Energy transition investment tops US$2tn for the first time

Global investment in the energy transition topped US$2 trillion for the first time in 2024, led by mature technologies such as renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Energy transition investment grew by 11% last year, with new highs in renewable energy and grids, transport electrification and energy storage, according to a new report by BloombergNEF (BNEF).

Specifically, electrified transport (including electric cars, trucks and commercial vehicles as well as public charging infrastructure and fuel cell vehicles) received US$757 billion of new investment in 2024. It was followed by renewable energy (such as wind, solar, biofuels, biomass and geothermal) with US$728 billion, and power grids with US$390 billion.

Pace of investment slowing down: emerging technologies struggle

Despite the record US$2.1 trillion invested in the energy transition in 2024, spending appears to be slowing down, after jumping by 24 to 29% on average each year over the past three years. 

In this landscape, investors are giving a preference to technologies that are proven, scalable and with established business models, like the one listed above: overall, these received 14.7% more funding in 2024 than the previous year.

In contrast, emerging technologies such as electrified heat, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), nuclear, clean industry and clean shipping are receiving less attention. Last year, these emerging technologies got only US$155 billion of investment – 23% less than in 2023.

Public-private collaboration needed to de-risk investment

BloombergNEF warns that public-private collaboration will be key to help de-risk investment in these technologies over the coming years if they are to fulfil their decarbonisation potential.

“Our report shows just how much growth we’ve seen in the energy transition over the past few years, despite political uncertainty and high interest rates,” said Albert Cheung, Deputy CEO of BNEF. “There is still much more that needs to be done, especially in emerging areas like industrial decarbonisation, hydrogen and carbon capture, in order to reach global net-zero goals. True partnership between the private and public sectors is the only solution to unlock the potential of these technologies.”

China leads energy transition investment

Most energy transition investments last year came from China, with around US$818 billion, up 20% from 2023. This growth represented no less than two-thirds of the global increase in 2024.

Meanwhile, the EU, US and UK showed stagnant or even declining growth in energy transition funding: US$338 billion in the US, US$381 billion in the EU and US$65.3 billion in the UK. This means that China’s total investment last year was larger than the combined amounts of these three jurisdictions.

According to BloombergNEF, investment in the energy transition needs to average US$5.6 trillion a year from 2025 to 2030 in order to get on track for net zero by 2050. This implies that current investment levels are only 37% of what is required.