Research
Research
My research focuses on the quantitative analysis of innovation, technological change, and sustainability transitions. I investigate how the green and digital transitions reshape industrial capabilities, value chains, and the geography of production and employment.
A major strand of my current work examines the material foundations of modern technologies, with a focus on Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements. I study how these materials underpin new technologies, how they generate new dependencies in global production systems, and how innovation strategies – such as recycling or substitution – can mitigate such vulnerabilities.
Mapping Critical Raw Materials in Green Technologies, with Consoli, D., Perruchas, F., and Sbardella, A. (2025) Industry and Innovation, 1-34.
The trickle down from environmental innovation to productive complexity , with A. Petri, A. Zaccaria, and A. Sbardella. (2022). Scientific Reports 12, 22141.
The Functional Role of Critical Raw Materials in Technological Innovation, with Patelli, A., Sbardella, A., and Tacchella, A. Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography, Utrecht University (2025)
The Structural Foundations of Regional Competitiveness in Strategic Sectors: Complexity, Technology, and Employment, with Patelli, A., and Sbardella, A.
AI Innovation and Regional Efficiency, with Fenoaltea, E.