The International Energy Agency (IEA) has projected that the global market for clean energy technologies will triple in 2035 and reach $2 trillion in value.
The Agency disclosed this in its ‘Energy Technology Perspectives 2024’ report just released.
According to IEA, the market consists of key six mass-manufactured clean energy technologies – solar PV, wind, electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, electrolyzers, and heat pumps.
The market was said to have grown nearly fourfold between 2015 and 2023 when it surpassed $700 billion driven by surging clean technology deployment, particularly for EVs, solar PV, and wind.
“Under today’s policy settings, the market for these clean technologies is set to nearly triple by 2035 to more than USD 2 trillion. This is close to the average value of the global crude oil market in recent years,” the Agency stated.
The Agency further revealed that global investment in clean technology manufacturing rose by 50% in 2023, reaching $235 billion.
This increase, it said, is equal to nearly 10% 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%.
“The amount of manufacturing capacity being added has been comfortably outpacing current deployment levels. “Despite some recent cancellations and postponements of solar PV and battery manufacturing projects, investment in clean technology manufacturing facilities is set to remain close to its recent record levels, at around USD 200 billion in 2024,” IEA said in the report.
The report noted that despite the ongoing implementation of industrial strategies in other countries, the value of China’s clean technology exports is set to exceed $340 billion in 2035, based on today’s policy settings.
This is roughly equivalent to the projected oil export revenue of both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates combined in 2024.
It noted, however, that there are still strong opportunities for countries all over the world to enjoy the benefits of increased clean energy manufacturing and trade, depending on the pace of clean energy deployment and the policies adopted.
IEA also pointed out that as the energy sector transforms and energy-related trade shifts towards clean technologies, there will be long-term implications for countries. “While supplies of fossil fuels need to be replenished as soon as they are consumed, importing clean technologies results in a durable stock of energy equipment.
