1. What can CO₂ capture and storage deliver ... and when?
2. Hydrogen – towards sustainable production and storage
3. Smarter, less fuel-thirsty vehicles
4. Heavy-duty hybrids, fuel cell vehicles: two new IEA R&D collaborations
5. Combined heat & power – dismantling the barriers

. Solar energy activities update
. Technology newsletters: Energy-efficient lighting; Electricity networks R&D
. IEA input at COP 12/MOP 2
. Financing climate-friendly projects
. Energy efficiency in buildings
. Standby-mode power consumption
. Energy & the forest products industry

. Power-sector greenhouse gas mitigation
. Electricity Information 2006
. Energy policies of Greece
. Angola - Desenvolvimento de uma estratégia para a energia - free download in Portuguese of IEA's recent study
. Ukraine Energy Policy Review - free download in Ukrainian

. IEA Workshop Using Long-Term Scenarios for R&D Priority-Setting, IEA Headquarters, Paris (France), 15-16 February 2007.

. IEA NEET Initiative Workshop (Networks of Expertise in Energy Technology), Johannesburg (South Africa), 20-22 February 2007.

. Future Buildings Forum Think Tank Workshop on Future Sustainable Buildings and Communities, Espoo ( Finland), 21-22 March 2007.

. Third International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies for our Future, Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy), 15-17 May 2007.

. IEA/CSLF Assessment Workshop on Near-Term Opportunities for Carbon Capture and Storage, Oslo (Norway), 21-22 June 2007.

. Conference Building Low Energy Cooling and Advanced Ventilation Technologies in the 21st Century, Aghia Pelaghia, Crete (Greece), 27-29 September 2007.

. Hans Nilsson of IEA Demand-Side Management Programme receives the 2006 Swedish Energy Prize.

. Kelly Thambimuthu of IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme receives 2006 Award for Sustainable Development from IEA Coal Industry Advisory Board (CIAB).

1. What can CO₂capture and storage deliver ... and when? Technology for CO₂ capture and storage (CCS) is one of today's hot topics. According to IEA analysis, CCS could shoulder more than 20% of the burden in achieving needed reductions in global CO₂emissions by the year 2050. The IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme is one of the leading worldwide authorities on CCS. The OPEN Bulletin asked the programme's General Manager, Harry Audus, to share his insight on prospects for CO₂ capture and storage. Click to access the interview.
CCS is the subject of IEA’s first release in its new series IEA Energy Technology Essentials. These regularly updated concise briefs have been designed to provide the basic information for understanding and assessing all key energy technologies in today’s portfolio for a sustainable energy future. Access the IEA Energy Technology Essentials CCS profile.

2. Hydrogen – towards sustainable production and storage. Hydrogen is viewed as a promising, versatile alternative energy carrier for clean energy systems. Direct thermal processing of carbon-containing materials is one of many ways to produce hydrogen. A new update from IEA’s Hydrogen Implementing Agreement (IEA HIA) explores ways to minimise associated CO₂ emissions. Based on collaborative investigation since 2002, this final report from IEA HIA’s Task 16 covers wide-ranging technology development and deployment aspects of three direct supply routes: large-scale integrated hydrogen production and decarbonisation; hydrogen from biomass; and small-scale reforming of hydrocarbons. Access the report.
Advances in storage capability and materials will be crucial for hydrogen’s future role as an energy source, especially for transport vehicles, where progress with on-board hydrogen storage for fuel cells will set the pace. A second new IEA HIA report brings together findings over five years on pathways to a low-cost reversible hydrogen storage medium and on understanding of storage performance. This final report from IEA HIA Task 17 explores carbon- and hydride-based storage media and draws on 45 R&D projects in participating countries. Access the report. IEA HIA is one of some 40 international energy technology R&D programmes within the IEA’s collaborative framework.

3. Smarter, less fuel-thirsty vehicles. Some 20% of the rise in global energy demand over the next thirty years will come from the transport sector. Economic growth in the developing countries will be the largest driver of expanding oil demand. What can be done to get more mileage out of each gallon that goes into the tank? Measures to address non-locomotion fuel consumption can significantly reduce both vehicle running costs and CO₂ emissions. Vehicle efficiency is a major focus among the IEA’s tasks in support of the G8 Plan of Action on climate change, clean energy and sustainable development. IEA’s Thomas Gueret and Paul Waide tell us about some revealing findings on tyres and rolling resistance, on better car components and on ways to make cooling systems more efficient. Click to access their article.

