Innovation
Comprehensive data, rigorous analysis and global partnerships on energy RD&D
Innovation is essential to fight climate change, improve energy security and enhance prosperity. This page brings together for the first time the IEA's comprehensive innovation efforts and partnerships across all energy technologies, serving as an essential and up-to-date resource for government and private-sector decision makers.
Overview
Innovation is a critical driver of clean energy transitions. Through research, investments and collaboration, breakthroughs are happening in a wide variety of energy-technology fields, including solar PV, electric vehicles, hydrogen and battery storage — helping drive down costs, increasing efficiencies and boosting deployment.
But much more needs to be done. The IEA has developed this central innovation repository to provide actionable insights to policymakers, companies, investors and others to accelerate progress towards cleaner energy. The IEA has established unique expertise in tracking energy innovation — from data on research, development and demonstration (RD&D) to analysis on public and private investment trends; from detailed technology roadmaps to timely commentaries; and from identifying “innovation gaps” to our global technology collaboration network.
Investment in innovation
Global public investment in low-carbon energy technology research and development (R&D) grew again in 2018, by 5%, to $23 billion. As a share of GDP, public energy R&D funding of the major economies is not growing, yet more innovation in clean energy technologies is needed. Corporate low-carbon energy R&D spending also grew by 5% in 2018. Meanwhile, clean energy VC investment reached its highest ever level at nearly $7 billion, led by a sharp rise in investment in early-stage clean transport companies.
- Public
- Private
- Venture capital
China North America Europe Japan, Korea, Australia, NZ Rest of World 2014 2.196749665 7.019 7.172718 3.717 0.76000769 2015 2.498276743 6.787 7.26147 3.165 0.758391505 2016 2.427297918 6.803 7.093977 3.041 0.614127414 2017 3.247656138 6.754 7.736424 3.072 0.635418671 2018 3.808971034 7.554 7.344917 3.185 0.670590218
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Automotive Renewables Electricity generation and networks Nuclear Thermal power and combustion equipment Oil and gas Other 2010 24.40129482 4.086111605 11.94983281 1.078663724 5.437226573 19.42022801 1.448412696 2011 30.75360361 4.888633083 12.40012725 1.23136692 5.851023924 43.15375371 1.775716091 2012 31.55546201 5.562585593 12.76715078 1.129204395 6.220268618 32.8630639 2.244446315 2013 35.02901651 4.942020586 12.34010859 1.129183302 5.780829895 32.57185752 2.894004622 2014 35.88341919 5.259265541 12.57595756 1.095051597 5.819207139 33.22129218 2.881029037 2015 36.31985874 5.335049557 13.4130463 1.099778717 5.628581541 21.81265661 3.215231623 2016 38.81893906 5.680074764 14.57679978 1.113939219 5.433347172 20.59237873 3.264286858 2017 39.82620496 5.730766641 15.33280386 1.173278838 5.51803247 18.39967208 4.196043173 2018E 41.97104826 6.104542711 15.88810282 1.317823475 5.696256428 18.5159835 4.307292057
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Transport Solar Bioenergy Other renewables Energy efficiency Other clean energy Other energy Avg. 2007-2011 0.36261495 0.969517393 0.325778763 0.224807111 0.734683387 0.499278205 0.101653017 2012 0.174021308 0.217109288 0.158632651 0.071287972 0.45665826 0.472649765 0.100364717 2013 0.502000069 0.136997553 0.085121796 0.064618673 0.516554943 0.320327482 0.123966715 2014 0.432045975 0.223762535 0.084511729 0.069278027 0.528618726 0.362831588 0.108877738 2015 0.535012713 0.2358942 0.148042901 0.043385222 0.381109525 0.281285417 0.170795991 2016 2.921751547 0.205411131 0.15601542 0.033784929 0.38481693 0.178074316 0.120297975 2017 1.925326397 0.142874751 0.062030915 0.037308926 0.426400957 0.327512445 0.098812502 2018 5.443411536 0.195298292 0.013259147 0.008937551 0.493820512 0.571981024 0.203516111
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Tracking global investment in clean energy innovation
IEA’s most rigorous and timely innovation analysis ever covers global RD&D spending by governments, coprorate clean energy investments and venture capital investments in clean energy technologies.
