Technology generation and international collaboration in the Global Value Chain of Lithium Batteries

Patterns of specialisation by country and sector in olive applications

“…This index aims to identify whether a country has RCA, rather than to determine the underlying sources of comparative advantages. In addition, this is one of the measurements used for the identification of value chains with comparative advantages [26,6]. Several studies [27] have analysed trade patterns of specialisation in different sectors of the economy; in the natural resources [28], agrofood industry [29,30] and olive oil sector exports and import analysis [31,32].…”

“…The analysis of the GVC is especially relevant in countries with low value added activities where the introduction of novel technologies could act as game changers and transform sectors, countries, and thus, society in general. In this sense, technology and commercial networks play a key role in the upgrading alternatives and in the reconfiguration of countries to higher value activities [6,7].…”

Scientific and Technological Links from Samsung On Lithium Batteries and Graphene

“…Regarding the patents -which involve a legal protection of something new for some years (Griliches, 1990)-although they are not a perfect indicator of innovation, because only some inventions are launched or have consequences in the market, and they do not reflect the inventions of developing countries due to their high cost to keep them protected over time (OECD, 2009). They spread information and reflect the generation of technology and knowledge, especially from developed countries (Fan et al, 2017;Griliches, 1990;Jaffe et al, 1993;Moreno-Brieva and Marín, 2019). In turn, the use of patents allows observing and analyzing the connectivity or alliances of organizations or advanced countries (OECD, 2009).…”

“…Although, this last source is practically not used at present due to the high costs caused by the low concentration of lithium it contains (Grosjean et al, 2012). Lithium batteries themselves belong to the third stage of production of this value chain (also called the application stage) and are created by integrating several components (such as cobalt and graphene), which in turn allow the creation of derivative products, for example: electric vehicles, laptops and cell phones (Comisión Chilena del Cobre, 2009;Ebensperger et al, 2005;Moreno-Brieva and Marín, 2019;Stephan et al, 2017). On the other hand, lithium rechargeable batteries can be complemented with sources of clean energy technologies, such as wind and solar, because they can store that type of energy (Lowe et al, 2010;Samsung, 2016).…”

“…Thanks to the exposed background, there is a greater interest in studying the global value chain of lithium batteries, since these objects are lighter than other chemical compounds used in history, they have no memory effect and, consequently, they have longer useful life than other rechargeable batteries (Winter and Brodd, 2004). Specifically, some research has focused on the location of resources and reserves of this metal (Ebensperger et al, 2005;Grosjean et al, 2012); in the differences of its concentrations and the costs to obtain it from rocks, brines or oceans (Grosjean et al, 2012); in derivative products and worldwide projection (Boxall et al, 2018;Stephan et al, 2017;Vikström et al, 2013); in the composition and features of the different types of existing lithium rechargeable batteries (Stephan et al, 2017; U.S. Geological Survey, 2012) 1 ; in the generation and technological positioning (Moreno-Brieva and Marín, 2019), among other topics. In the latter case, scholars already know that South Korea is the absolute and extensible technological leader over time, and with strong ties to Germany.…”