A critical driver of clean energy transitions

There has been important progress in 2021-2022, including in R&D in key areas such as low-emission hydrogen-based steelmaking, small modular nuclear reactors, and lithium-free batteries. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, governments are spending more and more on energy R&D – which could reach USD 40 billion in 2022 assuming steady growth – and venture capital investments in clean energy start-ups reached an all-time high in 2021.

While it remains early to draw firm conclusions on the impacts of Covid-19, there are signs that it has not been a significant setback, and may be followed by a major boost to spending as economic recovery takes effect. Governments around the world earmarked funding increases in 2021 as part of stimulus packages, much of it for hydrogen, CCUS and energy storage.

The goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 will be out of reach without major innovation efforts to improve and commercialise known technologies this decade, and quickly bring less mature ideas to market as soon as possible to minimise the costs of energy transitions.

There is considerable uncertainty about the extent to which countries’ energy transitions are on track. For innovation, there are few reliable and high-quality metrics available in most countries to support evidence-based policy decisions on energy technologies. Around the world, governments are asking more questions about technology progress, innovation gaps, national strengths and the effectiveness of energy and climate innovation policies.

The explorer displays public budgets on energy RD&D submitted to the IEA by its member or association countries. The data is available in the IEA Energy Technology RD&D Budgets database, which is updated twice a year in May and October.