In the last 20 years, the People’s Republic of China (hereafter, “China”) has strengthened its position on the global stage as an energy innovator, as illustrated by the stories of solar power and, more recently, electric mobility. This is the result of several decades of increasing policy focus on technology innovation, which underpin China’s ambitions to become a producer of knowledge and foster innovation-driven socio-economic development. Looking forward, clean energy innovation will play a crucial role to achieve China’s objectives of carbon peaking by 2030 and neutrality by 2060, and ranks among core government priorities for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).  

This report builds on the IEA Energy Sector Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality in China chapter on “Innovation for carbon neutrality”, and provides complementary and new analysis and information. It maps the institutional and policy landscape of clean energy innovation in China and shows trends for selected metrics to track and explain progress of technology development.