Where are Clean Energy Technologies Manufactured?

When looking at where clean energy technologies and their components are made, one thing is very clear: China dominates the industry. The country, along with the rest of the Asia Pacific region, accounts for approximately 75% of global manufacturing capacity across seven clean energy technologies.

What Gives China the Advantage?

Of the above clean energy technologies and their components, China averages 65% of global manufacturing capacity. For certain components, like solar PV wafers, this percentage is as high as 96%.

So, what gives China this advantage in the clean energy technology sector? According to the IEA report, the answer lies in a combination of factors:

• Low manufacturing costs
• A dominance in clean energy metal processing, namely cobalt, lithium, and rare earth metals
• Sustained policy support and investment

The mixture of these factors has allowed China to capture a significant share of the global market for clean technologies while driving down the cost of clean energy worldwide. As the market for low-emission solutions expands, China’s dominance in the sector will likely continue in the coming years and have notable implications for the global energy and emission landscape.

See an expanded version of this article on elements.visualcapitalist.com