focus and experimentation is placed at finding and employing synergies.