International collaboration continues to power innovation in energy technologies

As a result of pressing energy security needs and budgetary restraints, the kind of international collaboration led by the TCPs has a crucial role to play. While the possibilities for sharing information and connecting internationally have expanded since the early days of the TCPs, the role of the TCPs in promoting peer-to-peer exchange remains just as important. Several of the TCPs organise summer schools and training workshops to help exchange knowledge and connect people. For example, the TCP focused on carbon capture and storage research, IEAGHG, co-organises meetings of the Network of National Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Centres of Excellence in the Global South, which is designed to foster collaboration and capacity-building on this topic across emerging and developing economies.

Some outputs of the TCPs have direct use for other researchers and industry representatives. For example, the Energy Technology Systems Analysis Programme (ETSAP) TCP - which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year - supports national governments, research institutions and industry stakeholders by creating energy modelling frameworks that support analysis. The TIMES (The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) model generator, its flagship modelling platform, takes data on energy services, existing stocks, new technology options, resource availability and policy settings to identify the lowest-cost pathways for meeting projected energy demand under defined constraints over long-term time horizons. This can help determine optimal technology investments and operations. TIMES is now used in more than 50 countries worldwide.

The TCPs also act as a direct bridge to the policy community. For instance, the Behavioural Insights Toolkit developed by the User-Centred Energy Systems (Users) TCP provided inspiration for a toolkit used by the European Commission's new Energy Behaviour Forum, which looks to support local and regional authorities in promoting energy efficiency practices. Similarly, the Ocean Energy Systems TCP 's Evaluation and Guidance Framework for ocean energy projects is being applied in different funding processes worldwide, including by Wave Energy Scotland, the European Commission and the US Department of Energy. Many of the TCPs also work to increase public knowledge about energy research on key topics, with outputs such as the Bioenergy TCP's series of factsheets.

Some of the TCPs also directly undertake laboratory research, development and demonstration (RD&D). For example, there are eight TCPs dedicated to different aspects of fusion power research. In a sector where there are many technical challenges to be resolved, and progressing to the project stage is both complex and costly, international collaboration and knowledge sharing has an essential role to play. The Spherical Tori TCP, for instance, supports both public and private research facilities and design programmes for future ST fusion pilot plants, as well as the various interactions and collaborations between them. The projects being followed by the TCP saw several milestone developments in 2025, such as the SMART Tokamak in Seville, Spain, producing its first plasma.