CleanTech

• [New] Using the power of the Sun, space-based solar power is a low-carbon and renewable technology that could potentially offer us a resilient, safe and sustainable energy source, and could make a substantial contribution to delivering on the UK's commitment to net zero by 2050.
• [New] Global markets for new clean-energy technologies will be worth trillions of dollars in the coming decades.
• [New] With the global market for ultracapacitors estimated to grow to € 2-3 bn in 2023, NAWA Technologies is ideally positioned to take advantage of increased demand.
• 2020's joint report analyses for the first time financial commitments to off-grid renewables technologies in developing markets, as they can bring the world closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 on universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy by 2030.
• In the Sustainable Development Scenario, annual average investments in technologies that are currently only at prototype or demonstration stages total around USD 350 billion through to 2040, and they reach nearly USD 3 trillion in the 2060s.
• Indonesia is currently not on track to achieve its target of 23% of power generation from renewable energy by 2025.
• The UK set a target to back up to two times the capacity of renewable energy in the next Contracts for Difference auction, which will open in late 2021.
• New jobs in transition-related technologies will outweigh job losses in fossil fuel-based energy systems and that by 2050, energy efficiency alone could employ 21 million people worldwide.
• The Chinese economic model is very good at mobilising large amounts of investment, so scaling up clean energy, electrified transport and other new, clean technologies might not be the largest challenge in reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.
• Europe's crop protection industry has adopted a set of ambitious commitments to support Europe's new Green Deal, including an investment of over €14 billion in new technologies and more sustainable products by 2030.
• The European Union unveiled an $825 billion COVID-19 relief package that includes boosting clean energy and transport, with the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
• Immediate action to promote cleaner, more efficient power will ensure the UK hits its 2050 net zero target and could even see electricity production emissions turn negative in 13 years if carbon capture and storage technologies.
• Within the next 10 years - we could see costs of key technologies fall by 10 times or more, production processes become 10 times more efficient, all while using 90% fewer natural resources and producing up to 100 times less waste.
• More efficient lighting - including switching to LEDs and substituting natural light - could alone save annually over $650 billion in energy costs by 2030.
• As emerging economies represent most of the projected growth in energy demand in the coming decades, what they decide has important implications for the clean energy transition as a whole.
• Goldman Sachs expects clean technology to drive as much as $US1 - 2 trillion per annum in infrastructure investments and create between 15-20 million jobs worldwide through public-private collaboration.
• SMBs' spending on PaaS will grow by 10% between 2020 and 2021 because businesses will seek to improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs through the deployment of technology.
• Solar photovoltaic and wind are forecast to represent 74% of the red metal's use in clean energy technology by 2050, with smaller amounts needed in hydro-electricity generation, nuclear power, and geothermal.
• Cobalt demand in clean energy technologies is seen rising from 140,000 tonnes to 644,000 tonnes by 2050.
• In the absence of new technologies, energy efficiency will need to deliver around 40% of emissions reductions by 2040 for emissions pathways to remain consistent with the Paris Agreement (IEA, 2018), making it equally important as renewables in delivering the necessary emissions abatement.
• In 2019, the Croatian government adopted a national energy strategy to 2030, setting out goals for energy efficiency, renewables and modernisation of the electricity grid through continued deployment of more efficient technologies.
• The International Energy Agency is similarly advocating for green stimulus efforts, emphasizing opportunities to support increased energy efficiency, increased renewable energy, and investment in technologies such as lithium ion batteries and electrolysis for hydrogen production.

Last updated: 22 November 2020