Global clean tech market to grow to $2 trillion by 2035: IEA

The global market for clean energy technologies - solar PV, wind turbines, electric cars, batteries, electrolysers and heat pumps - is set to rise from $700 billion in 2023 to more than $2 trillion by 2035 – close to the value of the world’s crude oil market in recent years, says a first of its kind study by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

China, the European Union, the United States and India, which have made big investments in this sector are going to benefit from this big business opportunity. Global trade in clean technologies is expected to rise sharply and, in a decade, it will more than triple to reach $575 billion, more than 50% larger than the global trade in natural gas today, says IEA's Energy Technology Perspectives 2024 (ETP-2024). Global investment in clean technology manufacturing rose by 50% in 2023, reaching USD 235 billion. This increase is equal to nearly 10% of the growth in investment across the entire world economy. Four-fifths of the clean technology manufacturing investment in 2023 went to solar PV and battery manufacturing, with EV plants accounting for a further 15%. Global investment in clean technology manufacturing facilities is set to remain close to around USD 200 billion in 2024.

It says China is set to remain the world’s manufacturing powerhouse for the foreseeable future of clean technologies and under today’s policy settings, its clean technology exports are on track to exceed $340 billion in 2035. When compared to China, the cost of these climate technologies is 40% more on average to produce solar PV modules, wind turbines and battery technologies in the United States, up to 45% more in the European Union, and up to 25% more in India, observes the report, a first of its kind analysis by IEA.

Southeast Asia could become one of the cheapest places to produce polysilicon and wafers for solar panels within the next 10 years, while Latin America – particularly Brazil – has the potential to scale up its wind turbine manufacturing for export to other markets in the Americas. North Africa has the ingredients to become an EV manufacturing hub within the next decade, while various countries in sub-Saharan Africa could produce iron with low-emissions hydrogen, says the report.

The report says crucial technologies to produce steel, aluminium and ammonia with near-zero emissions are underway and the deployment of these technologies requires an average of over USD 80 billion per year of investment through 2050.