research progress report pdf

51+ SAMPLE Research Progress Report in PDF | MS Word | Google Docs | Apple Pages

Research Progress Report | MS Word | Google Docs | Apple Pages

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Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR)

The RPPR is used by recipients to submit progress reports to NIH on their grant awards. This page provides an overview of the annual RPPR, the final RPPR and the interim RPPR and provides resources to help you understand how to submit a progress report. 

Types of RPPRs

Progress reports document recipient accomplishments and compliance with terms of award. There are three types of RPPRs, all of which use the NIH RPPR Instruction Guide .

• Annual RPPR – Use to describe a grant’s scientific progress, identify significant changes, report on personnel, and describe plans for the subsequent budget period or year.
• Final RPPR – Use as part of the grant closeout process to submit project outcomes in addition to the information submitted on the annual RPPR, except budget and plans for the upcoming year.
• Interim RPPR – Use when submitting a renewal (Type 2) application. If the Type 2 is not funded, the Interim RPPR will serve as the Final RPPR for the project. If the Type 2 is funded, the Interim RPPR will serve as the annual RPPR for the final year of the previous competitive segment. The data elements collected on the Interim RPPR are the same as for the Final RPPR, including project outcomes.

Submitting the RPPR

Only the project director/principal investigator (PD/PI) or their PD/PI delegate can initiate RPPRs. For multi-PD/PI grants only the Contact PI or the Contact PD/PI’s delegate can initiate the RPPR.

Signing Officials typically submit the annual RPPR, but may delegate preparation (Delegate Progress Report) to any PD/PI within the organization on behalf of the Contact PD/PI. Additionally, a Principal Investigator (PI) can delegate “Progress Report” to any eRA Commons user in their organization with the Assistant (ASST) role. This delegation provides the ASST with the ability to prepare Annual,  Interim and Final RPPRs on behalf of the PI. However, only a Signing Official (SO) or PI (if delegated Submit by the SO) are allowed to submit the Annual, Interim, and Final RPPRs.

Follow the instructions in the RPPR User Guide to submit the RPPR, Interim RPPR or Final RPPR. The User Guide includes instructions for how to submit your RPPRs in the eRA Commons, how to complete the web-based forms, and what information is required. Instructions for completing the scientific portion of the report (see the elements below) may be found in Chapters 6 and 7.

The following resources may help with RPPR initiation and submission:

Annual RPPR Due Dates:

• Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP) RPPRs are due approximately 45 days before the next budget period start date.
• Non-SNAP RPPRs are due approximately 60 days before the next budget period start date.
• Multi-year funded (MYF) RPPRs are due annually on or before the anniversary of the budget/project period start date of the award.
• The exact start date for a specific award may be found in grants status in eRA Commons.

Interim and Final RPPR Dues Dates:

• 120 days from period of performance end date for the competitive segment

The RPPR requests various types of information, including:

Accomplishments

• What were the major goals and objectives of the project?
• What was accomplished under these goals?
• What opportunities for training and professional development did the project provide?
• How were the results disseminated to communities of interest?
• What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals and objectives?
• publications, conference papers, and presentations
• website(s) or other Internet site(s)
• technologies or techniques
• inventions, patent applications, and/or licenses
• other products, such as data or databases, physical collections, audio or video products, software, models, educational aids or curricula, instruments or equipment, research material, interventions (e.g., clinical or educational), or new business creation.

Participants and Other Collaborating Organizations

Changes/Problems (not required for Final or Interim RPPR)

• Changes in approach and reasons for change
• Actual or anticipated problems or delays and actions or plans to resolve them
• Changes that have a significant impact on expenditures
• Significant changes in use or care of human subjects, vertebrate animals, biohazards, and/or select agents

Budgetary Information (not required for Final or Interim RPPR)

Project Outcomes (only required on Final and Interim RPPR)

• Concise summary of the outcomes or findings of the award, written for the general public in  clear and comprehensible language, without including any proprietary, confidential information or trade secrets

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Research Progress Report

Report generator.

Progress reports . You heard of them, you may even think they are useful or useless. You may also think that as a student, you don’t have to write them. However, this is not always the case. A research progress report is nothing short as one of the necessary reports you need to make. When it comes to writing reports, a lot of students may feel the need to complain due to the fact that writing reports can be boring or simply a waste of time. What they don’t know is that giving a report is useful for their professors, especially when it is used as a way to know the progress of their performance, school projects, or research activities. So take a good look at these examples to help you out with your research progress report.

10+ Research Progress Report Examples

1. research progress report template.

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2. Summer Stipend Research Progress Report

Size: 31 KB

3. Biomedical Research Progress Report

Size: 150 KB

4. Research Performance Progress Report

Size: 76 KB

5. Weekly Research Progress Report

Size: 103 KB

6. Printable Research Progress Report

Size: 681 KB

7. Research Fellow Progress Report

8. Human Research Progress Report

Size: 117 KB

9. Editable Research Progress Report

Size: 113 KB

10. Candidate Research Progress Report

Size: 290 KB

11. Annual Research Progress Report

What Is a Research Progress Report?

The progress of your research . Whether that progress will be a lot or not as much. The report consists of the detailed progress you give to your superior or for students’ cases to their professors on how their research assignment or research project is going. In addition to that, a research progress report not only consists of the exact progress, but it also consists of what you have been doing, how the research is going, and of course the information you are going to be giving or the evidence whether positive or negative. Everything is written there. A research progress report is a document that clearly states what it is supposed to state.

How to Write a Research Progress Report?

To write a research progress report , there are a lot of ways to do so. Regardless of how you plan it out, draft it out and finalize it, there are still some things you have to think about when you want to proceed. Here are some tips that will get you started with your research progress report.

1. Write the Title of Your Report

The title of your report should at least be about what your research is about. It does not have to be something too fancy that the whole point of the report is lost or too obvious that would make the report redundant.

2. State the Achievements That Have Been Done

Any achievement that has been done or recorded should be written down, no matter how minuscule or large these achievements are. Progress is progress and it should also be recorded.

3. State the Name of the Researchers

The researchers names should also at least be a part of the report, especially if it is a group research. It is always best to add the names of the people involved in helping you with the progress of your report or the progress of your research. Give them some credit.

4. Give the Expected Publication for the Research

There are some who may be asking for the expected publication of your research . If this were the case, at least give the expected date of the research; however, as for the report, when you are done writing it, you should immediately check if you have everything written for it to be presentable.

5. Add the Statistics and Evidence to Support Your Report

The statistics and evidence to support your report should also be present. The reason for having to add evidence for a progress report is to show your professors or your superiors enough to compare the previous progress reports to the current report, regardless if there is any progress or the lack of it.

What is a research progress report?

A research progress report is a document that summarizes the progress of a research made by students. In order for their professors to know the exact ongoing of their research, the students are tasked to write about what is going on with their report and how far are they to achieving it.

Are there other ways to write a research progress report?

There are other ways, but the most common is writing it in an essay form. Of course, you can also fill out a form that states a research progress report form. But it is usual to present it in paragraph form in order for your professors to see the details of the statistics given.

Is a research progress report short or long?

