Publications

Find at Harvard

Read Now

January 2024
Case

Fusion Industry Association: Igniting the Future of Clean Energy

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Kyle R. Myers and Henry Tao

Fusion energy is evolving from a scientific idea to a commercial possibility, drawing large investments and regulatory discussions; how should the FIA navigate this evolution?

The Fusion Industry Association (FIA) is at the forefront of transforming fusion... View Details

Keywords: Science-Based Business; Engineering; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Government Legislation; Industry Clusters; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Technological Innovation; Energy Industry; United States

September 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Qatar: Energy for Development

By: Aldo Musacchio, Colin Donovan, Samir Mikati, Rami Sarafa and Abdulla AlMisnad

Despite being the richest country in the world on a per capita basis, for analysts Qatar belongs in the group of emerging markets considered "frontier markets." This case analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the development strategy of this small country as set... View Details

Keywords: Frontier Markets; State-owned Enterprises; State Capitalism; Sovereign Wealth Funds; Economic Development; Sovereign Finance; State Ownership; Development Economics; Energy Industry; Middle East; Qatar

2010
Working Paper

Accelerating Energy Innovation: Insights from Multiple Sectors

By: Rebecca Henderson and Richard G. Newell

A combination of concerns about climate change and energy security has recently led to significant increases in public funding for energy R&D. Some commentators are suggesting that these increases need to be sustained, and are advocating for increases of as much as... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Research and Development; Pollutants; Climate Change; Energy Industry

Read Now

Research Summary

Promoting greater organizational adoption of energy efficiency projects

This research examines why firms fail to capitalize on apparently cost-effective investments in energy efficiency, with particular attention to waste heat recovery projects, in which heat from industrial processes are recovered in the form of thermal or electrical... View Details

September 2022
Article

Energy Innovation Funding and Institutions in Major Economies

By: Jonas Meckling, Clara Galeazzi, Esther Shears, Tong Xu and Laura Diaz Anadon

Accelerating energy innovation for decarbonization hinges on public investment in research, development and demonstration (RD&D). Here we examine the evolution and variation of public energy RD&D funding and institutions and associated drivers across eight major... View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Energy Policy; Government Legislation; Energy Sources

Register to Read

16 Mar 2023
Blog Post

HySynergy and Crossbridge Energy

Production immersive field course, we met with the HySynergy-Crossbridge Energy partnership that was created to produce liquid e-fuels in Fredericia, Denmark. Many of the companies we visited in Denmark and the Netherlands emphasized... View Details

21 Nov 2019
Blog Post

The Power of Business in the Energy Transition

from firms such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Marathon Capital, and FullCycle discussed the need for patient capital to be aligned on the longer timelines it may take for alternative energy View Details

Keywords: Energy / Cleantech; Energy / Cleantech

October 2024
Case

Ranger Energy Services: Bridging Public & Private Markets

By: Joseph Pacelli, Ravi Ramniklal Gondalia and James Weber

In August of 2017, CSL Capital, a private equity fund founded and operated by Charlie Leykum (HBS ’04), was deciding to take one of its portfolio companies, Ranger Energy Services, public. Founded in 2014, Ranger Energy was an oilfield service company providing... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Financial Strategy; Valuation; Private Equity; Business Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Financial Services Industry; Energy Industry; United States

April 2025
Article

How Central Banks Manage Climate and Energy Transition Risks

By: Esther Shears, Jonas Meckling and Jared Finnegan

Central banks have begun to examine and manage climate risks, including both transition risks of moving from fossil fuels to clean energy and physical climate risks. Here we provide a systematic assessment of how and why central banks address climate risks on the basis... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Risk and Uncertainty; Climate Change; Transition; Risk Management

02 Mar 2020
Blog Post

Know Your Audience – Recruiting HBS Students for Energy

excited to contribute to companies who are increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy innovations, improving infrastructure for transportation and natural resources, and... View Details

Keywords: Energy / Cleantech

December 2024
Article

Coordinating the Energy Transition: Electrifying Transportation in California and Germany

By: Nicholas Goedeking and Jonas Meckling

California and Germany share ambitious emission reduction targets. Yet California is ahead of Germany in electrifying transportation by several metrics, including the number of public charging stations. We show that variation in the politics of coordination in... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Coordination; Technology Adoption; Infrastructure; Transportation; Government and Politics; Energy; Utilities Industry; Germany; California

Read Now

2025
Working Paper

How to Choose Among Technologies with Learning Curves: Making Better Investment Decisions

By: Christian Kaps and Arielle Anderer

Learning curves, the fact that technologies improve as a function of cumulative experience or investment, are desirable-think inexpensive solar panels or higher performing semiconductors. But, for firms that need to pick one technology among several candidates, such as... View Details

Keywords: Learning Curve; Technology; Innovation; Batteries; Energy Storage; Sequential Decision Making; TELCO; Exploration; Exploitation; Problems and Challenges; Cost vs Benefits; Technology Adoption; Battery Industry

SSRN

August 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Highland Capital Partners: Investing in Cleantech

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron

One day during the summer of 2008, Paul Maeder, co-founder and general partner of Highland Capital Partners (HCP), was walking with his wife around Reykjavik, Iceland, marveling at how clean the city felt and at the widespread use of naturally occurring geothermal... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Global Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Services Industry; Green Technology Industry

06 Feb 2023
Blog Post

Meet the Black Investment Club

In 2020, Paul Ampofo (MBA 2020) and Brian Sykes (MBA 2020) founded the Black Investment Club at Harvard Business School to address the massive underrepresentation of Black investors in venture capital, private equity, and View Details

Keywords: Investment Management / Hedge Fund; Investment Management / Hedge Fund; Investment Management / Hedge Fund

09 Feb 2021
News

Investing in Entrepreneurship

Courtesy Peter and Missy Crisp Courtesy Peter and Missy Crisp Peter O. Crisp (MBA 1960), a pioneering venture capitalist and philanthropist, is known for his firm’s investments in companies that have become household names: Intel, Apple,... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

August 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Supplement

Gazprom (B): Energy and Strategy in a New Era

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Sogomon Tarontsi and Alexander Jorov

President Putin publicly stated that Gazprom, the largest natural gas producer in the world, was a powerful political lever of the Russian state in the world and a keystone in the foundation of the country's energy security. Thus the top leadership of Russia has... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Growth and Development Strategy; State Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Expansion; Energy Industry; Russia; Ukraine

2010
Chapter

Carbon As An Investment Opportunity

By: Jurgen Weiss and Veronique Bugnion

The chapter discusses various sources for monetizing carbon abatement and provides an outlook for the size of the market and related investment opportunities. View Details

Keywords: Carbon Abatement; Monetization; Investment

Find at Harvard

March 2021
Case

Yale Investments Office: November 2020

By: Josh Lerner, Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments—hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, natural resources—given the impact of the COVID-19... View Details

Keywords: University Endowment; Asset Allocation; Real Estate; Equities; Fixed Income; COVID-19; Asset Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Natural Resources; Resource Allocation; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Health Pandemics; Financial Crisis; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Connecticut