The goal of energy technology development programs, whether in the private sector or in government institutions, is to maximize the positive impact of research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) portfolio investments. To evaluate total impacts, research institutions must consider multiple impact metrics that address energy-linked economic, security, and environmental goals from business and public perspectives. Portfolio analysis is widely employed, but at varying levels of thoroughness, analytic rigor and transparency. Many tools for technology planning and projection, analysis, metrics calculation, and impact evaluation exist already, but are not necessarily fully developed or packaged in a way that can be used directly for evaluating energy portfolios. This chapter does the following:
- Provides a suggested, iterative process to shape an energy portfolio and estimate the potential impacts of particular RDD&D activities on key national goals
- Articulates the current state of integrated technology assessment
- Gives examples of sector-specific applications of metrics and tools for technology analysis in use in various organizational contexts (i.e., corporate, nonprofit, academic, and government)
- Identifies gaps in technology assessment capabilities