A general research progress report is expected to be a page long. However, this would depend on how much progress you have made throughout your research and how much reports you have done in order to compare from your previous ones.

We are taught to write progress reports while we are still in school, so when we are out there in the real world, we are able to understand the reason and the purpose of writing these kinds of reports. A research progress report is simply just another kind of progress report that we are taught to write. It helps your teachers know where your progress is at the moment and how long are they going to expect your research project to be completed.

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FREE 11+ Research Progress Report Samples in MS Word | PDF

If you are a diligent researcher, it is integral that you are aware about the current status and performance of your research project . But how will you measure and track the condition of your work?  In this article, we have some informative guide and downloadable research progress report templates to guide you in managing and monitoring the progress of your research work. Keep on reading!

Research Progress Report

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A research progress report is a significant document that contains primary aims and objectives for research work., most particularly in project monitoring and accountability. It provides a clear overview of the project goal statement , and demonstrates the progress produced toward the specific objectives. 

Writing a research progress report can feel like you’re in the midst of a vast ocean wandering while being pushed by the waves of uncertainty, thinking if there’s any improvement in your research case study or none. Don’t worry because we give you some easy-to-follow tips  that indicate how to design a report, as well as managing different kinds of stages in writing an effective research project : 

To clearly determine whether you accomplished your research goals and objectives, go back to the preceding week if your research work plan and include some latest information or update you did there in your progress report right now. See if you fulfilled some of your goals in your last work. 

For this week, write some information concerning the status of your research statement study that you’re working on. Describe the specific goals you have achieved, the things you discovered, the struggles you overcame, the challenges that still block your pathway towards research success, new ideas or concepts for research projects, and many more.

Then, after you describe your current progress in your research work, you need to provide a short information on the upcoming week ’s plan sample . Use a bulleted list in writing down the things you achieved or did not. Try your best to be realistic as you establish goals and objectives that are direct and measurable. Plus, include longer-term goals in the list. 

Last but not the least, you should create a meeting agenda so that you will inform your research people and team whom you have chosen for specific tasks that they need to accomplish for the research project and make some necessary progress in their work. 

The format of the research report includes a sample list of main sections and  that has page numbers, tables, illustrations, reference list, and appendices. Also, it has an abstract that shows a summary of goals, methods, results, and conclusions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

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A research progress report should include the title, name of advisor, advisory committee members, specific date, abstract, etc. 

The three format types of a progress report are memo, sample letter or email, and formal report.

To create a daily progress report , you need to identify the main purpose and the nature of the daily progress report. Classify the organization or business firm’s selected type of reporting. Include some visual representations such as charts, graphs, tables, and diagrams. Keep in mind that your report should remain on topic or concept.

Therefore, writing a progress report for your research work is a valuable step in becoming productive and organized. Plus, having a complete record of your progress reports can be helpful in the future. It also allows you to take a new perspective as you look outside your research project and analyze the methods and steps you’re doing, helping you to be free and accept additional avenues to seek. Thus, here are some of our downloadable and printable report samples available in different kinds of formats. Simply click the templates in this article and start downloading now!

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A research progress report is actually what it seems like – an archive that clarifies in detail how far you’ve gone towards the fruition of a task. It plots the exercises you’ve done, the assignments you’ve finished, and the achievements you’ve arrived at versus your task plan .

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It Gets Everybody in the Same Spot

It encourages joint effort, it improves responsibility in the project, it improves venture and investment assessment and survey, it gives bits of knowledge to future arranging.

• At the point when the administrator comprehends what undertakings have been cultivated, the person can concentrate on checking progress towards the following phases of the venture.
• At the point when a report format shows that postponements have happened, the boss can research the issues that obstructed advancement and find a way to keep them from happening again later on.
• The boss will likewise have the option to change the task timetable if completely required, or train groups to twofold down.

Have you at any point wound up stuck tapping your pen or gazing at a squinting cursor, unfit to start composing?

Abstain from utilizing the detached voice where conceivable, clarify language if necessary, stick to realities, use illustrations to enhance the content, 1. presentation, 2. achievements, 3. objectives, day to day progress report, more in report templates.

A3 Research Poster Template

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Post-award actions, pre-meeting, post-meeting, manage accounts.

• Services for Applications/Recipients
• Manage Reporting Requirements

Overview of Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR)

What is the purpose.

Progress reports are required annually to document recipient accomplishments and compliance with terms of award. They describe scientific progress, identify significant changes, report on personnel, and describe plans for the subsequent budget period or year.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has mandated the use of a federal-wide research performance progress report (RPPR) by all federal awarding agencies for submission of required annual, final, and interim performance reporting on grants and cooperative agreement awards to standardize recipient reporting on federally-funded research projects.

Main Screenshots

Figure 1 : A signing official (SO) accesses an RPPR via the three-dot ellipsis menu in search results in the Status module. 

Figure 2 : The Annual RPPR form and navigation tabs

The Use of RPPR

NIH requires use of the RPPR module in eRA Commons to submit all annual progress reports, as well as Final RPPR for award closeout, and the Interim RPPR when an awarded institution applies for a competitive renewal (Type II) application.

What are the benefits of RPPR?

Here is a list of the features and benefits of RPPR:

Because RPPR is integrated with eRA Commons, much of the information is pre-populated from NIH systems for the recipient, including PD/PI information, grant number, project title and period, performance sites, and personnel (except in the first year of RPPR use for progress reports not previously submitted through eRA Commons). The PD/PI’s publications, if linked to his/her Commons account from MY NCBI (as is required for NIH), are displayed for easy association with the progress report.

• RPPR addresses NIH specific policies such as required human subjects education, inclusion enrollment reporting, use of human embryonic stem cells, etc.
• The format of the report is user friendly. Users answer questions using a checkbox, by entering text or uploading a PDF, or selecting ‘Nothing to Report.’
• A request can be made to recipients for additional information for the progress report that can be submitted via eRA Commons.
• An institute can request additional material seeking clarification on an issue from a recipient, following submission of the progress report.
• An institute can also request verification that the recipient is in compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy, which requires recipients to make available to the public any publications that arose from federally-funded grants (within 12 months of publication).
• A specific location to report award-related competitive revisions/administrative supplements.
• Automated indication of compliance with the Public Access Policy
• Other support is only required if there has been a change
• A link to the Notice of Award

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Progress Report: How to Write, Structure, and Make Project Progress Visually Attractive

Picture this: Days or weeks into a project, your supervisor asks for a progress report.

Depending on your experience with writing progress reports, you might respond with readiness, anxiety, or confusion. Where do you begin? How do you know you’ve created a satisfactory or even amazing final report? Fear not—the expert team here at Piktochart is here to help.

In this progress reporting guide, we’ll not only give you top tips on how to write a successful report but additionally provide you with progress report templates and checklists to keep you focused on the important stuff. We begin, of course, with the all-important question anyone from a newbie to even a seasoned professional might have: “What is a progress report?”

Table of contents:

What is a progress report, why is a progress report important.

