Global clean energy technologies market to hit $2trn by 2035 – IEA

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has projected that the global clean energy technologies market will reach $2 trillion by 2035, indicating a 185.7 percent increase from the $700 billion recorded in 2023.

Trade in clean technologies is also expected to rise sharply. In a decade, it more than tripled to reach $575 billion, more than 50 percent larger than the global trade in natural gas today.

This was contained in the newly released report by the IEA titled, “Energy Technology Perspectives 2024 (ETP-2024)”, citing that the market consists of key six mass-manufactured clean energy technologies – solar PV, wind, electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, electrolyzers, and heat pumps.

Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, said that the market for clean technologies is set to multiply in value in the coming decade, increasingly catching up with the markets for fossil fuels.

Read also: Stakeholders chart new course for West Africa’s clean energy future

“As countries seek to define their role in the new energy economy, three vital policy areas – energy, industry, and trade – are becoming more and more interlinked. While this leaves governments with tough and complicated decisions ahead, this groundbreaking new IEA report provides a strong, data-driven foundation for their decisions.

“Clean energy transitions present a major economic opportunity, as we have shown, and countries are rightly seeking to capitalise on that.

“However, governments should strive to develop measures that also foster continued competition, innovation and cost reductions, as well as progress towards their energy and climate goals,” he added.

Meanwhile, the increase in the global clean technology market has been accompanied by a record wave of investment in the manufacturing of clean technologies as countries look to boost their energy security, maintain their economic edge, and reduce emissions.

According to the IEA, most of this spending is concentrated in countries and regions like China, the EU, the US, and India that already have established a clear foothold in the sector and are looking to build on their positions

“Growth in the manufacturing and trade of clean energy technologies should be for the benefit of many economies, not just a few,” Birol said.

“This report shows that countries in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and beyond and have strong potential to play important roles in the new energy economy. And it finds that with sound strategic partnerships, increased investment and greater efforts to bring down high financing costs, they can achieve this potential.”