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Outlook for Biogas and Biomethane Assessing the sustainable potential and cost of feedstocks for biogas and biomethane
Feedstock assessment This assessment considers over 30 types of feedstocks for biogases. They can be broadly grouped together as crop residues, animal manure, biowaste and woody biomass. We assess feedstocks that can be processed without direct competition with food for agricultural land or animal feed, and that do not have any other adverse sustainability impacts. Biogas and methane yields are key indicators of how suitable a feedstock is for energy production. Biogas yield refers to the total volume of gas produced from a feedstock through anaerobic digestion, primarily methane (CH₄) and CO₂. Methane yield, by contrast, accounts only for the…
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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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+ 4 pages
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Sodium-ion battery momentum grows, but challenges remain
batteries commentary sodium batteries Recent technological advances and investment announcements suggest dynamics are shifting for sodium-ion batteries Sodium-ion batteries are emerging as a new player in battery markets, offering opportunities to diversify battery chemistries and supply chains at a time of rising global demand for electric vehicles and energy storage. Developed 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…
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Breakthrough Agenda Report 2026 Fertilisers
Fertilisers
- Executive summary
- Hydrogen
- Road transport
- Steel
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+ 3 pages
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Global Energy and Climate Model Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE)
The International Energy Agency (IEA) was asked by the COP26 Presidency in 2021 to give an indication of what achieving the 1.5 °C goal would mean for the energy sector. Responding to this request, the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE Scenario) was developed. It represents a global pathway towards the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, but not the only possible one. The IEA has always been clear that there are various paths to reach this objective and that each country will have its own route. Since 2021, the IEA has updated its NZE Scenario each year…
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Renewables in District Energy
This report examines how renewables can play a larger role in district energy systems, helping to deliver cleaner, more secure and more efficient heating and cooling. District energy networks already supply heat to around 600 million people worldwide, but many systems remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels, exposing consumers and utilities to price volatility, supply risks and high emissions.The report provides a global overview of district energy systems, their fuel mixes, market conditions, governance models and affordability implications. It explores the growing opportunities offered by renewable and recovered heat sources, including bioenergy, geothermal, solar thermal, waste heat, large-scale heat…
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Breakthrough Agenda Report 2026 Buildings
Buildings
- Executive summary
- Hydrogen
- Road transport
- Steel
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+ 3 pages
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The Implications of Oil and Gas Field Decline Rates
Much attention today focuses on uncertainties affecting the future evolution of oil and natural gas demand, with less consideration given to how the supply picture could develop. However, understanding decline rates – the annual rate at which production declines from existing oil and gas fields – is crucial for assessing the outlook for oil and gas supply and, by extension, for market balances.The International Energy Agency (IEA) has long examined this issue, and a detailed understanding of decline rates is at the heart of IEA modelling and analysis, underpinning the insights provided by the scenarios in the World Energy Outlook.This new…
