Attempts for an Effective Renewable-Energy Knowledge Transfer at Peruvian Universities

Background

According the International Energy Agency’s Model of Short-term Energy Security, Peru has a high level of exposure (Yewell, 2010). 70% of the feedstock in its refineries uses imported oil. On the other hand, only one pipeline provides almost 50% of gas used countrywide. While the energy matrix has shifted from being based on hydroelectricity to being based on gas, there are plenty of both solar and wind resources, including sweet spots of both along the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

The knowledge-based economy is a new stage of economic development in which emphasis is placed on taking advantage of new structures under the influence of technological changes. In this context, renewable energies constitute a turning point for the development of a less-polluting energy, which is one of the development objectives of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

At the industrial level, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) offers strong links with savings and energy efficiency. Asmawi et al. (2019) claim that the levels of R&D and innovation generated by partnerships between universities and industry in Malaysia do not guarantee a smooth transition to Industry 4.0. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the capabilities of the university–industry alliance that allow the development of adequate R&D levels to generate high-tech innovation. At present, knowledge is lacking about how such R&D alliances operate at the level of microprocesses. This research seeks to fill this gap.