The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published Energy Technology Perspectives 2024, providing a comprehensive look at the current state and future of clean energy manufacturing and trade. Key highlights include:
The global market for key clean energy technologies (solar PV, wind turbines, electric cars, batteries, electrolysers, and heat pumps) is projected to soar from $700 billion in 2023 to over $2 trillion by 2035, nearing the current value of the global crude oil market.
Trade in clean energy technologies is expected to more than triple within the next decade, reaching $575 billion — over 50 percent more than today’s natural gas trade.
China is predicted to continue leading in clean energy manufacturing, with exports of top clean technologies potentially exceeding $340 billion by 2035, rivaling current oil exports from Saudi Arabia and the UAE combined. The U.S., EU, and India are also key players, bolstered by recent policies like the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and India’s Production Linked Incentive Scheme.
Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa currently produce less than 5 percent of the value in clean technologies but have significant potential, with the report identifying pathways for developing countries to participate in the clean energy economy.
Southeast Asia is expected to become a low-cost polysilicon production hub, Brazil scaling wind turbine exports, and North Africa emerging as a potential EV manufacturing center.
Growing clean energy trade and reduced reliance on fossil fuels could improve global energy security. A single shipment of solar PV modules can generate the same electricity as the natural gas from 50 LNG tankers or coal from over 100 bulk ships.
About 50 percent of maritime clean energy technology trade flows through the Strait of Malacca, surpassing the fossil fuel trade through the Strait of Hormuz, which currently stands at around 20 percent, IEA said.
IEA said global investment in clean technology manufacturing rose by 50 percent in 2023, reaching USD 235 billion. This increase is equal to nearly 10 percent of the growth in investment across the entire world economy. Four-fifths of the clean technology manufacturing investment in 2023 went to solar PV and battery manufacturing, with EV plants accounting for a further 15 percent.
Baburajan Kizhakedath