Recently the IEA published an important document called “Energy Technology Perspective- Special Report on Clean Energy Innovation,” which has set about establishing technology families and their potential footprint in the low-carbon value chain.
They have grouped possible technology innovations into six families at present:
- Electrochemistry: modular cells for converting electrical energy into chemical energy and vice versa), this is explored more in this post
- CO2 capture where the processes to separate CO2 from industrial and power sector emissions or found in the air
- Heating and cooling exploring efficient and flexible designs for electrification
- Catalysis that generate more efficient industrial processes for converting biomass and CO2 to products
- Finding lightweight materials and their integration into wind energy and vehicles
- The digital integration between data and communication to make energy systems more flexible and efficient