• How to write a progress report
• How to structure a progress report
• Free progress report templates you can edit right away

Progress report checklist

In case you prefer watching over reading, feel free to check out the video summary of this blog post:

A progress report is exactly what it sounds like—a document using simple and straightforward language that explains in detail what has been achieved and what else is needed for project completion. Essentially this document is a status update before the final report, outlining tasks completed by a team member, project manager, or team, along with what else needs to be done.

W hether you need to provide daily progress reports or even quarterly progress reports, this asset outlines the activities you’ve carried out, the tasks you’ve completed, and the milestones you’ve reached vis-à-vis your project plan .

Depending on the scope and complexity of the project, you might need to give a progress report weekly or monthly or for every 25% project milestone.

In terms of audience, a progress report is typically written for a supervisor, colleague, or client. Progress reports can be written from the perspective of one person as well as an entire team or department.

Throughout your career, you’re likely to be creating more reports than you can count (challenge for you: count them and find how many resources you’re using!).

Perhaps you find yourself spending more time crunching data and plugging numbers into graphs than actually working.

Reports don’t have to be as time-consuming as they often are. Progress report templates are time-savers! Get your free Piktochart account so you can follow along as we share more templates below.

We also tapped into the brilliance of Kevan Lee of Buffer in this interactive content experience to help you with your progress report projects.

Dive right in here, and learn some reporting hacks from Kevan .

Sometimes it might feel like writing about your progress in detail is redundant, especially when you’ve been regularly communicating with your supervisor, teammates, and client throughout the course of the project. Like any project manager, you probably think there are more important things to work on.

But this type of professional report is actually quite useful for several reasons.

1. It gets everyone on the same page

Each person who receives a copy of the report will know what has been accomplished and what is remaining. This prevents confusion about what has been or has yet to be done. Additionally, it provides proof and data about the respective project that can be cited and sourced if and when questions arise in the future.

2. Writing progress reports facilitates collaboration

This is especially important when different teams or departments work together. Knowing what another team is prioritizing helps prevent working in silos and also reduces task redundancy. Additionally, progress reporting helps a team identify areas where it can offer help or collaborate with others.

When teams can track progress on where other teams are on the project timeline, project managers get a better idea of the current status. They can reassign resources to make sure everyone is on track to hit the deadline for the current project, which can be tricky if you’re managing remote teams .

If you’d like to learn more about how you can work together with your team on a report, sign up for a free Piktochart account and try our online report maker .

3. It improves transparency and accountability by providing a paper trail

When you submit your report, you’ve placed on record that you’ve accomplished a task or explained why your results were different than expected. Once the document has been accepted, it becomes part of the project’s official documentation.

So, just in case someone accuses you in the future of failing to accomplish a task or not reporting a problem, you can point to the progress report as proof that you did so.

On the flip side, if your project ever gets nominated for an award, you can be sure validators will come seeking documents that explain how the entire thing was accomplished.

4. It improves project evaluation and review

Next time you plan for a project, your team can examine documents, including progress reports, of previous projects to find out what was done right, what went wrong, and what can be improved.

Previous reports can shed light on systemic issues, loopholes, and other causes of delay or failure—both internal and external—that must be avoided or resolved.

5. It provides insights for future planning

When the supervisor knows what tasks have been accomplished, he or she can focus on monitoring progress toward the next stages of the project.

When a report shows that delays have occurred, the supervisor is able to investigate the problems that hindered progress and take steps to prevent them from happening again in the future.

The supervisor will also be able to adjust the project timeline if absolutely needed or instruct teams to double down.

Ultimately, all the valuable insights from the project documentation can increase the chance of success for future projects.

Here is a progress report format example:

How to write progress report s

Have you ever found yourself stuck tapping your pen or staring at a blinking cursor, unable to begin writing?

Writer’s block is not an unusual experience when creating progress reports, especially for those whose jobs typically don’t involve drafting a long document or creating a formal report.

One reason people may find it difficult to write these reports is the thought that they’re not ‘writers.’ Yet, this is simply a negative mindset.

Reports don’t require sophisticated language—in fact, the simpler, the better.

Here are some writing tips on progress reporting:

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1. Think of it as a Q&A

Before you start worrying about your reporting frequency and whether you should provide monthly reports or weekly reports, take a step back and focus on the purpose of the report itself.

In essence, the reporting process comes down to Q&A; you’re answering key questions about your progress. Imagine your manager, colleagues, or client asking you their most important questions, and you’re simply providing them with answers on the project status.

For example, let’s say that you’re organizing a weekend fair with food stalls and music and that you’re put in charge of food concessions.

The project plan might require you to have secured letters of intent (LOI) from at least 10 businesses by the end of the first month.

Your progress report would then outline the companies or entrepreneurs who have sent LOIs, including a description of their businesses and plans for their food stalls. If talks are in progress with other businesses that haven’t yet sent LOIs, you can include that and explain when they’re expected to send in their letters.

On the other hand, if you haven’t met your target, you’d have to explain why but also narrate the efforts you have exerted and the expected timeline for achieving the desired results.

2 . Use simple and straightforward language

This doesn’t mean you can’t use technical jargon.

For example, if you’re in the construction business, you don’t have to avoid using terms like “tender” or “variation” or “risk management.”

But otherwise, speak plainly. Use clear and concise language.

One misconception in business writing is that complexity impresses. In truth, it only causes confusion. Fact is, being able to speak plainly about your subject indicates that you understand your subject matter inside out.

Let’s get specific. One thing that makes business documents dreary is the transformation of verbs into nouns—just like I did there.

If we had to rephrase that to keep the verb, we’d write, “transforming verbs into nouns.” It sounds simpler and gets to the point.

3 . Avoid using the passive voice where possible

Sometimes, you can’t avoid using the passive voice in formal documents that prohibit the first-person point-of-view. But when done well, it helps to make your progress reports more relatable.

Going back to the food concession example, a passive sentence would read: “Research on potential food concessionaires was carried out.”

To make that sentence active, give it an actor (which is the team in this case), as in: “The team researched on potential food concessionaires.”

4. Be specific

A study published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience found that when you use concrete words, you tend to engage both the left and right parts of the brain, while the right region tends to remain unstimulated by abstract words.

While the jury is still out on exactly how word meanings are represented in the mind, we can agree that the phrase “a merry sound” doesn’t stir the imagination as much as “tinkling bells”.

“A hot day” doesn’t activate visual imagery as much as “a melting popsicle” does. When a reader’s mind is stimulated by words, it’s less likely to drift off.

Taking the previous example, “researched on potential food concessionaires” doesn’t evoke a visual image. Meanwhile, “built a list of 50 potential food concessionaires” is more concrete, especially when you add details of what food items might be sold.

5. Explain jargon if needed

This depends on who will be reading your progress reports, and if you’re using very specialized jargon that only members of your team would be familiar with.

For example, in a report written by a construction team addressed to the project manager , construction jargon could be used as the recipient obviously understands it.

6. Spell out acronyms when they first occur in the document

Don’t assume that every single person reading the report will understand all the acronyms you use without you spelling them out.

For instance, in construction work, SWMS should first be spelled out as “safe work method statement”. ‘Pre-starts’ should be spelled out as ‘pre-start checks’. So in your report, it would look like this: “safe work method statement (SWMS)”, then all subsequent references are free to just be SWMS.

