Study on Emerging Technologies in Electric Power Industry

Abstract

In recent years, the U.S, Japan, Europe and other developed countries are strategically developing technologies in order to prepare for paradigm shift affecting the electric power industry in a preemptive way. In particular, a chance for new business models and innovation in the electric power industry would rapidly increase with convergence of various technologies including Information and communication technologies. This study gathered up the theories and methodologies, and sorted out emerging technologies for the electric power industry with those theories. In order to find the emerging technologies, first, we identified the possible key issues of the electric power industry in the future using four mining techniques such as STEEP. Second, we drew agenda related with each key issue. Third, we organized candidates of the emerging technologies for solving the agenda and set the priority after evaluating the possibility of technical innovation and business. Finally, we selected the top fourteen of emerging technologies and assessed their feasibility. This study has a methodological significance because the emerging technologies were developed with a market-oriented approach rather than technical-push one that has been primarily used in another studies. The results of this study are able to be used in establishment of technology policy and R&D planning in the electric power industry.