Technology and Innovation

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Considering temporal data in reducing anthropogenic gas emissions into the atmosphere amplifies the un-predictable risks of climate change. Fossil fuel combustion emits various gases such as CO2, and SO2, which have con-trasting climate impacts and atmospheric lifespans- over a century for CO2 and less than two weeks for SO2. The defossi-lization of energy’s transition, away from fossil fuels, may accelerate global warming risks due to the loss of SO2’s cooling effect. A strategic focus on rapidly mitigating anthropogenic methane (CH₄) emissions aligns with a diversified decarboni-zation paradigm and offers a feasible pathway. Achieving this requires a nexus of technological, institutional, and societal innovations that depend on public engagement. The integration of technical democracy, via hybrid forums, and participa-tory action research combining field-based and controlled environments, could provide the institutional framework needed to navigate these complex transitions effectively.

The steel industry is one of the most polluting in the world. In France, ArcelorMittal Dunkerque is the major industrial unit in terms of CO2 emissions, and as such benefits from substantial public support. In 2022, the company has announced an important decarbonization program to manufacture green steel using various technologies (direct reduction unit, electric furnace, etc.). Between July 2023 and September 2024, we interviewed managers in charge of the decarbonization program and union representatives to find out their respective positions on this issue and analyze the role of trade unions and workers in these technological transformations. What emerged was a certain convergence of views between the two parties on this issue. However, the union organization considers that the place of workers is underestimated, that the investment decision is behind schedule and that the plant’s survival is at stake.

The global decline in resources and raw materials, challenges in waste management, and the rise in greenhouse gas concentrations are driving companies to seek more sustainable and symbiotic business models. Digital platforms, as hubs for information and data flows, play a key role in coordinating symbiotic production and service systems. Industrial symbiosis (IS) represents one such business model, where the exchange of waste, by-products, or other resources between firms and local organizations generates new forms of competitive advantage. Despite growing awareness of the role of information technologies and digital platforms in advancing sustainability, research on these digital sharing platforms as enablers of symbiotic networks remains in its early stages. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining the role of digital platforms in transitioning local ecosystems into symbiotic and “smart” communities. The study employs a systematic review of existing literature alongside a case study. The paper is structured into three major sections, followed by conclusions and implication

Decarbonisation and the circular economy are generally considered as solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. In fact, it’s not quite that simple. Circular economy, doesn’t necessarily reduce waste production; instead, it can actually increase it, as these collected goods are treated as resources. That said, circular economy is essential (under certain conditions) for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and particularly in the context of decarbonisation. Renewable energies like solar and wind require the extraction of mineral resources, and exploiting new mines generates greenhouse gas emissions. To break this vicious circle, we need to review our production and consumption model.

Long considered as “playing the Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, geoengineering, which refers to a wide range of large-scale technical interventions on the climate system, has gradually gained credibility over the past few years and is now being seriously considered in international climate debates. In this paper, we aim to analyze this process of normalizing geoengineering within international discussion arenas. This process stems from the integration of a compensation logic through the classical lens of decarbonization: climate agreements now distinguish between the optional reduction of emissions that can be ’mitigated,’ that is, captured through carbon capture techniques, and the mandatory reduction of emissions that cannot be mitigated. This compensation logic has the dual effect of normalizing CC(U)S and carbon geoengineering, while rendering some decarbonization measures optional. The question we will address in this paper is to what extent all of this points to a new horizon: the normalization of the prospect of overshooting the threshold set by the Paris Agreement, and also the normalization of solar geoengineering, understood as a means of thermally compensating for the failure or, at the very least, the postponement of decarbonization measures. The aim, in essence, will be to study the shift from an economy of promise to one of debt.

This text analyzes the challenges and prospects associated with the theme of the special issue "Industrial Renewal and Innovation" of the journal "Technology and Innovation". After explaining the relevance of the research in this field, it presents an overview of the articles included in the issue.

This contribution questions the dynamics of the aerospace and defense (A&D) industries by identifying the main factors acting on innovation. Based on the model developed by [BAR 19] and [BAR 20], the research examines the dynamics of defense innovations incorporating components from Artificial Intelligence (AI) research. Considered as a General Purpose Technology (GPT; [BRE 96]), AI and its multiple applications have a significant impact on current and future military capabilities, and constitute relevant empirical material for understanding how innovation operates in the A&D industries.

New Space designates the emergence of an economic system in the space sector in which more and more private actors are called upon to participate. Science fiction has been offering representations of the companies of space capitalism for several years. This article studies some of them, such as the films Space Sweepers, Venom, or the Salvation series, and shows that the figure of the New Space billionaire arouses both fascination and rejection. While these fictions are inspired by real characters like Elon Musk, they also influence the general public and the actors of the space sector. These stories are at the center of strategic and soft power issues. It is suggested that Europe should equip itself with an effective and performative system for creating space science fiction stories in order to optimize the creativity of its future entrepreneurs. Indeed, these stories often offer a reflection on the ethics of space conquest and imagine technologies that could become major innovations in the future.

After a first long phase of governmental and scientific development, the space sector has been shaken up by new approaches during the 2000s, grouped under the generic term "New Space". Through the study of the evolution of this ecosystem, this academic work proposes a characterization of the New Space, considered as a set of disruptions composed of new entrants, new applications, new technologies, new regulations, new processes, and new modes of financing. But, beyond that, it emphasizes that these disruptions are fed by their interaction and interdependence. Finally, this richness of the New Space leads us to identify the numerous implications for the economic and management sciences, whether in terms of research programs or teaching.

The proliferation of patent litigation is indicative of the tension that exists between, on the one hand, the need to ensure interoperability and compatibility between a product’s components and, on the other, respect for intellectual property (IP) rights. In this article, we show that this tension is not new. Patent "wars" have historically been associated with disruptive innovations, and reflect the growing importance of business models based on the valorization of IP. While recognizing the sometimes deleterious effects of the litigation dynamic, litigation can be seen as a means of ex-post adjusting the scope of rights conferred by IP.