The International Energy Agency reports a significant increase in investments in clean technologies.

The recent report "Advancing Clean Technology Manufacturing" from the International Energy Agency notes a significant increase in investments in clean energy technologies.

This growth, particularly evident in the solar photovoltaic and battery sectors, is becoming a global economic driver, offering new industrial and employment opportunities.

Clean Technologies: Renewable Energy Production is Concentrated in Few Regions

The report highlights a rise in global investments, which reached $200 billion in 2023, marking an increase of over 70% compared to 2022. This increase contributed about 4% to global GDP growth.

In detail, spending on solar photovoltaics more than doubled in the past year, and investments in battery production grew by 60%. Currently, the production capacity of photovoltaic solar modules already matches the capacity needed for 2030, following the IEA’s net-zero emissions scenario.

Battery cell production capacity, considering announced projects, is approaching 90% of the net-zero demand target by the end of the decade. The report underscores that about 40% of the investments in 2023 were allocated to plants expected to be operational in 2024.

The document indicates that clean energy production is concentrated in few regions; for instance, China holds over 80% of the global production capacity for photovoltaic solar modules. However, battery cell production is expected to become less geographically concentrated by the end of the decade. If all announced projects were realized, Europe and the United States could each reach about 15% of the installed global capacity by 2030.

The data reveal that Chinese manufacturing plants remain the most cost-effective for all clean energy technologies. Plants in India are 20% to 30% more expensive than those in China, while costs in the USA and Europe rise by 70% to 130%. However, the majority of total production costs, which range from 70% to 98%, stem from operational costs such as energy, labor, and materials, suggesting that production cost gaps can be influenced by government policies.