4. Heavy-duty hybrids, fuel cell vehicles: two new IEA R&D collaborations. Key alternative vehicle technologies will be addressed by two new international projects recently launched by the IEA Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Implementing Agreement (IEA HEV). Annex XII will investigate available and emerging hybrid technologies for trucks, buses, dedicated heavy-duty vehicles, and possibly off-road mobile machinery such as forklifts, construction equipment or military equipment. It will also report on technology and market status/trends. Annex XIII will focus on mobile application of fuel cells, including use as auxiliary power units (APUs) and hybridisation of the fuel cell with on-board energy storage devices like batteries or super-caps. The emphasis will be on technology assessment and foresight activities from an international perspective, and on advising industrial and public decision makers on R&D and market introduction.
New participants are welcome in both new projects. For more information and contacts, visit the IEA HEV website. IEA HEV is one of the international energy technology R&D programmes within the IEA’s collaborative framework.

5. Combined heat & power – dismantling the barriers. Why is combined heat and power (CHP) not always a mainstream option? Many countries have ambitious targets and initiatives to promote deployment of CHP technologies, which have a natural place in district heating and cooling systems (DHC). But a shortage of transparent data is a major handicap for analysts wishing to demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of CHP/DHC. To gather input to bridge the gap and highlight best practice, the IEA Secretariat has recently launched a new Combined Heat and Power Programme as part of its drive to promote more efficient use of energy. Building on existing data-collection efforts within the IEA’s international energy technology collaborative network, this initiative seeks to join forces with partners in government, industry and interested stakeholder groups. Click to learn more about the IEA Combined Heat and Power Programme.

. Solar Energy Activities in IEA Countries 2005. From IEA's Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC), the latest overview of national activities, key trends, funding levels, R&D, technology advances and commercial developments, plus details on what is happening in individual countries. Click to access. Consult also IEA SHC's brochure The Time for Solar Is Now, explaining why solar is needed and what the IEA SHC is doing to increase use of solar technologies worldwide.

. Technology newsletters from IEA's international collaborative programmes:
- E³Light - Issue No. 4, 2/2006, from Annex 45, Energy-Efficient Future Electric Lighting for Buildings, IEA Implementing Agreement on Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems.
- Newsletter from ENARD (IEA Implementing Agreement on Electricity Networks Analysis, Research and Development) - No. 1, October 2006.

. IEA's input to COP 12/MOP 2 (12th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change / 2nd meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, Nairobi (Kenya), 6-17 November 2006. Numerous publications and papers on climate-related issues were presented in Nairobi. Visit IEA's website for all relevant material, including the press release and news from the side events.

The IEA Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) held a side event in Nairobi on financing for technology transfer - download the presentations and the event summary; visit CTI's website for further information on its Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN).

. Presentations from IEA Workshop Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Meeting the G8 Gleneagles Challenge, Paris (France) 27-28 November 2006. As part of IEA's work within the mandate received from G8 leaders in Gleneagles in 2005, this workshop explored key technology and policy themes relating to energy efficiency in buildings. Click to access.

. Presentations from International Standby Power Conference - Time for Global Action, Canberra (Australia), 6-7 November 2006. With support from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and the International Energy Agency, the Australian Greenhouse Office hosted this conference aimed at developing an internationally consistent model to address excessive standby power consumption. Click to access.

. Presentations from International Seminar on Energy and the Forest Products Industry, Rome (Italy), 30-31 October 2006. Organised jointly by IEA, WCBSD, ICFPA, FAO, UNECE and ITTO, this seminar focusing on energy and the forest products industry created better insight into the place of forestry products in evolving energy scenarios and ways stakeholders can co-operate to ensure that policies integrate them in a sustainable manner. Click to access.

. Presentations from IEA-ENEL Workshop on Sectoral Approaches for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in the Power Sector, Rome (Italy), 30-31 October 2006. Organised jointly by Italian energy provider ENEL and the IEA, this event focused on trends in the power generation sector and associated CO₂ emissions. It explored climate and other related policies, existing sector-wide initiatives, integration of sector approaches internationally and nationally, and institutional issues. Click to access.

. Electricity Information 2006 (2005 data) - 706 pages of essential statistics on electricity and heat in OECD countries. Part I of the publication provides a statistical overview of developments in the electricity and heat market, also providing some 2004 statistics for non-OECD countries. Part II tabulates power and heat industry developments for each of the 30 OECD member countries and for OECD and IEA regional aggregates. Visit IEA's Online Bookshop.

