• Commentary

        • 27 Jan 2026

        Designing an effective strategic stockpiling system for critical minerals

        critical minerals 2025 was the year when the risks of highly concentrated critical minerals supply chains materialised at scale The IEA has long warned of the potential security risks associated with the high concentration of critical mineral supply chains. In 2025, these risks became a reality, marking a major turning point for global economic security. The rare earths export controls announced by China in October 2025 posed major national and economic security risks across the world, with potentially severe impacts for a range of strategic sectors including energy, automotive, defence, aerospace, AI and semiconductors. Earlier export controls introduced in April…

        • Commentary

        • 17 Feb 2026

        Sodium-ion battery momentum grows, but challenges remain

        …in laboratories since the early 1980s, sodium-ion batteries operate on the same fundamental principles as lithium‑ion batteries – which currently dominate the market – yet their path to commercialisation has been markedly slower.While lithium-ion batteries entered commercial use in the 1990s – with the first electric vehicles appearing in Japan in 1996 – sodium-ion batteries reached vehicle applications much later, with the first sodium-ion powered electric car introduced in China only in late 2023. The first battery storage system using sodium-ion batteries was installed a few years earlier, in 2019 in China. However, in 2025 their total global…

        • Commentary

        • 27 Mar 2026

        Policy and financing momentum sustain CCUS progress despite setbacks

        …projects reached notable milestones in key markets, while growing financing provided further momentum.CCUS deployment in Europe saw a step-change as the world’s first dedicated carbon dioxide CO2 storage hub began operating in Norway. Major projects were also commissioned in China and North America, and the construction of new facilities began in eight countries worldwide. The newest annual update to the IEA’s CCUS Project Database – which incorporates developments between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 – found that capture capacity that was operational or under construction during this period was over 10% higher…

        • Commentary

        • 19 Jan 2026

        7 certainties about energy for this age of uncertainty

        …Traditional hazards affecting the security of oil and gas supplies are now accompanied by vulnerabilities in other areas, including electricity security, as highlighted by the recent major blackouts in Chile and Spain, and critical minerals. A single country, China, is the dominant refiner for 19 out of 20 energy-related strategic minerals, with an average market share of around 70%. More than half of these strategic minerals are subject to some form of export controls. Rising energy security risks from climate change are now also a certainty, intensifying the need to make energy systems more resilient to extreme weather events…

        • Commentary

        • 13 Feb 2026

        Global battery markets are growing strongly – and so are the supply risks

        …competition. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) saw the sharpest price declines, with average global prices in 2025 falling to one-third of levels seen in 2020.At the same time, regional price disparities have widened. In 2025, battery pack prices in China were 30% lower than in the United States, and 35% lower than in Europe. Record low lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery prices also contributed significantly to overall cost reductions in 2025. LFP battery prices fell by more than 15%, compared with less than 5% for lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NMC) batteries – the second most deployed battery chemistry globally…

        • Commentary

        • 13 Mar 2026

        Why the growth of energy service companies is uneven globally

        …Over the past five years, the sector’s average annual growth has reached 5% – more than double the rate since 2020.However, this growth remains highly concentrated and uneven. More than 75% of global ESCO investment occurs in just two countries -- the United States and China – where strong policy and institutional frameworks have spearheaded recent growth.In China, successive Five-Year Plans have provided sustained policy direction, driving project values from about USD 5.9 billion in the early 2010s to over USD 22 billion in 2024. Growth has been sustained by progressively tighter energy efficiency and emissions reduction requirements…

        • Commentary

        • 06 Mar 2026

        The next wave of LED lighting: Smarter, circular and more efficient

        …such as white certificates and renovation programs, have also helped stimulate LED adoption. In addition, international agreements such as the Minamata Convention on Mercury, with more than 150 Parties, are further accelerating the shift away from fluorescent lighting. China is currently the world’s dominant producer of fluorescent lamps and has recently approved measures in line with the Convention, which will also help shift production and exports towards mercury-free LED alternatives.Within this global policy landscape, three distinct regional adoption patterns have emerged:Front-runners: China and India currently lead global LED adoption, with market shares exceeding 85% an...

        • Commentary

        • 02 Mar 2026

        Copper prices have hit record highs, but smelters face mounting strategic pressures

        …forces shaping today’s copper market – strong structural demand growth and elevated prices – may be good news for producers. However, today’s situation is unusual in that the crucial midstream sector is showing increasing signs of stress, amid a surge in smelter capacity additions in China. Copper is set to face a major supply deficit of 30% by 2035 Copper – a highly conductive metal that is resistant to corrosion – is at the heart of a more electrified energy system. As the world enters an Age of Electricity, strong demand growth for copper is anticipated from a wide variety of sources…

        • Commentary

        • 13 May 2026

        Energy crisis threatens world’s most vulnerable as cooking fuel shortages grow

        …to Asia served cooking needs across households, restaurants, street food vendors and other commercial or public establishments. This amount was sufficient to meet the cooking needs of 820 million people. The remainder was mostly used for water heating and as a feedstock in the petrochemical industry, a segment dominated by China, where there is some flexibility to switch to alternative feedstocks when more cost-effective. India’s LPG imports have been particularly affected, dropping by more than half over the first two months of the conflict, a loss of around 430 kb/d. The government responded by instructing domestic refineries…

        • Commentary

        • 29 May 2026

        Battery storage is scaling up and taking on a larger system role

        …battery storage deployment also accelerated, particularly in markets with high retail electricity prices and supportive regulatory and policy frameworks. Around 24 GW of utility-scale battery storage additions in 2025 were co-located directly with renewables, on par with the previous year. This meant the share of capacity co-located with renewables fell just below 30%, as market reforms in China in early 2025 removed broad co-location mandates.Meanwhile, the rollout of battery storage accelerated across several markets in 2025, pointing to a broadening of global deployment. Australia stood out, with additions surging to nearly 8 GW, almost nine times higher…

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