7. Stick to facts

Avoid providing an opinion, unless it’s part of the project.

For instance, your task might be to analyze data and offer your interpretation and prediction. In that case, you can offer your speculation and point of view, as long as you have evidence to back you up.

8. Use graphics to supplement the text

Avoid writing down a long series of numbers in a sentence. Try using different types of graphs , tables or charts, especially when dealing with a series of numbers.

Here at Piktochart, we have many progress report templates, and the hiring progress report below is a great example.

When using graphs or charts, try out several types to determine which ones best present your data. You might use a bar graph , pie chart , line graph , or even scatter plot . When doing so, though, spend time distinguishing different data sets from the others by using labels and colors.

Don’t worry if this sounds daunting—there are plenty of software that can help you visualize data , including the most basic examples, MS Excel and Numbers for Mac.

How to structure progress report s

You may still be wondering about the exact process of how to write a progress report. Armed with all of these practical tips, how do you put the report together?

First, it depends on the type of report, as well as the intended reader. A progress report may be written daily, weekly, or monthly. It may be written for an individual or a team.

As you’ll see in the examples below, the main parts of a progress report are:

1. Introduction

This part provides an overview of the contents of the progress report. It’s best to write this after you’ve completed all the other parts of the report. That way, you’ll be able to provide an accurate summary.

Keep it short and simple. One or two paragraphs will do.

2. Accomplishments

Numbers and details are your friends, especially when writing this section of the progress report. The accomplishments you write should correspond to your goals.

What were your goals for the period covered by the report?

This could be a goal for the day, week, month, or quarter. On the other hand, it could be a team goal, too.

Be concrete when writing goals. For instance:

Avoid providing too much detailed information. The simpler this section is, the easier it is for stakeholders and the project team to see the project priorities.

4. Roadblocks

Explain what situations, if any, prevented you from achieving your goals, or may have hindered the project’s progress.

But don’t stop there. Be proactive and present an action plan and timeline for resolving the roadblocks. Include details, such as funds, materials, and human resources you may need to implement the solution.

Progress reporting templates you can edit right away

To guide you better, here are progress report template examples that are visually attractive and highly readable.

These templates are available if you sign up for a free Piktochart account . Once you log in, use any of the templates below and edit the elements and text to make it your own.

1. Daily progress report s

A daily progress report includes your goals for the day, as well as your accomplishments the previous day. It also explains challenges encountered in performing tasks and achieving goals.

Another section under the daily report is ‘lessons learned’. These need to be directly related to the day’s tasks and challenges, as well as to the previous day’s accomplishments.

2. Weekly progress report

Weekly progress reports provide a week-by-week breakdown of what has been accomplished and what tasks remain to be completed.

Just like a daily report, a weekly progress report may include challenges and lessons learned. Examples are included in the templates below.

To get a better idea of this, let’s go back to the events example:

• Many potential vendors were attending a week-long industry convention; couldn’t book meetings.
• Potential vendors didn’t read the entire email.

Lessons Learned

• Consider industry events when planning a timeline for contacting clients
• Introductory emails must be short and have readable formatting

3. Monthly progress report ing

A monthly report is necessary for projects with longer durations. The report may provide both monthly and quarterly data on project progress.

4. Team progress report s

Team progress reports provide information on both team and individual milestones and progress status. Now this one is more complicated, simply because it involves several people who may have worked on different tasks.

It’s not enough to just let one person make the report. Of course, one person can do the typing, but everyone must provide input and feedback.

One way to keep a record of different team members’ input is to keep track of edits they have made.

To do this, simply enable tracking of changes on a Word document, or on Pages for Mac users. When working on a collaborative tool like Google Docs , click the pencil icon on the top-right part of the window, and choose “Edits become suggestions” on the drop-down menu. Here’s what that looks like:

On the other hand, team members can insert comments or questions. Again, you can do this easily on a Word document, as well as on software that let you comment on shared documents, like Google Docs and Piktochart .

Here’s what it looks like in Piktochart (learn more about this feature in our guide to annotated comments for teams ):

Here’s one example of Piktochart’s many team project report templates .

One last thing… You’ve finally finished typing up your report—breathe a sigh of relief, but don’t hit ‘send’ just yet.

Go over it at least once (better to do it more than once, especially if it’s a team report). Re-read the article, edit the content as needed, then ask a teammate to proofread with a fresh pair of eyes.

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Cruise industry annual environmental technologies and practices data shows continued progress toward environmental sustainability goals

Press Release | September 06, 2024

(WASHINGTON, DC -- 6 September 2024) - Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the leading voice of the global cruise industry, today released its annual Global Cruise Industry Environmental Technologies and Practices Report, showing continued progress by the sector in advancing its environmental and sustainability agenda, including investments in ships and technologies for the uptake of transitional and alternative fuels.

“Cruise lines are continuing to reduce their emissions at sea and at berth in pursuit of net zero emissions by 2050,” said Kelly Craighead, president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association. “This year’s environmental technologies report demonstrates their progress, with the industry investing in engine technologies with conversion capabilities that will allow ships to use more renewable energy sources as they become available and making important incremental steps to employ a range of other environmental technologies and practices to advance the industry’s wider sustainability initiatives.”

Highlights from the industry’s 2024 Environmental Technologies and Practices Report include:

Fleet profile.

• The CLIA member ocean fleet includes 303 ships and a total capacity of 635,000 lower berths operated by 45 cruise line brands representing 90% of capacity — an increase of 3.6% and 3.34% respectively, compared to the prior year.
• 35% of ships are small ships (fewer than 1,000 lower berths)
• 38% of ships are mid-size ships (1,000 to fewer than 3,000 lower berths)
• 26% of ships are large ships (upwards of 3,000 lower berths)

Fuel Flexibility

CLIA member cruise lines are investing in new ships and engines that allow for fuel flexibility. This includes capability to use renewable biodiesel, investments in the capability to use green methanol when available, and liquified natural gas (LNG). Ships designed with engines and fuel supply systems able to operate on LNG will be able to switch to zero and near-zero fuels such as bio or synthetic LNG in the future, with no engine modifications.

• 19 ships (representing 7% of the fleet and 13% of the fleet’s global capacity) are using LNG for primary propulsion.

LNG has virtually zero sulfur emissions and particulate emissions, reduces NOx emissions by approximately 85% and achieves up to a 20% reduction in GHG emissions. Multiple reports confirm that methane slip (small amounts of escaped methane) – an acknowledged issue with LNG engines – is on a path to be nearly eradicated, with some industry stakeholders claiming that slip values of less than 1% is achievable within the next few years.

Selective Catalytic Reduction Technology (SCR)

• 71 ships, representing 25% of the fleet and more than 20% of global capacity, have SCR systems — an increase of 34% from 2023.

