Science based entrepreneurship through the lens of sectoral and national innovation systems: French academic start-ups developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies

Résumé:

This paper combines the sectoral innovation system and the national innovation system approaches to analyze their role in the development process of French academic start-ups (ASUs) involved in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies (HFC) as potentially sustainable energy options. We show that both the characteristics and dynamics of innovation patterns in the energy sector and the evolution of the French national system of innovation have shaped the creation and development processes of HFC ASUs.