<Green transition technologies as a future agenda>
◯The green transition represents a societal shift towards practices that emphasize low carbon emissions, enhanced resource productivity, and technological innovation. Integral to this shift, green transition technologies serve as the key enablers of this sustainable evolution.
◯With several leading nations incorporating green transition technologies into their national strategic agendas, these technologies are anticipated to play a pivotal role in shaping the new world order and enhancing national competitiveness.
◯Therefore, the mid- and long-term strategies for green transition technologies are crucial for maintaining national competitiveness. In light of this, the National Assembly should spearhead discussions involving various government departments.
-This paper aims to analyze shifts in global hegemony within the green technology sector and evaluate Korea's current standing. The objective is to establish a mid- and long-term strategic direction for the nation's green transition.
<Changes and prospects of competition for green transition technologies>
◯Changes in major countries of application and technological sectors: China’s share in patent applications has significantly increased. In 2022, patent applications from China constituted 98% of the total application submitted to the major countries. The sectors of energy storage technology (EST), agriculture and fishery (AGF), and critical raw materials (CRM) are identified as intensively competitive.
◯Efforts to dominate technologies: In the EST and transportation (TRS) sectors, Japan has maintained a high number of patent applications and a significant share of triadic patents. The proportions of China’s patent applications in CRM and AGF technologies have been remarkable, but Japan and the US continue to dominate in triadic patent applications.
◯Analysis of citation rates and family patent sizes: Japan has consistently achieved high citation rates and maintained a substantial share of family patents in the EST and TRS sectors. In contrast, the CRM technology sector is emerging as a highly competitive field, with no single country currently holding a dominant, unassailable position, unlike what is observed in the EST and TRS sectors.
-In the CRM sector, the number of China’s family patent applications has been growing, indicating its intention to expand into the global market.
<Assessment of Korea’s global influence in green transition technologies>
◯Korea's patent applications may be outnumbered by those of major countries, yet its share of triadic patents has exceeded that of China. Notably, Korea has secured a more dominant position than European nations in the TRS and EST sectors.
-However, Korea faces certain limitations in market expansion potential in the green technology sector. In particular, its AGF and CRM technologies have less global influence compared to those of other major countries.
◯Among Korea’s patent applications, those with relatively high-impact exceeded the median levels, yet the gap with the top level in the corresponding field is more than tenfold.
-The TRS technology in the ship sector demonstrated the highest comparative advantage.
◯Korea experienced a surge in green technology investment from 2008 to 2013, followed by a consistent decline, although investments in several sub-fields have recently increased.
-Such a decrease in R&D investment, coupled with low consistency, could result in lowering Korea’s competitiveness in green transition technologies.
<Policy Implications>
◯In the realm of green transition technologies, where competition is intense, advanced regions such as Japan, Europe, and the United States have established a significant influence. However, the rapid and substantial growth of China in these sectors has emerged as a key factor in global order reshuffling.
-China has shown remarkable quantitative growth in the green transition technology. This increasing trend is noticeable in the number of patent applications, citation rates, and the sizes of family patent.
◯To expand Korea’s global influence in the green transition technology, it is essential to develop industry strategies aimed at achieving technological superiority in areas where Korea already has comparative advantages. To maintain and improve these advantages, its supremacy needs to be extended to related areas.
◯Considering that a decline in overall technological competitiveness, particularly in security technologies (like resource and food security), can pose a risk to national competitiveness, we need to strategically strengthen these areas with an approach different from the one with comparative advantages.
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