In this edition of the Mission Innovation (MI) newsletter, we celebrate the numerous achievements and announcements at COP26 that made it a success for MI. Another four Missions have been announced and the Missions launched earlier this year have shown progress through initial research and/or roadmaps. MI was highlighted as a key intergovernmental forum for clean energy innovation at the World Leaders Summit; declared an expanded partnership with Breakthrough Energy and members announced a range of clean energy innovation initiatives. The US also announced that the next MI Ministerial will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania next September.

Learn more about the Global Innovation Needs Assessments (GINAs), a first of a kind analysis for assessing the case for low carbon innovation and read about the challenges of setting up the Shipping Mission, its goal and first achievements as the MI Comms team interviewed Simone Staal Kibæk, director of the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission.

In the Champions Corner, we feature the Swedish MI Champion Jan Skjoldhammer, CEO of Novige AB, Dr. Malak Al-Nory, an advisor of Sustainability and Climate Change in the Saudi Ministry of Energy and Japanese Champion Yoshiki Takagiwa, a principal researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS).

Finally, we present a summary of the latest clean energy innovation announcements and events that have come to our attention.

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Key moments for MI at COP26 include featuring as a key element of the Breakthrough Agenda announced by world leaders on 2nd November; the launch of the Carbon Dioxide Removal and Urban Transitions Missions; the announcement of the Integrated Biorefineries and Net Zero Industries Mission; the Green Powered Future, Zero Emission Shipping and Clean Hydrogen Missions all published initial research or roadmaps; the announcement of an expanded partnership between Mission Innovation and Breakthrough Energy; announcement of the location of the next MI Ministerial; and a range of clean energy innovation announcements by member countries. Read more about the outcomes here.                     

The Global Innovation Needs Assessments (GINAs), launched 12 October, is a first of a kind platform for assessing the case for low carbon innovation. The GINAs take a system wide perspective, explicitly modelling the impact of innovations across the global economy. Uniquely, the analysis quantifies the economic benefits of low carbon innovation and identifies the public investment levels—from research and development to commercialization—needed to unlock these benefits.

Shipping out: The challenges and opportunities of decarbonizing the world’s most global industry

Shipping is the backbone of international trade, accounting for approximately 80 percent of global transportation measured by volume. But shipping is also responsible for 2-3 percent of global GHG emissions. Bringing it to zero is challenging due to the industry’s global and competitive nature, vast energy needs and the uniqueness of each vessel. Simone Staal Kibæk, director of the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission, was recently interviewed by the Mission Innovation team. Read more about the challenges of setting up the Shipping Mission, its goal and first achievements here.

    

The Swedish MI Champion Jan Skjoldhammer is the founder and the creative mind behind the unique NoviOcean concept and CEO of Novige AB. The start-up aims to produce sustainable electricity from ocean waves in an economically viable way and focuses on light-weight and proven components, achieving a lower levelized cost of energy compared to offshore wind and developing infrastructure platforms for future offshore hydrogen networks.

    

The Saudi Champion Dr. Malak Al-Nory is an advisor of Sustainability and Climate Change in the Saudi Ministry of Energy and an expert in clean energy and clean water integration, innovative solutions, and strategic planning. She and her team represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in international policy negotiations pertaining to energy and climate change. This includes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other platforms.

    

The Japanese Champion Yoshiki Takagiwa, is a principal researcher and independent scientist at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS). Yoshiki’s current research focus is investigating non-toxic, low-cost thermoelectric materials. He’s developed environmentally friendly thermoelectric materials using iron, aluminum and silicon. Dubbed the FAST project, this line of research is using experiments, theoretical calculations and machine learning to help develop autonomous power supplies for sensors and devices.

    

15 - 19 January 2022, Abu Dubai, UAE
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW)
Since its launch in 2008, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) has evolved into one of the world’s leading sustainability gatherings, becoming a global catalyst for accelerating sustainable development. ADSW initiatives include the IRENA Assembly, the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, the Future Sustainability Summit, the World Future Energy Summit Exhibition and Forums, Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum, and the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony.
 
17 - 21 January 2022, Davos, Switzerland
World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting
The 2022 edition of the WEF will take place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme “Working Together, Restoring Trust”.