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• Road-freight TCO compared for 5 drive-technologies in 3 applications, 10 countries. • A database of costs for road-freight TCO parameters is newly compiled. • Low-carbon vehicles largely competitive in light- and medium-duty segments. • Low-carbon vehicles competitive in heavy-duty segments in selected countries. • Findings indicate three important TCO parameters to drive this competitiveness. In light of the Paris Agreement, road-freight represents a critically difficult-to-abate sector. In order to meet the ambitious European transport sector emissions reduction targets, a rapid transition to zero-carbon road-freight is necessary. However, limited policy assessments indicate where and how to appropriately intervene in this sector. To support policy-makers in accelerating the zero-carbon road-freight transition, this paper examines the relative cost competitiveness between commercial vehicles of varying alternative drive-technologies through a total cost of ownership (TCO) assessment. We identify key parameters that, when targeted, enable the uptake of these more sustainable niche technologies. The assessment is based on a newly compiled database of cost parameters which were triangulated through expert interviews. The results show that cost competitiveness for low- or zero-emission niche technologies in certain application segments and European countries is exhibited already today. In particular, we find battery electric vehicles to show great promise in the light- and medium-duty segments, but also in the heavy-duty long-haul segments in countries that have enacted targeted policy measures. Three TCO parameters drive this competitiveness: tolls, fuel costs, and CAPEX subsidies. Based on our analysis, we propose that policy-makers target OPEX before CAPEX parameters as well utilize a mix of policy interventions to ensure greater reach, increased efficiency, and increased policy flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Early smart grid R&D advancements can indicate future technological developments. • A method for analyzing the evolution of smart grid technologies is proposed. • The Network theory is used to justify the existence of a main path of technologies. • Four innovation trajectories exist around smart energy applications. • The proposed approach complements existing methods of main path analysis. This paper investigates how the strategic decisions of innovative firms to collaborate with other firms in research and development projects shape the early evolution of smart grid technologies as an emerging technological system across Europe. The early innovations and developments in an emerging technological system are crucial for understanding further developments of the system. This early stage is highly influenced by the strategic decisions and lobbying power of the firms experimenting with different technological innovations, and the policies trying to maintain competition and steer the direction of innovative activities. Therefore, it is important to analyze how innovative firms behave in terms of collaborating with other firms and doing research on specific energy solutions, which reflect their strategic priorities. By taking a complex network approach, this paper investigates a network of smart grid R&D projects to analyze the convergence of smart grid research activities towards a stream of innovative solutions, and the variety of innovative activities branching out from these solutions. The results verify the convergence of smart grid activities towards one specific stream of innovations, and reveal the existence of four variations centered around different technological applications. The results can guide strategy development in innovative firms to take part in research collaborations or focus on specific smart energy technologies, and have implications for policy makers aiming to influence the direction of smart grid research programs, as well as for researchers in the field of smart grid innovation and technological innovation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]