In this edition of the Mission Innovation (MI) newsletter, we would like to draw attention to the virtual Fifth Mission Innovation Ministerial which took place on 23 September 2020. Ministers discussed achievements over the past five years and unanimously agreed to develop a second phase of MI.


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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted the Fifth Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-5) virtually bringing together MI representatives to discuss opportunities for continued collaboration. MI-5 provided an opportunity for MI members to look back on achievements since MI’s launch in 2015. The MI 2020 Impact Report showcases the numerous activities that members have delivered and the MI 2020 Country Highlights provides detailed information on individual member strategies, initiatives and investments. Also released at the Ministerial, the MI Innovation Challenges (IC) Impact Report demonstrates how IC activities have contributed to MI’s goals.

Following reflection on MI’s impact to date, Ministers discussed the need to accelerate innovation over the coming decade. Members unanimously agreed to develop a more ambitious second phase to be launched at the 6th MI Ministerial in 2021. This will launch new public-private innovation alliances – Missions – built around ambitious and inspirational goals backed by voluntary commitments that can lead to tipping points in the cost, scale, availability, and attractiveness of clean energy solutions. Furthermore, a strengthened Innovation Platform will enable countries to enhance their international collaboration and exchange knowledge. Find out more about the Ministerial here.
              

During MI-5, Noura Alrubaiq, Head of Saudi Arabia’s Y20 Delegation, delivered a keynote  on behalf of young people from around the world. Her participation highlighted the ongoing collective recognition by MI member countries for the importance of inclusivity in energy related discourse and decision making, as well as their commitment to deliver tangible, real-world changes. Read Noura’s call for action here.

In this issue of the Champions Corner, Hans Marius Schuster from Germany shares his vision of a global ‘Digital Single Hydrogen-Society Platform’ to foster the energy transition and enable true international collaboration beyond technical, political and geographical borders. Hans Marius Schuster is the founder and CEO of Arena Innovation, a company that combines clean energy solutions with digitalization using the ready-made IT-Tool, Be-Circle, for planning and simulating a circular economy.

 

• The World Energy Outlook, the IEA’s flagship publication, provides a comprehensive view of how the global energy system could develop in the coming decades focusing and exploring in detail the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the energy sector, and the near-term actions that could accelerate clean energy transitions.
• The IEA also released the Energy Technology RD&D Budgets 2020 which shows that 2019 was the third consecutive year of increases reaching USD 21.5 billion.
• IRENA’s report Reaching Zero with Renewables has a twin focus: examining how the world could achieve zero emissions in key industry and transport sectors by around 2060, and assessing the potential role of renewables-based technologies in doing so.
• Breakthrough Energy published the report Impacts of Federal R&D Investment on the US Economy that assesses the short- and long-term economic impacts of public R&D investment in the United States, with a focus on federal R&D investment in the defense, energy, and health sectors.
• The Earthshot Prize is the biggest environmental prize ever, which comes with a transformative prize money of £50m over 10 years focused on five earthshots – in a critical decade for the Earth.