Research and development activities in the energy industry in Central European countries

Abstract

The article contains a synthetic description of activities related to innovation in the energy industry in the countries of Central Europe, namely in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary in the years 2009–2018. It takes into account government spending on research and development in the said industry. In addition, the condition of R&D personnel and the number of intellectual property rights obtained in the activities in the field of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply were analysed. The article analyses the barriers that contribute to reducing the dynamics of innovation development and reducing the interest in research and development in the discussed energy sector. It also presents tax incentives in individual countries related to conducting innovative activities. The research shows that the indicators of innovation in the electricity supply sector are at a low level, and the trends of the last decade indicates slight changes in this respect. The above-mentioned barriers to the implementation of innovations mainly indicate problems with financing them, as well as bad experiences during the earlier application of innovations. Therefore, it is concluded that there are many tasks ahead of the governments of the discussed countries to intensify activities aimed at the fastest possible development of R&D in the electricity supply sector, and in particular to launch increased financial flows, maintain the policy of applying tax breaks for innovative activities, promoting innovation.