Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) Adoption in Biofuel Processing: The Role of Policy Incentives, Financial Mechanisms, and Strategic Management

The global transition toward sustainable energy necessitates innovative financing mechanisms to support advanced technologies in biofuel production. This qualitative study explores the barriers and opportunities for adopting Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) in Malaysia’s biofuel sector, focusing on technological financing, policy frameworks, and strategic management. FPGAs offer significant potential for optimizing biofuel processes, including real-time monitoring and energy efficiency improvements, yet their adoption remains limited due to high capital costs, misaligned policies, and fragmented financing strategies. Through semi-structured interviews with 20 stakeholders—policymakers, financial analysts, engineers, and corporate executives—and document analysis, the study identifies three critical challenges: (1) collateralization gaps in financing FPGA technologies, (2) policy lags favoring conventional renewable projects over hardware innovations, and (3) insufficient strategic roadmaps for technology integration. The findings reveal that firms with formalized adoption plans secure 2.3× more funding, underscoring the mediating role of strategic management. The study advances theoretical insights by integrating Resource-Based View, Technology Acceptance Model, and Institutional Theory, demonstrating how financial access, stakeholder perceptions, and policy environments collectively influence FPGA adoption. Practical recommendations include introducing FPGA-specific grants, enhancing tax incentives, and fostering industry-academia collaborations to de-risk investments. By bridging the gap between technological potential and financial feasibility, this research contributes to academic discourse on renewable energy financing while offering actionable strategies for policymakers and industry leaders to accelerate Malaysia’s sustainable energy transition.