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Global battery markets are growing strongly – and so are the supply risks
part 1- lithium-ion batteries Batteries’ importance is increasing across key sectors including autos, power, data centres and beyond The global lithium-ion battery market exceeded USD 150 billion in 2025, an increase of over 20% from 2024, but its economic and strategic significance extends far beyond market size. Batteries are becoming a cornerstone of the automotive sector, a critical source of flexibility for power systems, and an increasingly important source of back-up power for digital infrastructure, including data centres and artificial intelligence.Beyond energy, batteries remain indispensable for a wide range of industrial and strategic applications, from portable…
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Battery Circularity
Innovation trends for a future source of critical materials This report provides new evidence on global innovation trends for technologies related to battery recycling. Based on the EPO’s unique and comprehensive worldwide patent databases and the IEA’s expert insights into the key issues for battery technologies, the report presents the very latest data as a guide to decision makers from the public and private sectors. It sheds light on the main locations of patenting, the leading patentors in the world and the technology categories receiving the most innovation attention.More than one in four cars sold globally in…
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Coal Mid-Year Update 2025 Demand
Global coal demand grew by 1.5% in 2024 to reach an all-time high In 2024, global coal demand increased by 1.5% compared with 2023, reaching a new all-time high of 8.79 Bt. This represents a continuation of the upward trend in coal consumption, albeit at a slower pace than growth rates of 4.4% in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023.The increase in 2024 was primarily driven by emerging economies in Asia, particularly China and India. China recorded the largest absolute growth, with demand rising by 82 Mt (1.7%) while India’s consumption…
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Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2026 Executive summary
Southeast Asia is a very dynamic region that is set to be a major driver of global energy demand growth, but the Middle East conflict has provided a stark wake-up call for the region’s energy system. Southeast Asia accounts for 9% of the world’s population and 4% of its GDP, but nearly 20% of global energy demand growth to 2035 under today’s policy settings. The disruption in global fuel markets has exposed deep structural vulnerabilities linked to import dependence, limited diversification and concentrated supply routes. Before the crisis, around 60% of Southeast Asia’s imports of…
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Shane McDonagh
Energy Efficiency Policy Analyst –Transport.
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Sacha Scheffer
Former Energy Analyst.
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Global Methane Tracker 2026 Policy trends
Existing policies and regulations would cut energy sector emissions by 25% by 2035 – far short of high-level goals National ambitions to lower emissions have grown significantly in recent years, with many new countries signing onto methane commitments. High-level methane pledges now cover around 80% of global fossil fuel production, up from around 50% in 2021. This includes the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), which today includes more than 150 countries and covers more than 50% of emissions from human activity worldwide. Launched in 2021 at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the GMP commits participating countries to…
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Outlook for Biogas and Biomethane Key issues affecting biogas and biomethane projects
Development of feedstocks Differences in policy implementation and feedstock availability has resulted in feedstock mixes that vary widely by country and region: In Europe, biogas production was initially supported by feed-in tariffs and relied on energy crops as an important feedstock. Given the land use and biodiversity concerns associated with energy crops, this landscape has since changed, with several European countries implementing restrictions on their usage. The feedstock mix in Europe is now moving towards a mix of agricultural residues, animal manure, organic municipal solid waste and industrial waste. In China, household and farm biodigesters were central to biogas…
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Rare Earth Elements Illustrative mine-to-magnet value chain
Illustrative mine-to-magnet value chain
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Global Methane Tracker 2026 Addressing methane in the marketplace
Near-zero methane standards from key importers could cut upstream oil and gas emissions by 20% There is increasing interest in many countries in reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked to their fossil fuel imports. For some of the largest oil and gas importers – the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea and China – such emissions (15 million tonnes in 2024) far exceed those from domestic oil and gas operations and infrastructure (5 million tonnes in 2024). Upstream methane emissions intensities associated with oil and gas imports differ across countries. According to International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, average intensities…