. Energy Policies of IEA Countries - Greece - 2006 Review. The latest in IEA's series of peer reviews of energy policies in member countries. Visit IEA's Online Bookshop.

. Angola - Desenvolvimento de uma estratégia para a energia - free download of the Portuguese translation of IEA's study Angola - Towards an Energy Strategy.

• Ukraine Energy Policy Review 2006- free download in Ukrainian language of IEA's recent publication.

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. IEA Workshop Using Long-Term Scenarios for R&D Priority-Setting, IEA Headquarters, Paris (France), 15-16 February 2007. Convened jointly by the IEA Experts Group on R&D Priority-Setting and Evaluation and the IEA Secretariat, this workshop will focus on long-term energy scenarios and their use for setting R&D priorities. Experts are invited to share experience and provide input to feed into IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2008 publication, which will report to the Japanese G8 presidency in 2008. The workshop will draw on hands-on experience in scenario-aided R&D priority-setting provided by invited key experts from governments, industry, academia and international organisations. For more information and invitations to this invitations-only workshop, contact jeppe.bjerg@iea.org.

. IEA NEET Initiative Workshop, Johannesburg (South Africa), 20-22 February 2007. As part of IEA's NEET Initiative (Networks of Expertise in Energy Technology), this workshop will present the activities and achievements of selected IEA “Implementing Agreement” R&D programmes and the work of the Agency’s international energy technology network. Participants will be key stakeholders in South Africa, including members of the business and financial communities, policy makers, researchers and other players. The purpose of this high-profile event will be to enhance awareness of existing research, development and deployment networks and to facilitate broader participation. For more information about this invitations-only event, please consult IEA’s website and contact Alexandra.Niez@iea.org.

. Future Buildings Forum Think Tank Workshop on Future Sustainable Buildings and Communities, Espoo (Finland), 21-22 March 2007. Organised jointly by a number of IEA Implementing Agreement technology programmes, this workshop will aim to identify R&D needs and new business opportunities within the area of sustainable buildings and communities. Expected outcomes will be a vision and a roadmap for appropriate energy systems and their most important components. Consult the announcement. For more information and invitations to this invitations-only event, contact Markku Virtanen.

. Third International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies for our Future, Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy), 15-17 May 2007. The move towards zero-emissions coal-fired power plants is gathering momentum. Co-organised by the IEA Clean Coal Centre, this Clean Coal Technologies event will build on the success of its previous May 2005 conference in Cagliari, taking further the debate underlying important decisions the coal industry must take for our future.

. IEA/CSLF Assessment Workshop on Near-Term Opportunities for Carbon Capture and Storage, Oslo (Norway), 21-22 June 2007. This workshop is the second in a three-workshop series responding to a G8 request and organised by IEA and the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum. It will assess the issues raised at the August 2006 San Francisco workshop Near-Term Opportunities for CO₂ Capture and Storage in the Fossil Fuel Sector. A third workshop, to be announced, will focus on recommendations to help accelerate development and commercialisation of carbon capture and storage. To learn more about these workshops, contact Jacek Podkanski at IEA.

. Conference Building Low Energy Cooling and Advanced Ventilation Technologies in the 21st Century, Aghia Pelaghia, Crete (Greece), 27-29 September 2007. Co-organised by IEA's Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC) as its 28th conference, this event aims to cover all aspects of technology and building design dealing with ventilation and passive cooling techniques. AIVC is part of the IEA Programme on Energy Conservation in Buildings & Community Systems (ECBCS). Consult the conference website.

. Hans Nilsson of IEA Demand-Side Management Programme receives the 2006 Swedish Energy Prize. In recognition of efforts over 20 years to advance technology procurement as a means of accelerating energy-efficient technology development, Hans Nilsson recently received the 2006 Swedish Energy Prize awarded jointly by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and consulting firm SWECO. Hans Nilsson chairs the IEA Demand-Side Management Programme's Executive Committee. This is the 23rd Swedish Energy Prize for particularly valuable contributions to energy conservation. See press release.

. Kelly Thambimuthu of IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme receives 2006 Award for Sustainable Development from the IEA Coal Industry Advisory Board (CIAB). This year's CIAB Coal Award was presented to Kelly Thambimuthu, Chair of the Executive Committee of the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme. He was honoured for his contributions to the development of clean coal technologies, most recently focusing on low-emission technologies to stem CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels. Kelly Thambimuthu received his award at a dinner in Paris early in November. See press release.