Selective Catalytic Reduction technology (SCR) reduces particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions, thus helping ships to meet IMO Tier III classification standards for nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx). Onshore Power Supply (OPS)—also referred to as Shoreside Electricity (SSE) Capability

Plugging in to OPS when ships are in port allows ships’ engines to be switched off, achieving significant overall pollutant emissions reductions of up to 98%, depending on the mix of energy sources, according to studies conducted by a number of the world’s ports and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Across the CLIA cruise line member fleet:

• 147 ships are able to connect to OPS (52% of the total number of ships and 61% of capacity) — 23% more than the prior year and 167% more since 2018.
• By 2028, 239 ships that are able to connect to OPS are expected to be in service (based on the number of ships scheduled to be retrofitted and new ships on the order book specified for OPS connectivity). This includes 64 ships currently in service and each of the 28 CLIA member cruise ships on the 2024- 2028 order book — all of which are specified for OPS connectivity.

CLIA champions the advancement of onshore power infrastructure as an important component in the industry's work to reduce emissions and supports continued development of cost-effective infrastructure for clean shoreside electricity in cruise ports when the net impact delivers an overall emission reduction. 

• Currently 35 of the ports worldwide where cruise ships call (fewer than 3%) have a cruise berth with OPS.
• 22 additional cruise ports are funded for OPS infrastructure and 16 cruise ports are planning to install OPS — a total of 38 ports.

In 2022, CLIA announced that its ocean cruise line members made a commitment that all ships calling at ports capable of providing OPS will be equipped to either use shore power by 2035 or be able to use alternative low-carbon technologies, as available, to reduce emissions in port.

As part of the EU’s Fit for 55 decarbonization regulations, by 2030 major ports in Europe will be required to have shoreside power, which will further accelerate port infrastructure investment in that region.

Advanced Wastewater Treatment Systems (AWTS)

The majority of CLIA member cruise ships sailing today utilize advanced wastewater treatment systems (AWTS), which are capable of exceeding MARPOL Annex IV requirements and perform better than shoreside treatment plants in some coastal cities. In addition, as part of their overarching sustainability focus, cruise lines have committed to not release untreated sewage anywhere in the world during normal operations.

• Across the CLIA cruise line member fleet, 225 ships (80% of the total, representing 84% of global passenger capacity) are equipped with AWTS (an 11% increase from 2023 and a 65% increase from 2018).
• More than one-third of the ships equipped with AWTS are capable of meeting the more stringent wastewater release standards of the Baltic Sea Special Area.

Freshwater Production

• The majority of CLIA members produce their own fresh water onboard their ships, with 267 ships (representing more than 94% of reporting ships and 96% of global capacity) able to do so — of which 172, nearly 60% of the fleet, are capable of producing enough water to match their total consumption.

Notes to Editors:

The data tables for this year’s report can be found at  Environmental Technologies and Practices CLIA Global Oceangoing Cruise Lines | CLIA (cruising.org).

All data is based on CLIA’s annual Environmental Technologies and Practices report unless otherwise specified.

For more information, please visit https://cruising.org/en/environmental-sustainability or contact us at [email protected] .

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The energy transition: Where are we, really?

Almost nine years after the landmark Paris Agreement and nearly halfway through what has been called a “decisive decade” for climate change, the world stands at a critical juncture in their transition away from fossil fuels.

About the authors

This article is a collaborative effort by Diego Hernandez Diaz , Humayun Tai , and Thomas Hundertmark , with Michiel Nivard and Nicola Zanardi, representing views from McKinsey’s Global Energy & Materials Practice.

Translating into action the ambitious climate targets that have been put in place by governments and companies depends on accelerating the deployment and adoption of several interrelated technologies. These include renewable energy sources (RES), electrification technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs), and heat pumps—as well as comparatively less mature technologies, such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), green and blue hydrogen, and sustainable fuels.

These decarbonization technologies (alongside many others, such as nuclear, long-term duration energy storage, battery energy storage systems, and energy efficiency investments) are the cornerstone of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in all McKinsey energy scenarios. The period until the end of this decade is a critical one to put in place a trajectory of accelerated adoption to meet 2030 and 2050 targets set by countries and companies.

The technology gap

The gap between what is needed and what has been achieved in the deployment of low-emissions technology is large—to date, only about 10 percent of the deployment of low-emissions technologies globally by 2050 required for net zero has been achieved, mostly in less challenging use cases. Closing the gap would require building a new, high-performing energy system to match or exceed the current one, which would entail developing and deploying new low-emissions technologies, along with entirely new supply chains and infrastructure to support them.

Given the size and complexity of today’s energy system, this is no easy task. The physical challenges that would need to be overcome to successfully transform the energy system are significant and would require concerted action to solve. McKinsey’s recent report, “The Hard Stuff: Navigating the physical realities of the energy transition,” identifies 25 physical challenges across seven domains of the energy system that would need to be addressed for the energy transition to succeed. 1 The hard stuff: Navigating the physical realities of the energy transition , McKinsey Global Institute, August 14, 2024.

Addressing these physical challenges would involve improving the performance of low-emissions technologies, addressing the interdependencies between multiple challenges, and achieving massive scale-ups, even in technologies where a strong track record has not yet been established. And, of course, this is only one side of the equation. To overcome these physical challenges, significant firm investment into low-emission technologies needs to be unlocked.

While significant progress has been made in developing and deploying some of these technologies, notably solar and wind, for which installed capacity has risen sharply over the past 15 years, a significant gap has emerged between the actual results and the expected ones. The at-scale deployment of all these technologies is still not happening as fast as needed to reach 2030 targets (see sidebar “The technology gap”). Moreover, the technologies are at risk of facing raw material and labor shortages and long permitting procedures.

We have identified three major issues that threaten the necessary deployment of capital: first, the business case—that is, the economic returns and policy predictability for developers—often remains weak; second, many technologies are increasingly but not yet cost-competitive for consumers, given the lack of at-scale manufacturing capacity or learning rate driven by deployment; and third, several technologies have not been tested at scale and need multiyear product, project, and supply chain development, thereby creating uncertainty about their effectiveness and efficiency. Ultimately, technology-focused enablers have not yet managed to address the challenges posed by macroeconomic shocks, geopolitics, and what it takes to enable tech ecosystems.

Our analysis

To shed light on the current status of the energy transition and provide a rigorous, fact-based assessment, we conducted an extensive analysis involving several steps.

Scope: We identified the key singular technologies that together account for the bulk of decarbonization potential (onshore and offshore wind, solar PV, clean hydrogen, sustainable fuels, CCUS, electric vehicles, and heat pumps). This means we excluded several other decarbonization technologies, including energy storage and battery energy storage systems (BESS) because these technologies are already in vast supply, with very healthy pipelines, and numerous players not only announcing projects but committing to them. We also excluded energy efficiency, low-carbon thermal generation, and nuclear because these are very fragmented markets with limitations due to regulation.

Data collection: We gathered comprehensive data from various sources, including proprietary and commercial project-tracking databases. This allowed us to obtain up-to-date information on the status of numerous projects across different decarbonization technologies.

Policy and historical capacity review: We reviewed existing policies, historical capacity deployments, and growth trends to understand the broader context and the trajectory of different technologies. This helped us benchmark current progress against historical data and policy targets.

Comparative analysis: We compared stated targets with expected capacity deployments, including project status and historical sales levels for customer adoption-driven technologies, such as EVs and heat pumps. This enabled us to assess the alignment between ambitious climate targets and actual progress on the ground.

