Die Treiber der räumlichen Emergenz und Konzentration der Photovoltaik-Industrie in Deutschland

Following the relatedness literature, we explore to what extent related industries influenced the regional emergence of the PV-industry. In addition, we shed light on factors explaining selective processes of clustering. We particularly argue that generic resources and resources of related activities have been crucial for the regional concentration in early phases of the industry life cycle. With increasing maturity, industry-specific resources became more important. Based on a unique dataset containing population dynamics of the German PV-industry, the hypotheses are tested empirically. Our results partially confirm the assumed beneficial effects of related industries for the emergence of the PV-industry. Moreover, we observe changes in the relative importance of factors supporting regional concentration, with industry-specific resources becoming dominant as the industry matures

Energietransition im Rheinischen Revier: Implikationen der Projektförderung für eine grüne Pfadentwicklung

Mit dem Ausstieg aus der Braunkohle steht das Rheinische Revier am Anfang eines Jahrzehnte dauernden Transformationsprozesses. Strukturmittel von fast 15 Milliarden Euro sollen in Form von Projektförderung bis 2038 vergeben werden. Grundlage dafür ist das Wirtschafts- und Strukturprogramm sowie ein regionaler Konsens mit Vertretern der Region. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es zu untersuchen, inwiefern die Förderprojektauswahl dazu beiträgt, grüne Entwicklungspfade einzuschlagen und dem ambitionierten Ziel einer nachhaltigen Modellregion für Energieversorgung und -produktion näherzukommen. Zu diesem Zweck werden die Merkmale von 22 eingereichten Projekten im Zukunftsfeld Energie und Industrie hinsichtlich einer Typologie grüner Pfade analysiert. Mithilfe von neun Interviews konnten Rahmenbedingungen (Design des Förderprozesses und Ressourcenausstattung der Akteure) identifiziert werden, die grüne Pfadentwicklungsprozesse im Rheinischen Revier beeinflussen. Es finden sich Pfaderneuerungsprozesse der regionalen Industrie sowie Pfadkreationsdynamiken vor allem im Wasserstoffbereich. Insgesamt wird die Projektauswahl von einem hohen Anteil an Wissenseinrichtungen bestimmt, deren Beteiligung von den Rahmenbedingungen begünstigt wird. Die Teilnahme von kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen sowie Kommunen wird von den Rahmenbedingungen hingegen erschwert, wodurch vorhandene regionale Potenziale nicht optimal genutzt und der Transformationsprozess insgesamt gefährdet werden kann.With the phase-out of lignite, the Rhenish mining area is at the beginning of a transformation process that will take decades. Structural funds of almost 15 billion euros are to be allocated as project funding until 2038. The basis for this is the economic and structural programme and a regional consensus with representatives of the region. The aim of this paper is to investigate to what extent the funding project selection helps to establish green development paths and move closer to the ambitious goal of a sustainable model region for energy supply and production. For this purpose, the characteristics of 22 submitted projects in the "Zukunftsfeld" energy and industry are analysed with regard to a typology of green paths. With the help of nine interviews, framework conditions (design of the funding process and resource endowment of the actors) that influence green path development processes in the Rhenish Revier could be identified. Path renewal processes of the regional industry as well as path creation dynamics especially in the hydrogen sector can be found. Overall, the project selection is determined by a high proportion of knowledge institutions, whose participation is favoured by the framework conditions. The participation of small and medium sized enterprises and municipalities, on the other hand, is hampered by the framework conditions, which means that existing regional potentials are not utilized optimally and the transformation process as a whole can be compromised

Bridging rigidity and flexibility : modulation of supramolecular hydrogels by metal complexation

The combination of complementary, noncovalent interactions is a key principle for the design of multistimuli responsive hydrogels. In this work, an amphiphilic peptide, supramacromolecular hydrogelator which combines metal-ligand coordination induced gelation and thermoresponsive toughening is reported. Following a modular approach, the incorporation of the triphenylalanine sequence FFF into a structural (C3EG) and a terpyridine-functionalized (C3Tpy) C3-symmetric monomer enables their statistical copolymerization into self-assembled, 1D nanorods in water, as investigated by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the presence of a terpyridine functionalized telechelic polyethylene glycol (PEG) cross-linker, complex formation upon addition of different transition metal ions (Fe2+, Zn2+, Ni2+) induces the formation of soft, reversible hydrogels at a solid weight content of 1 wt% as observed by linear shear rheology. The viscoelastic behavior of Fe2+ and Zn2+ cross-linked hydrogels are basically identical, while the most kinetically inert Ni2+ coordinative bond leads to significantly weaker hydrogels, suggesting that the most dynamic rather than the most thermodynamically stable interaction supports the formation of robust and responsive hydrogel materials

