Institutional Constraints, Innovation Flows and Regional Synergy: A Study on the Integrated Development of New Energy Industries in the Yangtze River Delta: An Exploration Based on Hefei Practice

Abstract

Driven by the global energy revolution and the goal of carbon neutrality, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, as the core area of China’s new energy industry, faces institutional barriers. Based on Acemoglu’s institutional economics perspective, this study constructs the framework of “system-innovationcoordination” and finds that the lack of regional policy coordination mechanism, market barriers caused by local protectionism, and obstruction of the flow of innovation factors are the main factors leading to the high degree of dependence on foreign countries for core technologies, homogeneous competition and resource mismatch, and insufficient resilience of the industrial chain. resource mismatch, insufficient industry chain resilience, imbalance of talent structure and other problems. By comparing the differentiated development of Hefei (large-scale production), Shanghai (source of innovation), Suzhou (supporting hub), and the experience and defects of Germany’s Ruhr area and the U.S. “Battery Belt”, the study puts forward a path to break the barrier: strengthen the mechanism of information sharing and service coordination, and deepen the regional consultation relying on existing platforms. The study proposes the following paths: strengthening the information sharing and service coordination mechanism, deepening regional consultation based on existing platforms; breaking down the hidden barriers to the flow of talents, technologies and capitals, and activating the market-driven circulation of innovation factors; guiding the division of labour in the industrial chain based on comparative advantages, and encouraging enterprise-led project-based cooperation; and optimizing the precision of the policy tools to avoid incentive distortion. Pragmatic promotion of institutional innovation and factor flow is the key to unleashing the overall competitiveness of new energy industries in the Yangtze River Delta and creating world-class clusters.