The Globalization of Cleantech: The Fifth Annual Globalization of Services Conference
December 8, 2009  - University of Colorado Denver

Silicon Valley is increasingly invested in clean technologies and is already looked upon as a global leader in new technological development. As happens with most new technologies in their infancy, Silicon Valley's focus is currently on component manufacturing. However, a difference from earlier technology cycles is the upfront impact of globalization, especially the emergence of China and India as providers of skilled labor and large markets. Accordingly, the globalization of cleantech could follow some well-trodden paths and some new ones: As manufacturing gets modularized, firms such as Applied Materials might shift component work to East Asia. Some of this is already happening. System integration and other service provision might increasingly be provided by the large Indian system integrators. As of 2009, however, there is little evidence of this happening. Firms in Europe and East Asia have been investing in cleantech for some time now, and might participate in technological leadership. In each case, we are interested in exploring the time-frame and the driving forces. These will typically be outcomes of a mix of regulatory, domestic market and skills issues.