The effects of industrial robots on firm energy intensity: From the perspective of technological innovation and electrification

The wave of Industry 4.0 and carbon neutrality is propelling the global manufacturing towards intelligent and sustainable transformation. While existing research fails to adequately evaluate the effects of industrial robots (IR) on firm energy intensity from a microscopic perspective, this gap obstructs our understanding of green intelligent manufacturing. Utilizing a unique firm-level dataset spanning 2008 to 2016, this study employs the two-stage least squares method for instrumental variables to evaluate the effects of IR adoption on firm energy intensity. Our empirical results denote that IR adoption reduces firm-level energy intensity, as a 1 % increase in IR penetration leads to a 0.023 % decrease in firm energy intensity. Regional environmental regulations and green fiscal policy can reinforce this environmental benefit of robot applications. Moreover, the reduction effects of IR adoption on firm energy intensity are more remarkable for non-state-owned firms, firms with low financial constraints, and firms located in eastern and central regions as well as non-old industrial base cities. Our mechanism analysis reveals that IR adoption mainly decreases firm energy intensity through technological innovation and electrification transformation channels. Finally, based on our findings, we propose some targeted policy implications which are beneficial to green intelligent manufacturing.