Accelerating sector transitions through stronger international collaboration 2025
Global investment in clean energy technologies including those covered under the Breakthrough Agenda sectors has increased by more than 30% since the first Breakthrough Agenda Report was launched in 2022, compared to an increase of 1% for investment in fossil fuels. Clean energy investment is on course to reach a record USD 2.2 trillion this year, attracting nearly twice as much capital as fossil fuels. This reflects efforts to reduce emissions, as well as the growing influence of energy security considerations and industrial competitiveness as the “Age of Electricity” draws closer.
Ten years ago, global investments in fossil fuel supply were 30% higher than in electricity generation, grids and storage. This year, electricity investments are set to be around 50% higher than investments in coal, oil and natural gas combined, driven by the rapid rise in electricity demand for industry, cooling, electric mobility, data centres and artificial intelligence.
Solar PV continues to be the single largest item in the global energy investment inventory (USD 450 billion) but spending on nuclear power (USD 70 billion) and battery storage (USD 65 billion) is also rising in 2025. Electric vehicle (EV) sales continue to increase despite uncertainties around policy evolution; EV sales globally are on track to exceed 20 million in 2025 reaching more than one-quarter of all cars sold worldwide. Global sales of heat pumps, which reached their highest levels so far in 2022, are showing signs of a rebound.
Investment in grids the backbone of the electricity system meanwhile, is struggling to keep pace with rising power demand and renewables deployment. While this can be partially explained by lengthy permitting procedures, tight supply chains for transformers and cables, and economic pressures in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) are also contributing factors. The latter two are key areas of focus for international collaboration, and the subject of two deep dives of this year’s Breakthrough Agenda Report. In addition, rapid deployment of energy storage particularly battery storage – shows promise, as record capacity additions can help support grid functions.
Progress is slower in those parts of the energy system where the clean technology options
available are less mature or more expensive than fossil incumbents. In the hydrogen sector,
for example, it remains much cheaper to produce hydrogen from fossil fuels, and this gap
has widened recently due to lower prices for natural gas and higher prices for electrolysers.
The use of low-emissions hydrogen and its derivatives can offer an emissions reduction pathway for several sectors, such as shipping and steel production, and is an important focus of the Hydrogen Breakthrough; so far, however, use of hydrogen remains concentrated in the refining and chemicals sector and dominated by hydrogen produced from unabated fossil fuels.
Targeted innovation can help bring clean energy technologies to market, and recent years have seen a steady increase in innovation activity. Energy R&D spending has grown at an average annual rate of 6%. Sectors with urgent innovation needs, such as the steel and cement sectors, need co-ordinated action to ensure projects can successfully be commercialised across multiple regions and contexts.
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