Benedict Probst
Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
Analysing dynamics of innovation networks in climate technologies
Monday, March 31, 2025 –05:15 – 06:30 PM (CEST)
This session will be held as a hybrid event. To join in person, you can come to room O 131 (i.e., room 131 on level 1 of the east wing of the castle). To join virtually, please register in advance using this link.
Seminar Abstract
Innovation networks play a crucial role in the development, commercialization, and adoption of climate technologies, yet their structure and dynamics remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we use large language models to analyze 26 million LinkedIn posts, mapping a global network of 166,459 organizations and 442,250 collaborations (~1.4 million direct partnerships) across 189 countries. The dataset spans 27 climate technologies and diverse types of collaborations, such as demonstration projects, product launches, and equity investments. Our machine learning approach provides a scalable, real-time methodology for tracking innovation networks over time, with broad applications for industrial analysis and policy evaluation beyond climate-tech.
Speaker Bio
Benedict Probst heads the Net Zero Lab, an interdisciplinary research group of 10 people at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich. He is also a fellow at Cambridge University and ETH Zurich.
The goal of the Net Zero Lab is to accelerate the development of climate technologies crucial for replacing fossil fuels in industry and removing CO2 directly from the air.
He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Economics and Policy from the University of Cambridge and was a senior researcher and lecturer at ETH Zurich. His research has been published in leading journals, such as Nature Energy and Nature Sustainability.
Admission information
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