More than 300 participants from over 40 countries came together on 18 February 2026 for the third annual IEA Energy Innovation Forum, co-hosted with the Government of the Netherlands. The event was designed to take a clear look at how global energy innovation is progressing, what challenges remain, and what actions can drive faster development of clean and secure energy technologies. The forum took place in Paris, held alongside the 2026 IEA Ministerial Meeting. It brought together a diverse group of policymakers, innovators, investors, researchers, and industry leaders. Their discussions focused on the growing opportunities in energy technology, the risks slowing down progress, and the practical steps that both governments and market players can take to accelerate breakthroughs in the near future.
Opening the event, Sophie Hermans, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth of the Netherlands, emphasized her country’s strong commitment to advancing clean energy. She explained that the Netherlands’ competitiveness depends heavily on developing technologies that strengthen energy security, keep costs under control, and reduce emissions. She also reaffirmed her country’s intention to continue working closely with the IEA to transform innovative ideas into large-scale, real-world solutions. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol also highlighted the critical role of innovation in addressing today’s energy challenges.
He noted that the IEA monitors the status of more than 600 energy technologies, providing governments and industries with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. Holding the Forum alongside the Ministerial Meeting, he said, shows just how central technology development is to the IEA’s mission. A key moment of the event was the video launch of The State of Energy Innovation 2026 report, now in its second year. The report’s main findings were discussed during a high-level ministerial panel. It highlights the most significant technological and policy advancements made over the past year, while also identifying major investment gaps and long-standing structural barriers that still prevent emerging technologies from expanding at scale.
Among its main recommendations, the report urges governments and innovators to align competitiveness and resilience with technology deployment, direct public funding where it can overcome specific financial and market obstacles, and expand partnerships and networks—particularly those supported by the IEA—to help promising technologies scale more quickly. Throughout the day, participants attended dedicated sessions on several priority areas. These included advancing first-of-a-kind large-scale demonstration projects, strengthening innovation that supports resilient electricity grids, accelerating progress in fusion energy, and expanding pathways for sustainable fuels.
There were also discussions on how technology innovation and supply chain strategies are becoming increasingly central to national competitiveness. This theme was reinforced by a keynote address from European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera. Looking ahead, the next IEA Energy Innovation Forum will be held in 2027 in Vienna. Austria’s State Secretary for Energy, Startups and Tourism, Elisabeth Zehetner, expressed enthusiasm about hosting the global energy innovation community and continuing the collective work of speeding up the development and deployment of cutting-edge energy technologies.
Discover more from SolarQuarter
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