Gap assessment: By examining the project status, including those that have reached FID stage, we assessed the gap between target volumes, expected volumes (based on current trends), and volumes that have already reached FID. This analysis highlighted the discrepancies between announced projects and those that are likely to materialize.

Fresh McKinsey analysis of the energy transition landscape, including the uptake of key climate and decarbonization technologies and investment decisions that follow project announcements (see sidebar “Our analysis”), suggests that corporate, public, and private equity investors are hesitating about deploying capital for the reasons described above. Invested capital is behind where it needs to be to ensure deployment targets are met. As it stands, a significant proportion of announced projects have not yet reached the final investment decision (FID) stage at which projects are greenlit, meaning that there is a continuing risk of cancellation or leakage. 1 Final investment decision (FID) is the point at which formal approval from the project developer is given to proceed, marking the commitment to allocate capital resources to the execution of the project. And projects with longer lead times (such as offshore wind) are quickly reaching the stage at which capacity that has reached FID will only come online after 2030.

Facing this hard truth, innovation and policy resets will be needed for the increasing number of country and company net-zero commitments to be achieved in practice and move projects to FID and quickly beyond to subsequent deployment.

Rigorous, fact-based assessment of real-world progress is key to ensuring that momentum is maintained, and the energy transition continues at the necessary pace. In this article—a prelude to our Global Energy Perspective 2024—we seek to provide a detailed, albeit partial, assessment of where the execution of projects stands for specific low-emissions technologies in Europe and the United States. The goal is to answer the critical question: where are we, really, in the energy transition?

While considerable progress in the energy transition has been made in many countries, this article focuses solely on Europe and the United States, both of which have set explicit 2030 targets. 2 For the analysis in this article, Europe refers to the European Union plus Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. There may some gaps in the data based on data availability. It should be noted that we are neither modeling nor forecasting future outcomes, but rather seeking to bring to light the facts as best as can be defined to assess how big the gap is and what needs to be done to close it.

Commitments and enthusiasm are up

Recent years have seen a flurry of net-zero commitments and ever-growing enthusiasm for climate action from all parts of society.

On the policy side, all 195 countries that signed the historic 2015 Paris Agreement have put forward so-called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)—climate action plans—and more than 70 countries today have net-zero targets enshrined in law or outlined as a goal in policy documents. 3 “Net Zero Tracker,” accessed June 2024; “Nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, synthesis report by the secretariat,” United Nations Climate Change, November 14, 2023; Net zero stocktake 2023, a joint report by NewClimate Institute, Oxford Net Zero, Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, and Data-Driven EnviroLab, June 2023. More than 155 countries have signed the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030. 4 “Global methane pledge,” Climate and Clean Air Coalition, accessed June 2024.

Industrial policy in many OECD economies is now anchoring climate technologies as a core pillar and substantial public funds are being earmarked for their development. In both Europe and the United States, emerging industrial policy has centered on building up a competitive cleantech value chain.

In Europe, the European Green Deal, introduced in 2019, aims to make the European Union climate-neutral by 2050, with intermediate Fit for 55 targets to reduce GHGs by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. 5 “European green deal,” Council of the European Union, June 17, 2024. In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 is the largest climate investment in US history, with total climate-related spending of almost $370 billion over ten years, with the aim of cutting emissions by 40 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels. 6 Building a clean energy economy: A guidebook to the Inflation Reduction Act’s investments in clean energy and climate action , The White House, January 2023. In addition, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has allocated billions toward modernizing the energy grid, expanding EV infrastructure, and enhancing energy efficiency across sectors. 7 “A guidebook to the bipartisan infrastructure law,” The White House, January 2024.

Together with continued cost improvement, including through innovation, these and other policy initiatives are leading to progress. Globally, between 2010 and 2023, renewable energy installation capacity grew around 20 percent per year, while the adoption of EVs surged, with a compound annual growth rate of around 80 percent (Exhibit 1). 8 Renewable energy installation includes solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, onshore wind, and offshore wind.

From the corporate side, 66 percent of Fortune 500 companies have made climate commitments (either carbon neutral, net-zero, or science-based). 9 “Commitment issues: Markers of real climate action in the Fortune Global 500,” Climate Impact Partners. Overall, more than 5,000 companies globally have joined the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)—widely considered the gold standard for voluntary climate targets—and have set approved targets compatible with a 1.5° pathway. 10 “Ambitious corporate climate action,” Science Based Targets Initiative, July 2024. Public companies in the European Union and the United States increasingly report on their sustainability impact as part of their financial disclosure requirements. 11 “Corporate sustainability reporting,” European Commission, 2023.

Such developments underscore a broader trend toward cleaner energy and reduced carbon emissions, but are now set against an increasingly complex and uncertain global energy space. Energy security, affordability, reliability, and industrial competitiveness can be challenging to achieve alongside sustainability, and investment is harder to secure. 12 “ An affordable, reliable, competitive path to net zero ,” McKinsey, November 30, 2023.

The challenge of maintaining momentum

The question remains whether the world’s much-needed commitments can be translated to action. McKinsey’s analysis of targets and announcements highlights a potential disconnect between climate ambitions and what is likely to be achieved in practice—at least at current course and speed. Regarding NDCs, for example, the United Nations acknowledges that “quality and ambition vary.” 13 “All about the NDCs,” United Nations Climate Action, accessed July 2024. Where the SBTi is concerned, many of the companies that have signed up have made commitments but have not yet articulated a clear plan to achieve them. 14 SBTI monitoring report 2023 , Science Based Targets initiative, July 2023.

In the United States alone, more than 1,000 green or blue hydrogen projects have been announced since 2015. However, fewer than 15 percent had reached FID at the time of writing, indicating a high risk for project fall-through. 15 Hydrogen Insights Project Tracker, McKinsey. This discrepancy between announced projects and projects realized following FID does not only apply to hydrogen—it is true across most critical energy transition technologies (Exhibit 2).

Indeed, decarbonization technology projects have historically had a high fall-through rate, with only a small percentage of announced projects reaching FID, and an even smaller numbers of projects actually being realized. Our analysis shows that many planned projects for key decarbonization technologies in the European Union and the United States are falling short of announced targets, some significantly so.

The extent of this shortfall varies by technology and region—renewable energy generation technologies, especially solar, are the closest to meeting short-term goals, while electrification technologies have seen periods of rapid growth but are now losing momentum. Many innovative technologies that could be crucial for decarbonizing “hard-to-electrify” sectors have ambitious project pipelines but are not yet deployed at scale. These technologies need to be deployed as electrification is only a partial answer.

Here, we look at the progress of each of these technologies and where they are falling short of targets.

Solar PV and wind: Growth may lose momentum

In the European Union and the United States, renewable energy generation technologies, such as solar PV, onshore and offshore wind, and battery energy storage systems (BESS), have experienced rapid development, driven by supportive policies and increasing private sector investment.

