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Commentary
10 Feb 2026
What it would take to unlock the next phase of hydrogen growth
Can hydrogen scale up successfully Global hydrogen demand reached 100 Mt in 2024, mainly from refineries, the production of chemicals and the iron and steel sector. Demand grew by almost 2% from 2023, in line with overall energy demand growth. This consumption was almost completely met with hydrogen produced from unabated fossil fuels, using 290 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 90 million tonnes of coal equivalent. However, alternative technologies that can produce low-emissions hydrogen have attracted a lot of interest from governments given their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and diversify energy supply, particularly in countries that have a…
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Fuel report
Apr 2025
Oil Market Report - April 2025
The IEA Oil Market Report (OMR) is one of the world's most authoritative and timely sources of data, forecasts and analysis on the global oil market – including detailed statistics and commentary on oil supply, demand, inventories, prices and refining activity, as well as oil trade for IEA and selected non-IEA countries. Highlights Global oil demand growth for 2025 has been revised down by 300 kb/d since last month’s Report to 730 kb/d, as escalating trade tensions have negatively impacted the economic outlook. Growth is expected to slow further in 2026, to 690 kb/d, but…
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Fuel report
Oct 2025
Gas Market Lessons from the 2022-2023 Energy Crisis Anatomy of a natural gas crisis
Sudden and drastic reduction in Russian pipeline gas deliveries to Europe In the run-up to the gas supply shock, Russian natural gas (pipeline and LNG combined) accounted for a growing share of European gas supply. Prior to 2010, Russian supply made up a relatively steady 30% of the European Union’s gas supply. However, the combination of plateauing demand and rapid decline in EU domestic production, which started in the early 2010s (linked to the decision to phase out the historical Groningen gas field in the Netherlands), led to growing dependency on gas imports across the European Union. The…
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Fuel report
Mar 2025
Oil Market Report - March 2025
The IEA Oil Market Report (OMR) is one of the world's most authoritative and timely sources of data, forecasts and analysis on the global oil market – including detailed statistics and commentary on oil supply, demand, inventories, prices and refining activity, as well as oil trade for IEA and selected non-IEA countries. Highlights Growth in global oil demand is set to accelerate to just over 1 mb/d this year, from 830 kb/d in 2024, reaching 103.9 mb/d. Asia accounts for almost 60% of gains, led by China where petrochemical feedstocks will provide the entirety of…
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Policy report
Oct 2025
Financing Electricity Access in Africa Executive summary
Lack of capital presents a major impediment to universal electricity access Nearly two out of every five people in Africa – around 600 million in total – still live without access to electricity. Electrification has barely kept pace with population growth, leaving the continent far behind the targets set by African governments and the international community. Progress in reducing the absolute number of people without access has stalled in recent years, with the rate of improvement failing to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels. Fewer than 19 million people gained access in both 2023 and 2024, compared with 23 million in 2019…
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Country report
Dec 2025
China’s Official Energy Finance in Emerging and Developing Economies Case 4. TFC Solar PV project in South Africa
Project overview and impact South Africa faces significant challenges regarding electricity reliability. The lack of investment, coupled with increasing demand have led to chronic load shedding, with household and industrial consumers affected. Energy-intensive sectors, such as ferrochrome smelting, face rising operational costs, production losses and growing pressure to reduce emissions in line with national and international climate objectives. To address power shortages, the South African government, since 2023, has allowed independent power producers to build power plants above 100 MW and sell electricity directly to private customers without an issued generation license.The Tubaste Ferrochrome (TFC) solar PV power…
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Commentary
22 Mar 2026
Wired for water: How electrification is transforming desalination
Wired for water: how electrification is transforming desalination The water-energy nexus Pressure on water resources is increasing worldwide and can be very acute at the local level. Rising consumption across sectors combined with population growth in already water-stressed regions is intensifying water scarcity. Desalination has long been developed to supply fresh water in the most affected areas, with significant implications for the energy system: energy use ranges from under 0.1% to as much as 15% of total final consumption, depending on national reliance. However, a shift is underway from thermal desalination technologies to electricity-driven systems as…
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Policy report
Jun 2026
Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency for Business
Energy efficiency is often described as the “first fuel” because the cheapest and most secure energy is the energy that is not used. For businesses, this begins with a straightforward benefit: lower energy bills. In many cases, efficiency investments can pay back quickly through reduced energy costs alone. However, the value of energy efficiency extends beyond energy savings.This report builds on the IEA’s work on the multiple benefits of energy efficiency and focusses on how these gains materialise in businesses. Key benefits range from productivity and product quality improvements to brand image or health benefits for employees and…