Eurelectric

Today at our Digitopia Hub at Enlit Europe in Vienna, Eurelectric hosted two public panels on issues that will shape the future of Europe's power system.

Panel I: Tech sovereignty

As the electricity sector becomes more digital, the technologies it runs on become strategic assets. Moderated by Eurelectric's Aida García, Elena Giannakopoulou (PPC S.A.), Dietmar Preinstorfer (Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER)), Valtteri Virtanen (EYKON), Stavros Stamatoukos (European Commission DG ENER) and Jochem van Hove (Microsoft) discussed how Europe can secure the digital and clean-tech supply chains it depends on, reduce critical dependencies and keep control of the data and systems behind its grids, while staying open to global innovation.

Panel II: Power demand and grid assets: unlocking flexibility

Electricity demand is rising as transport, heating and industry electrify, and grids are under growing pressure. In a debate moderated by Eurelectric's Marianne Leonet Karu, Zivile Venslaviciute (Google), Dr. Sarah Sorge (ENGIE), Maria Andreeva (smartEn Smart Energy Europe) and Mugur George PAUNESCU (European Commission, DG ENER) explored how flexibility, from smart charging and storage to demand response, can make better use of existing grid assets, cut connection queues and lower costs for consumers, and what regulation needs to change to make it happen at scale.

Both debates build on our report "The Era of Electric Intelligence", which looks at how digitalisation and AI are reshaping the power system and what it will take for Europe to lead. Read it here: eurelectric.org/publications/a…

Our programme at Enlit continues all week. Come and find us at the Digitopia Hub B.E145.

Eurelectric kicked off Enlit Europe week in Vienna!

Yesterday, with the start of Enlit Europe, we co-hosted our Digitopia Hub “Unlocking AI Value in the Utility Sector” with Microsoft for Energy at Microsoft Austria.

AI in the energy sector is moving from experiments to large-scale deployment. The key question is no longer whether to use it, but where it creates real value and how to build a business case that holds up, both for regulated network operators and for competitive producers and retailers.

Leaders from across the electricity value chain joined a candid panel debate on whether AI is proven, promised or overestimated. A hands-on challenge then showed how AI can support better decisions during a utility disruption.

A big thank you to Microsoft for Energy for hosting us, to Enlit Europe, and to our speakers from ESB, Wien Energie GmbH, E-Control, Schneider Electric and Microsoft Thanks also to everyone who joined us in Vienna and online.

See you at the Enlit Europe exhibition this week at stand B.E145!

What are the most urgent grid bottlenecks holding back Europe’s electrification?

Eurelectric Secretary General @kristianruby joined the @ftlive Energy Policy Summit in Brussels to discuss building the electricity backbone for Europe’s industrial and technological future.

Investment is rising: distribution grid spending is set to reach €48–50bn next year, up from €32bn in 2023 (ACER). But Europe needs €57–65bn a year to keep pace with electrification.

Money alone won’t fix it. Permitting delays, equipment shortages and long lead times are holding back deployment. Waiting up to 40 months for a transformer is simply too long.

Three priorities stand out:

- Build ahead of demand
- Make better use of existing infrastructure

- Make growth work for the system, with faster access for large consumers that support it

An electric car is only as good as the charger it plugs into, and a charger is only as good as the grid behind it.

That was the starting point for our Secretary General Kristian Ruby at the Take Charge Europe Summit on Tuesday. He joined Sigrid de Vries (European Automobile Manufacturers'​ Association (ACEA)), Chris Heron (E-Mobility Europe) and Lucie Mattera (ChargeUp Europe) at the Take Charge Europe Summit – Making EV History, to discuss what it will take for our sectors to grow together.

Kristian’s key messages:

- The momentum is real. EV charging went from 3.5 TWh in 2020 to almost 29 TWh last year, and 73% of EU electricity now comes from clean sources. Every EV on the road gets cleaner every year.

- Corporate fleets are where our investment clocks line up. A car model takes years, a charger months, a grid connection can take several years. Fleets give predictable demand and known charging locations, so vehicles, chargers and grid connections can arrive at the same time. And today’s company cars are tomorrow’s affordable second-hand EVs for families.

- What none of us can absorb is uncertainty. €200bn has already been invested on the basis of current targets. Whatever comes out of the Automotive Package must be the final word for this decade.

Charging must be clearly cheaper than filling up. That means national tax systems must stop taxing electricity more heavily than the fossil fuels it replaces, and the Grids Package must work for distribution grids so depots and charging hubs can connect.

Thank you to Take Charge Europe and E-Mobility Europe for bringing carmakers, charging, e-mobility and the power sector onto one stage.

What does electrifying heavy industry look like in practice? Last week we saw it at the Tiense Suikerraffinaderij, where an electric heat pump is now making steam once produced by gas.

For Heat Pump Day on 27 October, a Eurelectric delegation visited the plant’s 4 MW high-temperature electric heat pump. The installation which was supported by SPIRIT Horizon Europe Project turns waste heat at around 80°C into steam at about 130°C, replacing part of the steam a gas boiler used to produce. It covers around 5% of the plant’s process heat. Tiense Suiker sees this as its first step towards electrifying all of its process heat.

Our key takeaways:

- Businesses often have a strong desire to electrify and move away from fossil fuels

- They need to see electrification in action to build confidence, make plans and reassure financial backers

- With the right expertise and support, electric solutions can be integrated into operations with little to no impact on production

Thank you to the European Heat Pump Association for organising the visit, and to Bart Aerts for his speech, tour and interview. Thank you to the Raffinerie Tirlemontoise - Tiense Suikerraffinaderij team for their warm welcome, explanations and tours. We are also grateful to Bruno Tobback, Member of the European Parliament, for his keynote speech, and to Malgosia Rybak, EMBA and Marlène Siméon for their panel contributions.

Stay tuned for more on the Raffinerie Tirlemontoise heat pump as Eurelectric prepares to delve deeper into their electrification success story.