BESS has seen significant technological advancement over the last decade and has scaled rapidly since 2015. In the United States, legislation has supported a robust pipeline and project conversion, especially in states like California and Texas. In Europe, we expect the solar PV project pipeline will in turn attract BESS projects, especially in places like Germany and Spain where colocation is favorable. All in all, battery production capacity appears healthy, leading us to believe there is less risk of a supply gap (and therefore why we excluded BESS from this analysis).

However, our analysis of offshore wind and solar PV shows that not all renewable pipelines are on track to meet 2030 targets and short-term deceleration is threatening the existing pipeline further (Exhibit 3). System bottlenecks need to be resolved faster to ensure deployment scales at the required rate.

Solar PV has experienced significant growth in both Europe and the United States, with around 180 gigawatts (GW) and 120 GW of solar PV capacity added since 2015, respectively. 16 “Renewable capacity statistics 2023,” International Renewable Energy Agency, March 2023.

Despite this growth, Europe’s solar pipeline is not on track to meet 2030 capacity targets of 600 GW: less than 390 GW of capacity is planned to be online by end of the decade, leaving a gap of approximately 200 GW. Moreover, of the approximate 114 GW of additional solar capacity expected to come online over the next five years, less than 20 percent has reached FID. A catch-up is still possible: in contrast to wind, additional solar capacity could be delivered rapidly, within 18 months, and the pipeline between now and 2030 could increase and become firmer.

In the United States, according to our analysis, annual solar PV capacity additions will slow down after 2028, at about 220 GW of capacity (operational and FID), because of a lack of firm longer-term commitments. Of the announced capacity to come online before 2030, around 60 percent is still pending FID, putting a significant proportion of planned solar at risk. However, again, here we would acknowledge that the nature of solar installation is such that the pipelines could indeed materialize in time.

Offshore and onshore wind

In wind, power projections vary significantly by geography and technology. Wind projects typically have longer lead times, too, which can make project pipelines less secure. In Europe, the wind energy pipeline is broadly on track to meet 2030 targets, while in the United States, the pipeline appears to be less secure.

Europe currently has approximately 240 GW of onshore wind capacity in operation, with an additional 106 GW in the pipeline. If fully realized, this would exceed the target of 314 GW of onshore wind capacity. However, this pipeline is not yet committed, with only 17 GW (16 percent) of planned capacity having reached FID. The United States faces a more challenging situation, with only 39 GW of onshore wind capacity expected to come online after 2025, and just 16 GW (41 percent of the total pipeline) having secured FID.

Offshore wind development in Europe has a gap of only 18 GW remaining to meet its overall 2030 target of 176 GW. This should be achievable despite approximately 65 percent of the announced 124 GW of offshore wind capacity in the European pipeline is still pending FID.

The United States currently has about 1 GW of installed offshore wind capacity—far off its national targets, which aim for 30 GW by 2030. The 17 GW of offshore wind capacity that has been announced to come online by 2030 still only represents 60 percent of this goal—of which, 90 percent are still in the pre-FID phase.

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Electric vehicles and heat pumps: momentum has slowed when it most needs to pick up.

Of course, RES and BESS do not alone hold the answer to the energy transition. Decarbonization also involves replacing fossil fuel-powered processes with electric alternatives in areas such as transportation and residential and commercial heating. 17 To achieve true zero-carbon status, these electric alternatives must be powered by green electricity—putting even more pressure on the European Union and United States to meet their targets.

Historically, EVs and heat pumps have seen strong growth. Since the Paris Agreement, the adoption of EVs and heat pumps has surged in both the European Union and United States; however, particularly for EVs, this momentum has slowed precisely at the time when acceleration is needed, requiring action to put EVs back on track to meet targets (Exhibit 4).

Electric vehicles

For the European Union to meet its target of 30 million EVs by 2030, it would need to add almost twice as many EVs as it currently has on the road (around 11 million) over the next five years. 18 IEA Global EV Data Explorer. A similar scale-up rate is required in the United States, which is targeting 26 million EVs by 2030, but has only 5 million EVs on the road today. Even with the ground still to be made up, based on FID commitments, the momentum in Europe is stronger than that in the United States.

Despite optimistic forecasts for EV deployment, lackluster sales figures over the past two years suggest a continued US slowdown in EV growth to 2030. 19 IEA Global EV Data Explorer. A lack of charging infrastructure is one of the challenges that will still need to be overcome, to increase consumer confidence in EVs.

Heat pumps are seeing a similar mixed picture, creating a challenge to the successful decarbonization of residential heat in both regions. Heat pumps have seen continued growth since 2016 due in part to policy action such as the EU Green Deal, which targets a 55 percent reduction in natural gas imports by 2030, and financial incentives in the United States to lower the upfront costs of heat pump installation. 20 “European green deal,” Council of the European Union, June 17, 2024; “Inflation reduction act overview,” US Environmental Protection Agency, January 2023.

While European heat pump sales are still on a positive trajectory, the high cost of capital, among other factors, may impact this progress. In the United States, heat pump sales declined in 2023, and, if this trend continues, the United States could see a marked slowdown in heat pump additions before 2030. 21 “AHRI releases December 2023 US heating and cooling equipment shipment data,” AHRI, February 9, 2024.

CCUS, hydrogen, and sustainable fuels: Interdependencies put progress at risk

Some sectors are, by their nature, hard to decarbonize. Their successful decarbonization relies on the deployment of electrification technologies, combined with renewable technologies and newer technologies, such as CCUS and hydrogen.

For the most part, these technologies remain largely untested at scale and have the lowest levels of FID among all decarbonization levers. Project delays or cancellations here could hinder the development of sustainable fuels and other critical components of the energy transition, with knock-on effects for energy transition targets. Further, the challenge with some of these value chains is that they require the development not just of a singular technology (for example, capture trains) but an entire value chain that coincides with the deployment of projects—further complicating the issue.

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage

CCUS has emerged as a key decarbonization lever across Europe and the United States. Project pipelines are full and ambitious, with around 60 times and nine times the amount of current CCUS capacity in Europe and the United States to be available, respectively, over the next six years. However, while announced capacity is high, the vast majority of projects are still lacking FID and hence are at high risk of not materializing (Exhibit 5). Regulatory approvals can also be lengthy. Approximately 15 percent of the announced projects are in more conventional segments (for example, gas processing) while the rest is in new(er) segments, such as cement and hydrogen.

Clean hydrogen has also attracted significant attention as a critical energy source, with both Europe and the United States setting ambitious targets for clean hydrogen production. 22 Clean hydrogen includes both green hydrogen (hydrogen produced from the electrolysis of water using renewable energy sources) and blue hydrogen (produced using steam methane reforming or gasification with CCUS). The European Union aims for 20 megatons (Mt) of clean hydrogen supply by 2030, with 10 Mt produced domestically and 10 Mt imported. 23 “Hydrogen,” European Commission. The United States is targeting 10 Mt of clean hydrogen production by the same year.

The data suggest that there is a long way to go in both regions. To meet 2030 targets, clean hydrogen production needs to increase approximately 25-fold in Europe and 20-fold in the United States over the next five years. Current project pipelines are projected to meet about 90 percent of European and 70 percent of US targets, but only around 11 percent of Europe’s and 15 percent of US announced project pipelines have reached FID. And, while Europe’s clean hydrogen project pipeline anticipates steady capacity addition until 2030, the US project pipeline already shows a sharp decline after 2028 (Exhibit 6).

