A new report on clean energy innovation headed by two of the world’s leading energy experts assesses the state of the clean energy innovation ecosystem in the US and identifies clean energy technologies with the highest breakthrough potential.
The report, led by former US Secretary of Energy and Energy Futures Initiative founder Ernest Moniz and IHS Markit vice chairman Daniel Yergi, evaluates ways to maintain US leadership in clean energy innovation by better aligning the policies, players and programs that will drive technologies that can keep the nation globally competitive. The report, entitled “Advancing the Landscape of Clean Energy Innovation”, was commissioned by Breakthrough Energy.
The report assesses energy technologies based on four criteria: technical merit, market viability, compatibility with other energy systems and consumer value.
It examines a broad list of technologies related to the areas of energy supply (electricity and fuels), energy application (industrial, transportation and buildings) and cross-cutting technology areas (including large-scale carbon management, advanced materials and high-performance computing).
From this broad list the report identifies 10 high-priority clean energy innovation areas:
* Storage and battery technologies;
* Advanced nuclear reactors;
* Hydrogen;
* Advanced manufacturing technologies;
* Building energy technologies;
* Electric grid modernization and smart cities;
* Large-scale carbon management;
* Carbon capture, use and storage;
* Sunlight to fuels; and
* Biological sequestration.
Achieving accelerated innovation can be challenging given that clean energy systems are highly capitalised and provide our society with essential, indispensable services, the report notes. This combination leads to considerable inertia and risk aversion and underscores the inherent tension between the energy incumbents and the technology disruptors.
The report says that greater co-ordination between stakeholders is required to create the conditions for commercial adoption of groundbreaking clean energy technologies.
It notes that clean energy innovation is critical for national economic strength, competitiveness, security and for addressing effectively the challenges of climate change.