Detailed data on energy technology RD&D spending
The IEA maintains a comprenehsive database of trends in RD&D spending in IEA countries on a range of sectors including energy efficiency, renewables, nuclear power, fossil fuels, hydrogen and fuel cells, and more.
Tracking progress
The IEA’s latest and most comprehensive assessment of clean energy transitions shows that only 7 out of 45 technologies and sectors are on track with the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS): solar photovoltaics (PV), bioenergy for power, energy storage, electric vehicles (EVs), rail, lighting and data centres. Of the others, 22 need improvement and 16 are off track.
IEA Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs)
The breadth of the analytical expertise in the IEA Technology Collaboration Programmes is a unique asset to the global transition to a cleaner energy future.
These programmes involve over 6 000 experts worldwide who represent nearly 300 public and private organisations located in 55 countries, including many from IEA Association countries such as China, India and Brazil. Learn more about the programmes in each sector or technology area below.
Cross-cutting
Cross-cutting activities relevant to all energy sectors and sources including modelling, and women’s participation in clean energy.
Buildings
Innovation activities relating to efficiency gains in buildings, such as heat pumps, district heating and cooling and energy storage.
Electricity
Activities relating to innovation in electricity systems, such as smart grids, demand-side management and superconductivity technology.
Industry
Enabling greater industrial energy efficiency and supporting innovation for cost-effective industrial technologies and system configurations.
Transport
Research and analysis of technologies such as fuel cells, EVs, emission reductions in combustion as well as advanced materials and fuels.
Fossil fuels
Focusing on technologies to reduce costs and enhance sustainability of fossil fuels, including CCUS, EOR and fluidized bed conversion technology.
Fusion power
Fundamental and applied research including device-specific research and cross-cutting research such as materials and safety.
Renewable energy
Related to renewable energy sources and hydrogen, including bioenergy, solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and ocean energy.
Latest innovation publications
The IEA produces a range of analysis on innovation and RD&D including a series of global, low-carbon energy technology roadmaps. The roadmaps identify priority actions for governments, industry, financial partners and civil society that will advance technology development and uptake to achieve international climate change goals.
Partnerships
Accelerated transitions to cleaner energy require unprecedented innovation. International and cross-sectoral cooperation can provide greater confidence that individual and collective actions align in terms of priorities, expected outputs and desired outcomes. For nearly half a century the IEA has provided support for a unique global innovation network, and is further expanding innovation cooperation with a broad range of international partners.
Learn more in our recent report Energy Technology Innovation Partnerships.
Committee on Energy Research and Technology (CERT)
Under the guidance of the IEA Governing Board, the CERT oversees the technology forecasting, analyses and the research, development, demonstration and deployment strategies of the IEA Secretariat, notably through its flagship technology tracking project, Tracking Clean Energy Progress (TCEP), and the series of Technology Roadmaps. The CERT also provides strategic guidance to its Working Parties, Experts' Groups and the Technology Collaboration Programmes.
Mission Innovation
Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 23 countries and the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) working to reinvigorate and accelerate global clean energy innovation with the objective to make clean energy widely affordable. MI was announced at COP21 on November 30, 2015, as world leaders came together in Paris to commit to seek to double their governmental and/or state-directed clean energy clean energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) investments over five years. Details of the collaboration between MI and the IEA can be found in the Letter of Intent signed at the third MI Ministerial.
Breakthrough Energy Coalition
The Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC) is an international group of investors, companies, funds and banks committed to accelerating the commercialization of new reliable and affordable energy technologies that can help tackle climate change. The BEC believes that forging deep partnerships between its members and governments will lead to more investments earlier, and more energy solutions for more people faster. The BEC was launched at COP 21 in 2015 alongside MI. At the One Planet Summit in December 2017, Bill Gates, on behalf of the BEC, announced a set of pilot partnerships representing a new approach to public-private collaboration that aims to catalyse more investment in low-carbon technology companies and innovators. Find out more about MI’s private sector engagement work.
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is the international organisation for public-private cooperation. Collaboration between the public and private sectors is an effective method for accelerating innovation. The IEA is collaborating with the World Economic Forum to drive private sector involvement, public-private partnerships, and knowledge-sharing around public-private research and technology development. The collaboration increases the relevance and impact of the private sector on governments’ clean energy RD&D investments, helping to unlock the technology breakthroughs in cost and performance needed to revolutionize energy systems throughout the world. More information about the Sustainable Energy Innovation work of the World Economic Forum can be accessed here.