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New approaches to collaboration between private and public sectors can speed up innovation, but greater coordination is required to make even greater gains.
Energy models provide powerful insights for decision-makers, but more care is needed around the choice of reference scenarios and the transparency of assumptions.
Recent large-scale carbon-capture schemes in the energy sector point to progress, but further development and support are still required to improve viability and widespread deployment.
The development of rechargeable batteries looks hugely successful on paper, but moving in leaps takes fundamental breakthroughs, truly meaningful performance advances, and technological integration.
It is easy to conflate what is known based on the scientific literature and what feels known because it is intuitive. However, empirical validation and precision are particularly critical for policy-relevant behavioural research, regardless of whether the results are surprising.
Disruption is often a bad word in established industries, and electricity generation is no exception. But with silicon solar cells getting ever closer to efficiency limits, innovative solutions are needed.
A continued lack of coordination and a focus on short-term decision-making threaten to undermine long-term energy system ambitions intended to meet objectives in future decades.
Recent announcements highlight the increasing competitiveness of renewable electricity sources and signal that the need for subsidies may be approaching an end.