The 1990 to 2020 Technology Innovation System (Tis) Supporting Norway's Bev Revolution

Abstract

Entrepreneurial activities, the establishment of the EV Association BEV-actor network, and incentives for BEVs, slowly formed the BEV TIS from scratch from 1990. Resources lacked from the outset, but THINK managed to industrialize a BEV aided by international suppliers and expertise. The BEV TIS expanded to the global forefront when Ford needed BEVs for the Californian ZEV mandate and bought THINK in 1999. When California revised the mandate in 2002, BEVs were no longer needed and Ford sold THINK, leading to a BEV-TIS decline. An attempt to reindustrialize THINK from 2007 and other entrepreneurial initiatives expanded the BEV TIS again, but failed by 2010. The market lay open for OEMs producing BEVs to meet EUs new vehicle CO2 regulations. The BEV TIS expanded rapidly with unlimited access to high quality longer range BEVs from 2011. The BEV policy remained stable through these large shifts, but the rationale changed over time.