Innovation Vouchers for the Transition of Energy and Innovation Systems

Over the last ten years, innovation vouchers have become a frequently used instrument of the innovation policy mix of EU countries. Vouchers help stimulate collaborative research and innovation activities among small and medium sized enterprises and research organizations. This article analyses the design and outcomes of the innovation voucher instrument in the EU-funded project ener2i. Vouchers were here successfully applied with the dual purpose of coupling innovation stimulation and support for renewable energy and energy efficiency in four target countries: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova. The voucher projects underwent review by internal experts and the whole scheme was reviewed by a panel of experts who were not involved in ener2i. This first pilot group of vouchers in the target countries proved successful in stimulating renewable energy usage and energy efficiency through measures such as market studies, prototyping, and certification. Also the goal of establishing contacts between research and business could be reached. To achieve these results, it proved instrumental that the design of the voucher scheme foresaw a low administrative effort necessary for accommodating the relevant businesses and that the specific features of the target countries were taken into account.