In this edition of the Mission Innovation (MI) newsletter, we are proud to present the second cohort of Mission Innovation Champions. We also share an update on the global collaboration platform for hydrogen projects, as well as our initial findings regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on the innovation landscape. Finally, we spoke to Myoungju Lee about her experience being selected as Korean MI Champion, in the inaugural cohort of MI Champions.
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Please email us if there are subjects you would like us to cover in future issues. We look forward to hearing from you. |
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The 5th Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-5) will be hosted by Saudi Arabia
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We would like to thank our colleagues from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for offering to host the 2020 Mission Innovation and CEM Ministerial meetings in the current circumstances. This will be an important Ministerial discussing the future phase of Mission Innovation. The meetings are currently planned for the last week of September 2020, to take place alongside the G20 Energy Ministerial and more information will be shared shortly. The 6th MI Ministerial will be hosted by Chile in 2021.
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Second cohort of Mission Innovation Champions has been announced
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Mission Innovation (MI) unveiled the second cohort of Mission Innovations Champions on 12 June. Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, announced 2020 MI Champions at the MI Champions Awards Ceremony. These inspirational clean energy innovation leaders from each of the 20 participating MI member countries and one representing the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) discussed the future needs through a virtual webinar “Promoting clean energy innovation in a post-COVID world. Find the corresponding press release here.
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Global collaboration platform for hydrogen projects
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Mission Innovation’s IC8, in cooperation with the European Commission and its Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), Roland Berger, and Inycom, is building a global collaboration and information sharing platform for flagship hydrogen projects to enable global learning and push the development of integrated, large scale hydrogen initiatives forward. By promoting the emergence and implementation of hydrogen projects, as well as raising awareness among policy makers, the platform aims to ultimately facilitate the clean energy transition. Read more about the platform here.
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Understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on the innovation landscape
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What is next for clean energy innovation? In the span of just a few weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes to many aspects of life across large parts of the world. The impacts on society, the economy and the environment could be profound and long-lasting, and could affect governments’ priorities and investment plans in clean energy innovation. Mission Innovation is seeking to understand what the impacts are and how they can potentially affect the clean energy innovation ecosystem in the short- and long-term.
The MI Secretariat has put together a COVID-19 policy response repository to track and collate emerging policy packages that governments around the world are rolling out to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on innovation. The repository focuses on specific measures to support innovation in general, and the clean energy sector in particular.
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New IEA report shows growth in public clean energy R&D spending, but also warning signs on the horizon
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According to the latest World Energy Investment report from the International Energy Agency, government energy R&D spending in 2019 grew by 3% to USD 30bn, which was below that of the previous two years, but it remained above the annual average since 2014. However, the report warns that significant headwinds face continued momentum for clean energy innovation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the near-term, governments face critical decisions about how to manage reductions in private capital allocated to energy R&D and venture capital (VC) in 2020 and 2021, and rising pressures on public budgets in emerging economies in particular. Read more here.
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Three islands receive EU Prize for innovative renewable energy solutions
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The island of Bornholm is the first ever winner of the EU RESponsible Island Prize. The Danish island won the €500,000 cash prize in recognition for its innovative energy solutions and its contribution to a sustainable and climate-friendly Europe. The second prize of €250,000 went to the island of Samsø, also in Denmark, and the third prize of €100,000 to the Orkney Islands in the United Kingdom. The three winners have embraced a green agenda for decades, putting their communities at the heart of the transformation towards fully renewable energy systems. Read more here. |
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MI Innovation Challenges Updates
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IC7 (Affordable Heating and Cooling Buildings): has published its 5th Newsletter updating on the Global Cooling Prize, the Comfort Climate Box and a Cities Roadmap for Sustainable Cooling.
IC6 (Clean Energy Materials): is partnering with Project Ada, which combines machine learning with automation to accelerate the discovery and optimization of clean energy materials. You can read the Project Ada team’s first paper, summarizing recent findings, in the May 2020 issue of Science Advances.
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Champions Corner: Myoungju Lee paving the way for zero-energy buildings
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In the third issue of our Champions Corner, Myoungju Lee tells us about her experience being selected in the inaugural co-hort of MI Champions. Myoungju Lee is a Professor at the College of Architecture at Myongji University, where she is also the Director of the Zero Energy Architecture Center. Her work has focused on high efficiency building design and architecture, and she has successfully launched the net- zero energy housing complex (NOWON EZ HOUSE) 2017 in South Korea. |
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Clean energy innovation headlines
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7 July 2020
Virtual Industry Transition Day
The Industry Transition Day will convene leaders, communities and the general public online from across the global industry transition and climate space and will raise ambition for the industry transition towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This one-day virtual event is curated by The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with LeadIT and Mission Innovation.
9 July 2020
IEA Clean Energy Transitions Summit
The high level virtual dialogue will review both near-term actions for sustainable recovery and government action to accelerate clean energy technology innovation for reaching long-term decarbonisation plans. Discussions will be informed by the IEA's World Energy Outlook Sustainable Recovery report and the Energy Technology Perspectives Special Report on Clean Energy Technology Innovation.
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