The effect of natural disasters on FDI attraction: a sector-based analysis over time and space

Extensive research has addressed the question of why some countries are able to attract a large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI), while others are not. Until now, this research mostly neglected natural disasters as a business risk. In the realm of natural disaster research, some studies have investigated the effect of natural disasters on FDI inflow. However, this research remains overly simplistic and conceals the complexities of the underlying relationship. As such, this article aims to provide a more deciphered perspective by considering variations across economic sectors and the dynamic effect of natural disasters. We apply hybrid panel regressions to a dataset of 181 countries over a period of 13 years across four different economic sectors. The analysis shows that the effect of natural disasters on FDI inflow varies among economic sectors. From a longitudinal perspective, the study finds a positive relationship between exposure to natural disasters and the inflow of FDI within countries 3 and 5 years after an event. Overall, the findings highlight the complex nature of the relationship between natural disasters and FDI and warn against using too simplistic approaches

CIDADES GATEWAY NAS REDES DE PRODUÇÃO GLOBAIS: UM CONCEITO ILUSTRADO PELO SETOR DE PETRÓLEO E GÁS NA AMÉRICA DO SUL E ÁFRICA SUBSAARIANA

Cidades globais e redes de produção globais (RPG), abordagens analíticas fundamentais na Geografia Econômica, são aspectos definidores da economia global atual. Os conceitos de cidades globais e RPG são explorados no presente artigo, com o argumento de que algumas cidades globais, por integrarem suas esferas de influência em RPG, funcionam como “gateways”. Contudo, enquanto o conceito de cidades globais está concentrado nos serviços avançados e na presença de sedes corporativas, o de cidades gateway é marcado por cinco dimensões: logística e transporte, processamento industrial, controle corporativo, prestação de serviços e geração de conhecimento. Apesar do escopo conceitual deste artigo, cada uma das dimensões é também contextualizada a partir de exemplos do setor de petróleo e gás da América do Sul e da África Subsaariana. Essas informações empíricas ilustram a relevância das cinco dimensões apontadas para o desenvolvimento em um contexto de redes

Cell adhesion on UV-crosslinked polyurethane gels with adjustable mechanical strength and thermoresponsiveness

Temperature-responsive polyurethane (PU) hydrogels represent a versatile material platform for modern tissue engineering and biomedical applications. However, besides intrinsic advantages such as high mechanical strength and a hydrolysable backbone composition, plain PU materials are generally lacking bio-adhesive properties. To overcome this shortcoming, the authors focus on the synthesis of thermoresponsive PU hydrogels with variable mechanical and cell adhesive properties obtained from linear precursor PUs based on poly(ethylene glycol)s (pEG) with different molar masses, isophorone diisocyanate, and a dimerizable dimethylmaleimide (DMMI)-diol. The cloud point temperatures of the dilute, aqueous PU solutions depend linearly on the amphiphilic balance. Rheological gelation experiments under UV-irradiation reveal the dependence of the gelation time on photosensitizer concentration and light intensity, while the finally obtained gel strength is determined by the polymer concentration and spacing of the crosslinks. The swelling ratios of these soft hydrogels show significant changes between 5 and 40 °C whereby the extent of this switch increases with the hydrophobicity of the precursor. Moreover, it is shown that the incorporation of a low amount of catechol groups into the networks through the DMMI dimerization reaction leads to strongly improved cell adhesive properties without significantly weakening the gels

Cities in ‘multiple globalizations’: insights from the upstream oil and gas World City Network

The role of cities in the global economy has been studied extensively for the specific case of advanced producer services. Only recently, studies started to broaden the analytical lens and explore the role of cities in ‘multiple globalizations’ by adding insights from other industries. Apart from showing that different World City Networks (WCNs) are characterized by differing spatial configurations, these studies are incapable of explaining why cities have been articulated into a particular WCN. Building on a case study of Singapore and Jakarta in the WCN of the upstream oil and gas industry, the study demonstrates the potential gained by adding flesh to the study of cities in ‘multiple globalizations’ through qualitative insights. The findings reveal how very different state roles have contributed to the shape of this particular WCN. The paper thereby illustrates how this recent field of research on cities in ‘multiple globalizations’ may advance beyond the mere description of city network structures