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In 2016, United Technologies spent $3.7 billion on company and customer-funded research and development, supporting a variety of innovative new aerospace and building systems products including heating, cooling and refrigeration systems.

Now that's a lot of "cool," hard cash, according to Carrier Australia managing director, John Sherry.  Carrier Australia Pty Ltd is a part of Carrier, a world leader in high technology heating, air conditioning and refrigeration solutions, and part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corporation.

And this commitment to innovation is set to continue in 2018. He said Carrier continues to develop new solutions and push the boundaries of smart technology.

“Beyond keeping people cool and comfortable, Carrier solutions are among the most energy-efficient available today," Sherry said.

"Through persistence, world-class engineering and a relentless commitment to innovation, Carrier is cooler than ever- and excited to deliver leading solutions to keep people in Australia comfortable well into the future."

Carrier has been active in Australia since 1932 with landmark installations including Sydney's famous Art Deco-style City Mutual Building.

Some 80 years ago, Carrier installed the first air-conditioning and ventilation equipment to service the building.

Globally, since 2000, Carrier products have avoided more than 225 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide through advancements in energy efficiency, the equivalent of removing more than 47 million passenger vehicles from the road for one year.

Just recently in Australia Sherry said the company launched the next generation AquaForce screw chiller and innovative AquaEdg 19DV centrifugal chiller with a low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant.

“These products demonstrate Carrier's ongoing commitment to sustainability leadership through the development of environmentally-responsible solutions, “ he added.

Despite UTC's commitment to R&D, innovation activity showed signs of falling in 2016 according to the latest global study from Clarivate Analytics.

The 2017 State of Innovation Report: The Relentless Desire to Advance, found that year-over-year research and patent activity across 12 key industries slowed in 2016.

Patent volume is still on an upward trajectory, with over 2.6 million published patents in 2016. This indicates that global corporations, universities, government agencies and research institutions are continuing to relentlessly contribute new solutions to address the world's biggest problems.

The eighth annual study from Clarivate Analytics, analyzed global intellectual property data, including worldwide patent application activity and scientific literature publications, as a leading indicator of innovation. This year's study finds a growth in patent filings of eight percent – down from 14 per cent last year.

The State of Innovation study also tracks global scientific literature publications as a window into the scientific and scholarly research that typically precedes discovery and the protection of innovation rights. Total scientific literature production has again posted a year-over-year decline, reinforcing a potential future slowdown in innovation growth.

"While it is undeniable that innovation growth has slowed, it has not stalled out," according to Jay Nadler, CEO of Clarivate Analytics.

According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), innovation drives economic growth.

R&D activities allow scientists and researchers to develop new knowledge, techniques and technologies that enable people to produce more with the resulting increase in productivity fuels economic growth - a 1 per cent increase in R&D spending grows the economy by 0.61 per cent.

For more on innovation see CCN's annual Innovative Products Feature in the November edition of the magazine.