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The Value of Demand Flexibility Executive summary
With global electricity demand rising and set to add around 1 000 TWh each year until 2035, new ways of managing the balance between supply and demand are needed. Demand flexibility – the ability to adjust the timing or amount of electricity use in response to system needs – is central to help achieve this balance. Advances in digitalisation, including the growing use of AI tools, are further enhancing the ability to deploy flexibility effectively.This policy brief, part of the 3DEN Initiative, presents a concise framework for understanding demand flexibility and its value across the energy system, highlighting that it can:Enhance power…
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Coal 2025 Trade
International coal trade is set to decline in 2025 International coal trade grew by 3% in 2024, reaching a new record of 1 544 Mt. This growth was driven by increases in both thermal coal (up 26 Mt to 1 176 Mt) and met coal (up 21 Mt to 368 Mt). Coal trade accounted for approximately 18% of global coal demand, with thermal coal making up more than three-quarters of total traded volumes. Seaborne trade continued to dominate, representing over 90% of global coal trade in 2024.The Asia Pacific region further strengthened its dominance, accounting for 85% of global coal imports in 2024. China led…
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- Demand
- Supply
- Trade
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Unlocking Ukraine’s Hydrogen Opportunity: A Roadmap Taking stock of the effect of war
Highlights The assets of many hydrogen users have been destroyed since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, causing demand to plunge by 80%. Ukraine’s only operational refinery was severely damaged in 2022. Steel output has dropped by nearly two-thirds due to damage, occupation, logistical costs and electricity scarcity. Nevertheless, there is potential for future hydrogen demand in export-oriented sectors; prior to Russia’s invasion, 40% of Ukraine’s fertiliser output, 46% of its agricultural output and 67% of steel were exported.Power generation capacity has plummeted since Russia’s invasion. Nearly 80% of…
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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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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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Kenya 2024 Executive summary
Kenya has put in place significant energy policies and strategies, and with strong institutions and ambitious targets, the country is well-positioned to reach its energy goals and continue its economic growth and development.As the largest economy in Eastern Africa and a regional leader in energy development, Kenya has made remarkable progress in increasing the rate of access to electricity among its population, putting the country on track to reach universal access to electricity by 2030. Kenya has set an ambitious target in its Vision 2030 of becoming a newly industrialising middle-income country with a high quality of…
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World Energy Investment 2025 India
India is working to diversify its power generation mix by promoting investment in renewables and nuclear to meet sharply rising electricity demand Electricity demand in India has been rising sharply due to increases in commercial and residential space, a surge in ownership of air conditioners and appliances, and rising demand from industry. India has seen the third-largest growth in power generation capacity in the world after China and the United States over the past five years. While growth in power generation has come from all sources, there has been a surge in investment in renewables, led by solar PV…
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Saving Energy
Today's energy shortages and high prices makes it more important than ever to use energy wisely With today’s global energy crisis resulting in high prices and shortages that are hurting consumers, businesses and entire economies, it has never been more important to use energy more wisely. We can do this through simple changes in behaviour and habits to consume less energy in our daily activities. We can also save energy by investing in more energy efficient products that reduce both our energy bills and our environmental footprint. Energy saving tips 7 ways to save energy 1. Heating: turn…
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The State of Energy Innovation 2025 Executive summary
Today’s energy technology landscape is highly dynamic. Innovations span a wide range of countries and technology areas, both emerging and established. These advances have implications for energy system planning and, ultimately, for the world economy. Whether incremental or disruptive, they are the products of government support, market expectations, finance, knowledge-sharing and accessible R&D and test facilities. It is testament to the efforts of energy innovators around the world that decision makers today can choose from a range of technology options to address strategic goals for all parts of the energy system. However, technological progress to tackle existing…
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Global EV Outlook 2025 Trends in other light-duty electric vehicles
Electric two- and three-wheelers Contrasting regional trends mean global sales of electric two- and three-wheelers remain at around 15% Two- and three-wheelers (2/3Ws) remained the most electrified road transport segment in 2024, with more than 9% of the global fleet now electric. The global sales share of electric models remained at around 15% in 2024 with total electric model sales reaching 10 million. The electric sales share stalled in 2024, mostly due to the shrinking Chinese electric 2/3W market, although growth in other regions was steady. China, India and Southeast Asia remain the world’s largest…
