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Global EV Outlook 2025 Executive summary
Electric car sales continue to break records globally, particularly in China and other emerging economies Electric car sales exceeded 17 million globally in 2024, reaching a sales share of more than 20%. Just the additional 3.5 million electric cars sold in 2024 compared with the previous year is more than the total number of electric cars sold worldwide in 2020. China maintained its lead, with electric cars accounting for almost half of all car sales in 2024; the over 11 million electric cars sold in China last year were more than global sales just 2 years earlier. As a result of…
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Breakthrough Agenda Report 2025 Steel
State of the transition Emissions Total CO2 emissions remain largely unchanged from recent years, while direct CO2 emissions intensity has seen an uptick since 2021. Both must fall in the coming years to get on track with the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE Scenario). Cost Blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) routes make up about 70% of global steel production today.Hydrogen direct reduced iron electric arc furnace (H2 DRI-EAF) routes are emerging as a preferred low-emissions option in certain regions. Early commercial plants using 100% hydrogen blends are estimated to cost 50…
- Executive summary
- Power
- Hydrogen
- Road transport
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Global Hydrogen Review 2025 Executive summary
The hydrogen sector continues to grow despite persistent barriers and project cancellations Global hydrogen demand increased to almost 100 million tonnes (Mt) in 2024, up 2% from 2023 and in line with overall energy demand growth. This rise was driven by greater use in sectors that have traditionally consumed hydrogen, like oil refining and industry. Demand from new applications accounted for less than 1% of the total and was almost entirely concentrated in biofuels production. The supply of hydrogen continued to be dominated by fossil fuels, using 290 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas and 90 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce…
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Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency for Business The business value of energy efficiency
…require fewer material and resource inputs, generating less waste. These gains result in higher productivity: for every dollar saved on energy, up to an additional 30 cents of value can be realised. Maintenance costs can also fall sharply – by more than 50% in some cases – due to reduced wear and longer equipment lifetimes, while reduced material losses and waste further strengthen operational efficiency. Quality and reputation Energy efficiency often provides improved process control, enhancing output consistency and quality. Around 75% of companies report that energy efficiency measures reduce production defects. At the same time, more efficient production practices can strengthen…
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Breakthrough Agenda Report 2025 Hydrogen
…ISO standards.Share of global hydrogen production located in countries with rules on emissions thresholds for hydrogen production using methodologies consistent with ISO standards.Qualitative examples of collaborationThe IEA Hydrogen Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP) “Task” for the Certification of Hydrogen and Derivatives is developing a technical mutual recognition framework for certification schemes.The International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) and the IEA Hydrogen TCP co-ordinated the development of a Hydrogen Certification 101 paper, which benefited from contributions of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Hydrogen Council and the International Power-to-X Hub…
- Executive summary
- Power
- Hydrogen
- Road transport
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Electricity 2026 Grids
…are additional levers for enhancing system flexibility and managing congestion, which are addressed in detail in the subsequent chapter on Flexibility.This chapter on grids also includes a dedicated section on the synchronisation of the Baltic power system in February 2025, a landmark technical and political achievement. Grid technologies and regulatory reforms unlock grid capacity Accelerating the build out of grids is a key imperative as the new era of electricity evolves around the world. Over 2 500 GW of renewable, large‑load and storage projects are currently stalled in grid queues worldwide. With grid investment lagging far behind that for generation projects…
- Executive summary
- Demand
- Supply
- Grids
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Renewables in District Energy Regional trends in district heating
Regional trends in district heating
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Renewables 2021 Biofuels
…recover until 2023. High ethanol prices in Brazil and lower gasoline demand in the United States relative to 2019 levels are both driving lower ethanol volumes in 2021. By 2023 US and European gasoline demand has recovered from Covid-19 disruption, but remains well below 2019 levels (IEA, 2021c). Increasing energy efficiency, surging electric vehicle sales and behaviour change all contribute to lower demand. Lower gasoline demand reduces ethanol volumes under current policies. However, ethanol demand recovery in Brazil and growing demand in Asia eventually offset declines in the United States and Europe in 2023.By comparison, in 2021 biodiesel…
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Energy and AI AI and climate change
The emergence of AI has both raised concerns that AI-fuelled data centre growth might fuel climate change and also raised expectations that AI applications in the energy sector could help reduce emissions by unlocking new optimisations and efficiencies. As over 100 countries – and the European Union – have targets to reach net zero emissions between 2030 and 2070, it is pertinent to explore what AI’s impact on emissions could potentially be. Global fuel combustion CO2 emissions are estimated to reach 35 000 million tonnes (Mt) in 2024. Data centres account for around 180 Mt of indirect CO2 emissions today from the consumption…
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Financing Electricity Access in Africa State of play
…in 2023, primarily in the form of low-cost debt, with a notable shift away from grants in recent years. New initiatives, including the World Bank and African Development Bank’s Mission 300, aim to increase the level of public capital for access projects, and are already showing momentum.Allocations to electricity access in African governments’ national budgets reached USD 1.9 billion in 2025 – around a third of total energy budget allocations. Much of this financing is channelled through government agencies and state-owned utilities. However, utilities across the region face financial pressures due to high operational costs, low…
