Commercial Readiness Index (CRI)

• Origin: Developed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) in 2014 to assess renewable energy technologies' path to market.

• Definition: An index that evaluates the commercial viability and deployment risks of a technology, complementing TRL by focusing on market readiness, financial aspects, and stakeholder acceptance after technical maturity is achieved.

• Scale: Ranges from 1 to 6:

  • CRI 1: Hypothetical commercial proposition (technology ready but untested in market).

  • CRI 2: Commercial trial at small scale (initial funding and pilots).

  • CRI 3: Commercial scale-up (specific policies and emerging financing).

  • CRI 4: Multiple commercial applications (still subsidized, with public data).

  • CRI 5: Market competition driving broad deployment (commoditization).

  • CRI 6: Bankable asset class (mature, competitive without subsidies).