In the context of the BMBF-sponsored project, "Lead Market Strategies: First Mover, Early Follower, Late Follower" Rainer Quitzow is conducting an in-depth analysis of the international market and industry for solar energy with a particular focus on China, India and Germany. At the Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg, he presented findings on key developments in China and Germany and how they have helped shaped a global innvation system for solar energy. Among other things, he stressed the key role played not only by local level industrial policy but also by pioneering firms, including Suntech and Yingli, in paving the way for the rapid development of China's solar energy industry.