The Race to the Top in Six Charts and Not Too Many Numbers

China currently leads the global race in cleantech innovation, manufacturing, and electrification, though the United States and Europe are increasing investments to catch up.

• China dominates cleantech manufacturing and innovation, having outspent the United States and Europe 10-fold over the last five years. This has resulted in China holding a 90 percent share of solar manufacturing and a 70 percent share of battery manufacturing. Additionally, China's share of global clean energy patents has risen from approximately 5 percent in 2000 to over 75 percent.
• China is leading in the deployment of core clean technologies and the electrification of end-use sectors. In 2023 alone, China's additions to solar capacity and electric vehicle sales exceeded the total achieved by the United States over the previous 30 years. China's electrification rate has progressed at 10 percentage points per decade.
• While China currently leads, the energy transition is in its early stages, with only 20 percent of energy electrified, 20 percent of car sales being electric, and 40 percent of electricity being clean. Significant opportunities for disruption remain in digitalization, grid-enhancing technologies, and hard-to-electrify sectors such as cement, steel, and aviation.
• The United States and Europe are attempting to catch up through policy initiatives like RepowerEU and the Inflation Reduction Act. Consequently, investment in cleantech supply chains in these two regions is projected to grow 16-fold in 2025 compared to 2022 levels.

APA

RMI (2024). The Race to the Top in Six Charts and Not Too Many Numbers. https://rmi.org/resources/the-race-to-the-top-in-six-charts-and-not-too-many-numbers/

Chicago

RMI. The Race to the Top in Six Charts and Not Too Many Numbers. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/the-race-to-the-top-in-six-charts-and-not-too-many-numbers/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Race to the Top in Six Charts and Not Too Many Numbers |date=1 July 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-race-to-the-top-in-six-charts-and-not-too-many-numbers/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024race, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Race to the Top in Six Charts and Not Too Many Numbers}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-race-to-the-top-in-six-charts-and-not-too-many-numbers/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }