California is a battery research juggernaut. Why can’t it manufacture them too?

California is a leader in battery innovation, research, and talent development. To build a resilient clean energy transition and capture the full economic benefits of this growing industry, the state also needs a diverse, domestic battery supply chain that spans the entire value chain—including manufacturing. Yet despite its leadership in innovation, California continues to lose large-scale manufacturing investment to other regions and states.

A new employer assessment brief from New Energy Nexus California reveals why the State struggles to attract battery manufacturers compared to other states and what the state can do to compete. The findings are clear: structural barriers hold back companies willing to invest and scale production locally.

Why California falls behind

Manufacturing siting decisions depend on speed, certainty, and cost. California scores high on talent and innovation but falls short on:

• Power infrastructure – Multi-year utility delays for bringing power to industrial sites
• Permitting – Complex, uncertain, and fragmented approval processes
• Incentives – Lacks coordinated attraction packages that other regions, such as those located along the Battery Belt, offer.
• Supply chain – Limited U.S. capacity to produce and process critical minerals at scale.

When regions compete for manufacturers, speed makes all the difference. Companies compare regions primarily on how quickly they can start operating. Speed and certainty outweigh small cost differences.

Introducing BAHRMI

The Bay Area High Road Manufacturing Initiative (BAHRMI) is leading the effort to transform how manufacturing investments and workforce resources are deployed across the region. BAHRMI unites industry, labor, and community partners to build an inclusive, competitive, and sustainable advanced energy manufacturing economy for the Bay Area.

BAHRMI is actively developing pilot projects in Contra Costa County to cultivate high-road battery manufacturing, engaging employers, labor unions, workforce development partners, government, and community stakeholders to design a high-road battery innovation hub  that creates quality jobs and builds community wealth.

The opportunity: What employers need

The assessment identifies eight recommendations that could reduce uncertainty, lower costs, and speed timelines for manufacturers. These align directly with BAHRMI’s high-road approach.

• Pre-permitted sites – Manufacturing-ready campuses with pre-negotiated permits and single-point-of-contact approvals
• Shared infrastructure – Facilities with shared waste, water, hazardous materials processing, and pilot-scale manufacturing capacity
• Targeted incentives – Upfront incentives, lower electricity rates, workforce development stimulus, and recycling mandates
• Government procurement – Long-term contracts that create reliable markets for domestically manufactured products
• Workforce development – Coordinated pathways through community colleges, apprenticeships, and on-the-job learning
• Strategic positioning – Focus on early-stage prototyping and commercialization, building on Bay Area R&D strengths
• Community and environmental stewardship – Balance community engagement, environmental protection, and industrial innovation.

The bottom line

California has the talent, innovation, and market demand. What it lacks is the coordinated strategy to turn these assets into manufacturing growth. By investing in pre-permitted sites, shared infrastructure, targeted incentives, and a skilled workforce guided by high-road principles, the Bay Area can become a hub for advanced battery manufacturing that creates good jobs, strengthens regional competitiveness, and supports long-term economic and energy affordability goals.

Download the full employer assessment brief for detailed findings and recommendations.

The employer assessment brief was prepared by Areana Flores of New Energy Nexus. Financial support for convening participants and preparing this report was made possible by the Bay Area High Road Manufacturing Initiative, through a grant from California Jobs First.

Get involved

For updates related to this report, follow BAHRMI’s LinkedIn here.
For questions, reach out to Areana Flores at areana.flores@newenergynexus.com 

Written by Jennifer Wang, Director of Financial Innovation at New Energy Nexus

Anyone who lives in or has visited Jakarta will have seen the motorcycles: slipping between cars, gathering at intersections, carrying passengers, food orders, parcels, tools, and stock for small businesses. They are often treated as part of the traffic problem, but in Indonesia they are the backbone of the transportation system. With around 139 million two-wheel vehicles on the road, Indonesia’s motorcycle market is the third largest in the world, but less than 1% of those are electric.

This is why the energy crisis is hitting Indonesians hard.

State-owned energy company Pertamina raised the price of its flagship Pertamax gasoline by more than 30 percent in June, from Rp12,300 to Rp16,250 a litre. This is causing consumers to take a hit to their personal income, or else switch to the lower grade government-subsidized Pertalite fuel, which some fear could cause long-term damage to their vehicles. Long queues have already been observed at many gas stations across the country, and there is no telling how long the government will be able to continue to shoulder the growing cost of subsidizing Pertalite, despite assurances from the energy minister.

The solution seems obvious: reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.

In fact, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has framed reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels as a strategic national priority and the country already has ambitious targets for EVs. But accelerating EV adoption, especially two-wheelers, will require a multipronged approach that includes policy and financial solutions.

For drivers, couriers, and low-to-middle income households, multiple barriers are holding back the switch to electric motorcycles. Government incentives have been inconsistent, with the 2023 purchase subsidy introduced and then withdrawn less than two years later. And consumers remain hesitant, wary of a technology that hasn’t yet earned their trust or proven its resale value.

Beyond that, the EV landscape is fragmented, dominated by over 65 young local brands rather than the household names like Honda and Yamaha that anchor the internal combustion engine (ICE) market. Upfront costs are higher than traditional ICE vehicles, with little affordable financing to bridge the gap, and the charging, swapping, and repair infrastructure that ICE riders take for granted is nascent and uneven for EVs — growing, but nowhere near the density or reliability riders need.

Adoption is lagging

Electric motorcycles are already cheaper to operate: according to think tank RMI, the total cost of ownership of an electric motorcycle is at least 34% lower than an equivalent ICE vehicle, freeing up income for food, school, utilities, and other household needs.

Yet adoption remains far below its potential, with electric motorcycles accounting for fewer than 230,000 units, or less than 1% of the total fleet. Annual electric motorcycle sales reached only around 55,000 units in 2025, less than 1% of new motorcycle sales.

The gap between ambition and reality is also striking. The previous administration set a target of 13 million electric motorcycles on Indonesian roads by 2030, but even optimistic industry projections put annual electric motorcycle sales at around 1.9 million by 2030.

Electric motorcycles, despite representing arguably the strongest energy security opportunity, have received comparatively less policy attention. Responsibility for the EV transition is split across the energy, industry, finance, and transport ministries, and coordination among them has remained weak, with no single institution effectively driving it. Indeed, much of Indonesia’s recent EV momentum has centered upstream, on nickel mining and processing – of which Indonesia is the producer for the world – and battery materials.

Financial barriers to adoption

Policy, however, only gets us so far. The biggest barrier for consumers is the high upfront cost. Electric motorcycles remain approximately Rp5-6 million (US$280 to US$336) more expensive than comparable conventional motorcycles and financing is one of the most significant obstacles to wider adoption.

While around 80-90% of conventional motorcycle purchases in Indonesia are financed according to our own stakeholder interviews, only a small fraction of electric motorcycle buyers currently access the formal lending market. Where loans are available, the terms are often less favorable than those offered for conventional motorcycles.

Furthermore, as households come under financial pressure, consumers often delay major purchases, including vehicles. This creates an important challenge for the EV transition. Even if electric vehicles offer lower operating costs over the long term, their upfront cost can remain out of reach for many households, particularly when there is not a robust secondary market that could give consumers comfort that they can quickly sell their vehicle for cash if financial pressures mount. This reality highlights why affordability matters just as much as technology.

These conditions reflect legitimate concerns among lenders, too. Electric motorcycles are still a relatively new asset class, with limited data on battery performance, resale value, and long-term reliability.

The same concern that consumers have about being able to liquidate their vehicles in a pinch also affects lenders and the residual value they would receive for the vehicle if it had to be repossessed. The fragmented EV landscape and less developed after-sales market also increase the risk that a borrower would be unable to make payments on the loan if a faulty vehicle prevents the driver from utilizing it for their livelihood. The result is that financing often becomes inaccessible for the very consumers who stand to benefit most from lower operating costs, particularly ride-hailing drivers, delivery workers, and low-to-middle income households.

The solutions that need scaling

Several Indonesian companies are experimenting with financing models designed specifically for the realities of the country’s motorcycle market.

One example is Indonesian EV startup’s Cocoride platform, which combines battery-swapping infrastructure with rent-to-own financing and provides drivers with access to electric motorcycles without many of the barriers associated with conventional vehicle loans. Through daily repayment structures, remote monitoring technology, and rapid vehicle redeployment, the model is designed around the realities of Indonesia’s informal and platform-based workforce. Along with Cocoride, there are a handful of other innovative financing structures being deployed (Electrum, Aizen, and Blitz Electric Mobility are just a few) that help these livelihood drivers access the significant benefits of driving and owning an electric motorcycle.

What these innovations have in common is an understanding that the challenge is not simply selling electric motorcycles. It is designing financial products and support systems that match how Indonesians actually earn, spend, and use transportation assets.

This is also where new policy and financing solutions can play an important role. Across emerging markets, governments, financiers, and development institutions are increasingly exploring tools such as guarantee facilities, blended finance structures, and risk-sharing mechanisms that can reduce lender exposure and unlock private capital for electric mobility. Policy interventions are being designed to support this mobilization, as well as to align with countries’ domestic manufacturing and industrial policy goals.

The opportunity

The clean energy transition that protects Indonesia from the next geopolitical oil shock also builds a domestic industry, creates jobs in manufacturing and battery production, and lowers the cost of mobility for the millions of Indonesians whose livelihoods depend on two wheels.

To accelerate adoption, Indonesia will need coordinated solutions that reduce the initial financial burden on consumers and help get more electric motorcycles on the road to create a secondary market. New Energy Nexus and UC Davis’ Global South Center for Clean Transportation are exploring possible policy and financing solutions, such as fiscal and non-fiscal policy, blended finance schemes, consumer and lender education, and mobility-as-a-service schemes.

This moment of crisis creates an opening to supercharge a mass transition to EVs.

Not only will a transition to electric two-wheelers support Indonesia’s emissions reduction targets, it will also offer  financial stability for the millions of Indonesians who rely on their motorcycles to support their livelihoods.

Battery demand is projected to grow by 33% by 2030, putting increasing pressure on global supply chains to keep pace. But building more batteries takes more than critical minerals and manufacturing capacity. It also depends on entrepreneurs developing the technologies that strengthen every stage of the value chain: from refining and cell manufacturing to charging, storage, and recycling.

That innovation was on display at the second Supercharge Australia Incubator Pitch Day, where nine startups showcased their solutions to investors, policymakers, and industry leaders driving the country’s battery future. The virtual event drew more than 230 registrations, marking the culmination of eleven weeks of tailored support from EnergyLab and New Energy Nexus.

The founders presented innovations spanning cleaner lithium refining, safer battery components, Australian-made cells and packs, thermal energy recovery, universal and bidirectional charging infrastructure, consumer energy participation, and second-life battery diagnostics. Meet the startups below:

Here are the participating startups and their lithium battery value chain focus

• Ixium Technologies: Cleaner, cheaper, modular lithium carbonate refining
• IonMatrix Energy: Thermally stable separator membranes for safer cells
• Cosmos Infinity: Next-generation solid-state lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells engineered for hot climates, made in Australia
• RENOZ Energy: Australian-made battery systems with fleet-scale intelligence
• HASAKI Research and Technology Centre: Thermoelectric waste heat recovery extending electric vehicle (EV) range
• Mercier Designs: The eCube universal exchangeable battery ecosystem
• DELECTRO: DELOCA and the Hearth – a low-carbon participatory lifestyle platform encouraging greater use of midday solar
• V3G: Retrofittable bidirectional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging at half the cost
• DYNOVY: Fast health grading of used EV batteries for reuse and recycling

The Incubator’s conclusion extends Supercharge Australia’s track record: five programs delivered, 50 companies supported, and over $150 million raised or granted by program alumni since participation. The Incubator provides mentorship, expert advice, pilot opportunities, early customer connections, investor engagement, and international exposure, helping these teams build the foundations of Australia’s battery future.

All of this is possible through our funders: Stephen Pfeiffer, Freddy Sharpe, and the Dusseldorp Forum [CONFIRM each funder is OK to be publicly acknowledged before publishing], and all of the speakers who lent their expertise throughout the program.

Registrations are now open for the Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge #4: an 8-week sprint across the lithium battery value chain with a special focus on the Southeast Asian opportunity, including an overseas trip and introductions. Southeast Asia is on track to be home to 800 million people by 2050, all seeking the energy access and living standards that batteries and clean electrons can deliver. Applications close 6 September.

Meeting growing demand

Lithium is back. After a prolonged downturn, spodumene prices rose sharply at the start of 2026, with Fastmarkets’ benchmark assessment climbing from around US$1,560-1,590 per tonne at the start of January to US$2,190-2,260 per tonne within a fortnight, and Australian producers now weighing restarts of mothballed operations.

The demand story has also broadened well beyond EVs: Fastmarkets’ research team has raised its global energy storage system shipment forecast for 2026 by more than 60%, to 750 GWh (gigawatt hours), underpinned by artificial intelligence data center construction and the global energy transition.

Each startup in the Incubator cohort is developing a critical piece of the emerging ecosystem, and the kinds of investment opportunities the sector is seeking. While early traction across the cohort was strong—from validated prototypes and filed patents to Clean Energy Council (CEC) certification and deployed megawatt hours—the startups all face the same uphill challenge: securing the capital, facilities, and support to move from validated concepts to scalable commercial impact. The Incubator addresses this gap by de-risking early innovation, reducing barriers to commercialisation, and helping Australia retain its battery intellectual property onshore.

Backing Australia’s battery future

Our goal to shore up Australia’s lithium battery value chain does not stop here. Through Supercharge Australia, New Energy Nexus and EnergyLab are calling for greater early-stage support: non-dilutive seed funding, better access to testing and certification facilities, stronger pilot opportunities, and closer connections between founders, investors, industry, and government.

One of our initiatives reflecting these is AusTestBed, launched by New Energy Nexus and EnergyLab with seed funding from Boundless. Inspired by California’s successful CalTestBed model, the pilot gives Supercharge Australia alumni access to independent testing at Australian research facilities, helping startups generate the validation needed to attract customers and investment. Learn more about the program here.

Australia has the ingredients to lead the global battery economy. By continuing to back founders with the right infrastructure, partnerships, and pathways to market, the country can ensure more battery technologies are built, tested, and scaled at home—strengthening both its clean energy transition and its long-term industrial competitiveness.

To join Supercharge Australia as a startup, supporter, mentor, or industry partner, get in touch.

Stefan Gsänger, Secretary General of the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), speaks at the 2026 Offshore Wind Conference.

At the 2026 Offshore Wind Conference held in Shanghai Hongqiao, New Energy Nexus (NEX) China had an open and insightful conversation with Stefan Gsänger, Secretary General of the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).

As one of the most experienced global advocates in the wind energy sector, Stefan has worked in the energy transition field for more than 25 years. He has been actively engaged across Europe, Asia, Central Asia, and Africa, promoting international collaboration, community energy development, and the vision of 100% renewable energy. During the nearly two-hour discussion, we went beyond wind power technologies and explored the evolving global energy landscape, China’s changing role, and future directions for international cooperation.

Competing on systems, not technologies

In Stefan’s view, the global energy transition has entered a new phase. In the past, the focus was on who possessed more advanced technologies; today, a more important question is who can build comprehensive energy system capabilities.

This shift is particularly evident in China. Over the past decade, China has grown from a follower in clean energy technologies into one of the world’s most important players. Across wind power, solar PV, energy storage, and electric vehicles, China has not only built a complete supply chain but has also rapidly accumulated experience in market deployment.

However, Stefan believes China’s future role should not stop at being a technology supplier. Chinese companies need to gradually shift from an export-oriented mindset to a global partner mindset. This means exporting not only equipment, but also system integration capabilities, business models, project experience, and the practical wisdom accumulated throughout the energy transition.

China, a living laboratory

One idea resonated strongly throughout the discussion: China is not only a global manufacturing hub for clean energy technologies, but also a vast living laboratory.

A large market, abundant data, and rapid industrial iteration are constantly validating new energy solutions.

From electric vehicles and zero-carbon industrial parks to renewable energy integration and new power systems, many innovations are being deployed first in China.

These experiences are gradually becoming an important form of China’s soft power in the global energy transition. For emerging economies that are still building out their energy infrastructure, they offer valuable lessons.

Stefan pointed out that, unlike Europe, where energy systems are primarily being replaced, many countries in Asia and Africa have the opportunity to build new energy systems from the ground up. Under such circumstances, China’s experience becomes even more transferable.

More than a technical issue

Stefan repeatedly emphasized that the energy transition is fundamentally a social transformation.

Across Europe, more community energy projects are emerging. In some cases, wind farms have been converted from traditional development models into cooperatives, allowing local residents to participate in investment, decision-making, and benefit sharing.

This not only improves public acceptance but also ensures that ordinary people benefit directly from the transition. Similar explorations are now taking place in China. More and more rural renewable energy projects are enabling local residents and village collectives to become participants and beneficiaries rather than bystanders.

During the conversation, we also shared NEX China’s casebook Small Money, Big Change, which features innovative renewable energy financing models in rural China. One example from Dalad Banner in Inner Mongolia particularly caught Stefan’s attention: local villagers and herders invested in a distributed wind power project and gradually transformed from traditional energy consumers into beneficiaries of renewable energy revenues. Stefan expressed a strong interest in these cases and hoped to read the full casebook.

In his view, these community-rooted practices that balance economic development with the energy transition carry value not only for China but also for many other countries.

Perhaps more than grand narratives, these real stories from villages, communities, and the lives of ordinary people can serve as a window through which the world better understands China’s energy transition.

Where the opportunities are

Despite a complex international environment, Stefan remains optimistic. He believes that the most promising opportunities in the future may not emerge in mature markets, but rather through new forms of collaboration among emerging markets.

Central Asia is a prime example.

Countries such as Kazakhstan possess abundant wind resources and vast land areas, yet they still require support in financing mechanisms, industrial ecosystems, and international resource mobilization.

Stefan expressed a strong interest in exploring future collaboration pathways between WWEA and NEX China.

This also points to a ‘golden triangle’ model worth exploring over the long term: a new cooperation network that brings together European industry organizations and ecosystem enablers, China’s mature technologies and solutions, and the practical needs of emerging markets.

In this model, Europe contributes international networks and industry expertise, China provides market-proven technologies and system solutions, and emerging markets become new spaces for innovation and green industrial development. China is no longer merely an equipment exporter, nor is Europe solely a rule-maker; together, they can become enablers of the energy transition in emerging economies.

Across Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and the broader Global South, this cross-regional collaboration has the potential to create jobs, cultivate local green industries, and promote a more inclusive and sustainable development model. In many ways, this represents the next stage of global energy cooperation: a shift from one-way export to co-creation.

Wind Farm in Guangling County, Shanxi.

‘China stories’ in the next decade

Toward the end of the discussion, we touched upon a shared concern: how can the world better understand China?

Stefan acknowledged that misconceptions about China’s renewable energy sector still exist in some developed economies. At the same time, more entrepreneurs, businesses, and local institutions from emerging and developing countries are actively seeking opportunities to work with China.

Their focus is not geopolitics, but a more practical question: how to achieve a faster, more efficient, and more affordable energy transition.

Perhaps China’s most important export in the next decade will no longer be equipment and products, but real stories—stories about innovation, collaboration, and enabling more people to participate in the energy transition.

Organizations such as NEX and WWEA, as ecosystem builders, are becoming important bridges connecting countries, industries, and communities.

In the next decade, a more important question than who possesses the most advanced technology may be: who can create the future together with more partners? Because the energy transition is never a one-country performance. It is a long-term endeavor that requires global collaboration.

Learn more about NEX China here.

As global oil and gas shocks continue to raise electricity prices and put pressure on households and businesses, Thailand’s residents are turning to solar. The government is greasing the wheels on this transition, introducing new incentives for rooftop solar while encouraging high-consumption users to generate their own power.

As demand for solar grows, so does the need for the people who can design, install, and maintain these systems. Stepping up to the plate are enterprising Thais, who are increasingly seeking the skills needed to turn the clean energy transition into new career and business opportunities.

A recent rapid survey conducted by New Energy Nexus (NEX) Thailand in Phuket found demand for solar installation training running at least three times higher than comparable surveys conducted before the energy crisis. The responses came from hotel technicians, electricians, farmers, construction workers, unemployed job seekers, and experienced professionals looking for a second career.

A workforce responding to the energy reality

The energy crisis alone did not drive this momentum. Thailand has been building up to this for a while now.

Its latest electricity tariff reforms, combined with years of exposure to energy price shocks, have strengthened the economic case for solar. Businesses across Phuket’s tourism-driven economy, from hotels and resorts to restaurants and retailers, continue to face high operating costs tied to electricity consumption.

And so, Thais are seizing the opportunity.

Key data points from the survey include:

1. “Becoming a Solar Cell Entrepreneur” was the most popular course offering. Solar installation, battery assembly, and solar-powered agricultural systems also attracted strong interest

2. Nearly one in three respondents (32%) is currently unemployed. A majority saw solar entrepreneurship or installation as their route back into work. Another 9% were electricians and technicians with transferable skills, while hotel and hospitality workers formed a notable cohort, reflecting Phuket’s exposure to rising energy costs.

3. The average respondent age is 44, with a substantial share in their 50s and early 60s. There are experienced workers who saw their electricity bills spike in 2022 and 2023, and are now pursuing solar training as a deliberate next step. Several even wrote in the open-response section about using solar skills to build a second career after retirement, and some expressed curiosity about technologies such as batteries and solar EV chargers.

“The demand for solar training in Phuket tells us the energy price shock has already changed how people here think about their futures,” said Natcha Tulyasuwan, NEX Thailand country manager. “Hotel technicians, electricians, people between jobs—they want to be qualified solar installers and solar entrepreneurs.”

This bigger market for solar training is, as it turns out, exactly what the country needs right now.

While Thailand has ambitious plans to expand solar generation from just over 3 GW in 2024 to more than 33 GW by 2037, the country faces a critical bottleneck: not enough certified installers, solar SMEs, and maintenance professionals to meet growing demand.

Without sufficient training and accreditation pathways, consumers may struggle to find qualified installers, while poorly installed systems could undermine confidence in solar at a time when adoption is gaining momentum.

“The government is telling high-consumption users—hotels, businesses, large households—to go solar,” Tulyasuwan said. “A business in Phuket that acts on that advice today will struggle to find a certified installer who can guarantee quality work and a maintenance agreement.”

For many workers, the motivation already exists. What remains missing are accessible pathways to certification, entrepreneurship support, and practical training opportunities outside major urban centers.

Where to take this solar skills demand

This is where NEX Thailand comes in. In 2025, NEX Thailand’s SolarSTEP program secured national approval for its Solar Entrepreneurship Curriculum from the Department of Skill Development under the Ministry of Labour, creating a pathway toward nationally recognized solar workforce training.

The next challenge is scale. Expanding accredited training programs across provinces, supporting local training providers, and building a strong pipeline of installers and maintenance professionals will be critical if Thailand wants to keep pace with growing solar demand.

More recommendations on strengthening Thailand’s solar workforce can be found here.

The findings from Phuket reveal the simple reality that clean energy is increasingly becoming an economic opportunity. As energy costs rise and solar becomes more affordable, more Thais are looking to build careers and businesses around the transition.

That surge in demand for solar training is a signal that people are ready to participate in Thailand’s clean energy future. The task now is ensuring they have the skills, support, and opportunities to help build it.

Want to learn more about how we’re building the clean energy ecosystem in Thailand and in 13 other countries across the globe? Check out our programs here.

Bangkok is getting hotter every year. This summer alone, temperatures were forecast to reach 43°C (109°F), while a “super El Niño” threatens unprecedented heatwaves across Thailand.

As cities expand and temperatures rise, buildings are becoming an increasingly significant part of the country’s energy challenge. Cooling systems already account for around 60% of energy consumption in Thailand’s buildings, raising a critical question: how can Thailand meet growing cooling demand without driving up power costs or straying from its net-zero goals?

This challenge inspired New Energy Nexus Thailand’s Green Building Initiative, launched in 2024 to connect green building startups with building owners seeking to align with environmental targets.

Through the initiative and a series of ConNEX forums, developers, architects, startups, researchers, and policymakers explored the future of sustainable buildings in Thailand. They found that the challenge isn’t a lack of technology, but the ecosystem needed to scale it.

Those discussions surfaced several persistent barriers, along with practical policy recommendations to address them.

Green building development still relies too heavily on voluntary action.

A recurring theme across the discussions was that Thailand’s progress in green building remains largely dependent on individual champions rather than on systemic support.

While sustainability standards and green building certifications are already available, adoption remains uneven. Fragmented governance, limited enforcement, and insufficient economic incentives make it difficult for sustainable building practices to move beyond a small number of leading projects. Without stronger policy signals and long-term market support, many green solutions struggle to scale.

Policymakers should: Strengthen incentive frameworks and regulatory instruments to support the systematic development of green buildings.

There’s limited access to reliable building performance data.

Another major challenge identified was the lack of consistent, high-quality data on building energy use and emissions.

Existing datasets are often fragmented, inconsistent, or based on estimates rather than measured operational performance from buildings in Thailand. This makes it difficult for policymakers, developers, and building owners to accurately assess performance, prioritize retrofits, or make evidence-based decisions.

Without standardized measurement and reporting systems, the sector risks making investments and policy decisions without a clear understanding of what is actually working.

Policymakers should: Develop standardized methodologies for measuring and reporting building energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, while integrating data across existing reporting platforms.

Climate innovations struggle to move from pilots to widespread adoption.

Thailand is home to a growing pipeline of startups and climate technologies with the potential to improve building sustainability. Yet many founders face the same challenge: gaining access to real-world environments to test, validate, and demonstrate their solutions.

At the same time, building owners are often hesitant to adopt unfamiliar technologies without proven performance data. The result is a persistent gap between innovation and implementation, where promising solutions can become stuck between prototype and market adoption.

This is why proof-of-concept (PoC) projects are so important. They help generate the operational evidence needed to build confidence among customers, investors, and policymakers.

One startup currently implementing a PoC through GBI is Videnvaren+, which develops thermal insulation materials made from recycled end-of-life tires. Its solution helps reduce heat transfer in buildings while transforming waste into a valuable construction material.

“Buildings have never been the work of a single mind,” said Kongphat, founder of Videnvaren+. They are the result of collaboration across disciplines, generations, and systems.”

Policymakers should: Promote and support the development, testing, and real-world deployment of green technologies, innovations, and materials to accelerate sustainable building adoption.

You can’t build green buildings alone.

Progress requires collaboration across the entire ecosystem, from regulators and developers to startups, researchers, financiers, and implementation partners.

While the Videnvaren+ PoC is still underway, the project already demonstrates why startup support and real-world implementation opportunities matter. Without places to test and validate new technologies, innovation struggles to move beyond promising ideas. And without operational data and proven results, building owners, investors, and policymakers often lack the confidence to support wider adoption.

Thailand’s green building future will not be built through isolated solutions. It will depend on how we build the ecosystem that allows sustainable solutions to move from concept to scale.

Learn more when you read the full GBI ConNEX report here (in Thai).