The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has outlined the innovation priorities needed to accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy system. The Agency authored a chapter of the recently published 2018 Global Innovation Index (GII) report, named Innovation Driving the Energy Transition in which four central policy-level innovation recommendations are outlined as critical to scaling-up renewable energy deployment.
The 11th edition of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) global innovation index report, themed Energizing the World with Innovation analysed the state of energy sector innovation, identifying areas where further effort is required, and where breakthroughs in fields such as energy production, storage, distribution, consumption, and decarbonisation are taking place. IRENA’s chapter makes the following policy-level recommendations:
- Foster a system wide approach to innovation, beyond research and development
- Strengthen international cooperation to nurture innovation
- Advance power system integration
- Support a portfolio of technology options to electrify and decarbonise end-use sectors IRENA