Sustainable fuels

Biobased sustainable fuels are also uncertain, largely due to the unsettled hydrogen project pipeline, given hydrogen’s role as a critical input for sustainable fuels production. This may slow the impetus for sustainable fuels following policy developments, including ReFuelEU and the US sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) “Grand Challenge.” 24 Grand Challenge refers to the combined work of US DOE, DOT, USDA, and other federal government agencies working to scale up the Sustainable Aviation Fuel value chain.

The current European and US announced pipelines include around 21 million tons per annum (mtpa) and 33 mtpa of sustainable fuel capacity, respectively, with the vast majority of this being in hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO) and hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA). 25 HVO/HEFA, advanced middle distillate and methanol. Although the production of HVO and HEFA is largely on track, achieving these goals would entail more than quadrupling current European SAF production and tripling that of the United States over the next five years.

The SAF project pipeline—while ambitious—is largely not yet firm, with only around 25 percent and 30 percent of capacity until 2030 having achieved FID in Europe and the United States, respectively.

Factors affecting market performance

Further reading.

In the coming weeks, McKinsey will publish its annual Global Energy Perspective, outlining various projected scenarios for the energy transition in the years to 2050, alongside the new Global Materials Perspective 2024.

For further reading on the energy transition and what it will take to overcome bottlenecks and challenges, see:

What would it take to scale critical climate technologies?

The hard stuff: Navigating the physical realities of the energy transition

A radical approach to cost reduction at climate tech companies

The evolving policy environment has done much to accelerate the energy transition up till now, but more will be needed to help achieve key climate goals as existing policies may be too narrow and not long-dated enough. And, policy alone may not be enough to overcome the converging factors now affecting progress. Many of these factors and potential solutions have been discussed in previous McKinsey articles (see sidebar “Further reading”).

In brief, they include the following factors.

Challenging macroeconomic environment: Economic uncertainties and fluctuating investment climates impact both the financing and prioritization of green projects. Even with initiatives like the IRA in the United States, rising inflation and interest rates have made capital expenditure-intensive projects even more expensive, likely contributing to project cancellations and continued lack of FID due to the changing financial environment.

Technology and business case maturity: CCUS, clean hydrogen, and some sustainable fuels are fundamental to the decarbonization pathways of many geographies and corporations alike, yet many new technologies have not yet been tested at scale, creating uncertainty about their effectiveness and reliability—and making them less attractive to investors.

Lack of reference projects: In contrast to “incumbent” energy technologies such as refining or upstream oil and gas, many of the emerging technology business cases lack reference cases to show investors that industry-leading companies are actually underwriting the projects. Moving forward requires pioneering thinking given the uncertainties and investor pressures on returns.

Long permitting procedures: Reported lengthy and complex permitting processes are delaying the approval and deployment of new projects. Across technologies, we have observed a high percentage of projects stuck in permitting phases, which is not helped by the heterogeneous nature of permitting processes across geographies.

Specialized labor shortages: A lack of skilled workers in green technologies is slowing the installation and maintenance of new systems across different supply chain stages, geographies, and technology maturity levels. For newer technologies such as sustainable fuels, there is a shortage of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors with the experience needed to develop the technology. More mature technologies such as heat pumps, grids, and solar do not have enough downstream installers to keep up with installation demand.

Raw material shortages: The supply chains for critical components such as batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines are affected by raw materials’ availability. The production of lithium-ion batteries, essential for EVs and BESS, is particularly vulnerable due to high demand for lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Potential shortages not only drive up costs but also cause delays in manufacturing, potentially stalling the expansion of EVs and BESS. Similarly, the supply chain of rare earth elements such as neodymium and dysprosium, crucial for wind turbine magnets, is critical for the growth of wind energy projects.

Geopolitical uncertainty: Strained supply chains and limited availability of critical technologies and raw materials are affected by factors such as international supply chain tensions and trade disruptions. This is especially relevant for technologies where raw materials or production capacity are heavily concentrated in one specific region.

Accelerating action to meet climate goals

Make no mistake—a lot of progress has been made since the 2015 Paris Agreement. New policy initiatives combined with progressive corporate attitudes (spurred on by ever-increasing public pressure) mean the world is moving in the right direction where climate action is concerned.

At the current pace, however, Europe and the United States risk missing important 2030 climate targets across critical technologies. The interdependent nature of these technologies means that delays could have cascading effects, hindering the development and successful deployment of subsequent innovations and putting 2050 net-zero goals at risk.

Nevertheless, there is still a window of opportunity for governments and companies to deliver the growth needed to meet net-zero ambitions. To do so, reevaluating existing strategies in the light of changing global conditions may be necessary. Many current decarbonization strategies assumed a different economic and policy landscape than the one that exists today.

With this clear view of current progress in hand, now is the time for stakeholders across the energy value chain to revisit decarbonization plans and assess if these plans are still sufficient to achieve their climate goals.

Companies will need to adjust portfolio focus, given the rapid evolution of policies and government targets. Those with more experience in specific technologies could hold a significant advantage. But, they will also need to avoid getting too far ahead in regions and markets with low pipeline firmness or small pipelines.

Relevant government stakeholders could prioritize project- and market-enabling policies to improve project economics and to drive demand from the market for new products and solutions. For the former, options include financing schemes (for example, tax credits such as the 45Q in the United States). For the latter, policymakers may want to consider carbon pricing, product mandates, or other demand drivers.

After revising their portfolio strategy, stakeholders could actively derisk critical developments integral to the company’s strategy, for instance, by:

• Forming partnerships: industrial OEMs and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) players face the challenge of delivering increasingly complex technologies at lower costs. Forming industrial partnerships could provide better visibility into product development and help maintain a network of trusted EPCs and partners.
• Engaging actively: with policies and subsidies becoming more complex, stakeholders could actively engage in discussions and highlight the challenges, bottlenecks, and enablers that are needed to advance the net-zero transition. This engagement could help ensure that policies provide strong signals for investors and enable positive returns.
• Addressing offtakes and infrastructure needs: given that the possible reduced availability of specific technologies may affect the demand/supply balance, stakeholders could proactively seek offtake agreements, understand green premiums, and address infrastructure needs.
• Staying on top of developments: as the changing market landscape impacts the attractiveness of merchant strategies, stakeholders can adjust these strategies based on the latest market intelligence and sector developments.

By revising their portfolio strategies and actively derisking critical developments, stakeholders may be better able to navigate the uncertainties of the evolving market landscape, ensuring sustained growth to reach their climate goals.

Diego Hernandez Diaz is a partner in McKinsey’s Geneva office; Humayun Tai is a senior partner in the New York office; Thomas Hundertmark is a senior partner in the Houston office; Michiel Nivard is a consultant in the Amsterdam office; and Nicola Zanardi is an alumnus of the Munich office.

The authors wish to thank Corina Ai-Hua Lo, Eva Mühlebach, Marco Barbaro, Patrícia Ovídio, Sophie FitzGerald, and Tobias Esswein for their contributions to this articl.

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