CurrENT Europe

🎉 As 2025 begins, CurrENT Europe warmly welcomes the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union! 🇪🇺🇵🇱 From January 1 to June 30, 2025, Poland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Alongside Denmark and Cyprus, it will form a new trio of presidencies. 🔐 The top priority of the Polish EU Council Presidency will be to strengthen European security in all its dimensions: external, internal, information, economic, energy, food, and health. 🔌 Regarding energy, the Polish Presidency will work to enhance the EU's energy security strategy and promote solutions for the development of EU's technologies, aiming to facilitate the green transition while maintaining Europe's industrial competitiveness. 👉 You can find more about the Polish EU Council Presidency at: https://lnkd.in/djB-Nuh6

⚡ ACER’s first electricity infrastructure Monitoring Report released Earlier this week, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) published its first electricity infrastructure Monitoring Report. The report looks into the cost impacts of investing in electricity transmission and distribution networks to keep pace with the energy transition, and it assesses how cross-border electricity network planning aligns with grid capacity needs. 🔑 Here are some of ACER’s key recommendations to promote grid investment that addresses needs and maximizes benefits, while considering affordability and competitiveness: 🤝   Improve reliability and transparency of grid development plans: Grid developers should enhance the consistency and robustness of scenario development and needs identification, making them more transparent, reliable, and replicable. Structured public engagement will help accelerate implementation. 📈   Optimize existing infrastructure: Efforts should focus on optimizing the use of existing infrastructure to reduce the need for additional capacity. 💡  Consider grid-enhancing technologies and non-wire solutions: to raise capacity, TSOs and DSOs should also consider non-wire measures to make additional capacity available without adding network assets. Grid-enhancing technologies, digitalisation and data management have some potential to increase capacity of the electricity system reducing or postponing the need for infrastructure investment. 💵   Smarten investment frameworks: Regulators should refine investment frameworks to make grid-enhancing technologies and non-wire alternatives to traditional grid buildout attractive for TSOs and DSOs. Many congratulations to ACER for its first edition of this very insightful report! Last but not least, CurrENT Europe is very proud that the conclusions from our study “Prospects for innovative power grid technologies” done together with Compass Lexecon (supported by Breakthrough Energy ) have been used in ACER's report. Our findings show that the widescale deployment of innovative grid technologies can lead to a 20 to 40% increase in grid capacity, and a 35% reduction in conventional expansion costs, saving €700bn by 2040. 👉 Check out ACER’s electricity infrastructure Monitoring Report at: https://lnkd.in/dXTmDHwK 👉 You can find our report at: https://lnkd.in/dkiaW9vz

What a year it’s been! As we approach the end of the year, it is important to look back on some of the great events CurrENT and its members have been at promoting the benefits of #InnovativeGridTechnologies.   Here are some of our memorable moments of the year:    ⚡ A Grid to decarbonize Europe event in Brussels with SuperNode Ltd and University of Strathclyde  ⚡ The in-person launch of our study with Compass Lexecon, supported by Breakthrough Energy    ⚡ Mark Norton, Vice Chair of CurrENT, representing CurrENT at the #CopenhagenInfrastructureForum   ⚡ CurrENT members connecting over breakfast at CIGRE in Paris  ⚡ Representing CurrENT at the #SmartGridPCI Summit in Budapest   ⚡Layla Sawyer, Secretary General of CurrENT, Speaking at the Hungarian Presidency event on grids, in Budapest   ⚡ The second edition of 'Supergrid - Super Solution' book launch in Brussels with Lesley O'Connor   ⚡ CurrENT’s members getting together for our in-person AGM A special thanks to all those who made those events and more possible over the course of 2024.  Going into 2025, electricity grids are at the forefront of the agenda for Europe, having been recognized as essential to a #CleanIndustrialDeal and a #CompetitiveEurope. To achieve these ambitions, the widescale deployment of #InnovativeGridTechnologies is needed at both the transmission and distribution levels to facilitate the mass up take of #Renewables. 📍 Check out CurrENT's latest policy recommendations for a Clean Industrial Deal and a Competitive Europe: https://lnkd.in/e8PAxyKU Ampacimon | AMSC | CTC Global | Enertechnos | Epsilon Composite | Fluence | GridRaven | GRIDPULSE d.o.o. | Heimdall Power | LineVision | MetOx International | Nexans | Plexigrid | Prisma Photonics | Reactive Technologies Limited | Saft | Smart Wires Inc. | SuperNode Ltd | Suprema | VEIR | ENTSO-E | EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) | EU DSO Entity | E.DSO | European Commission | 

🇪🇺 Mr. Jørgensen's first Energy Council meeting as Commissioner for Energy and Housing Speaking at the latest Energy Council yesterday, Commissioner Jørgensen shared valuable insights on the upcoming challenges for the EU Commission’s next legislative period. Some of the key points made by Jørgensen include: 🌍 Lowering energy prices: the Affordable Energy plan to lower energy prices will be a cornerstone of the Clean Industrial Deal. Electricity transmission costs are one of the key components of the bill where the Commission needs to take action to lower costs for citizens and the industry. 💰 Need for investments in electricity grids: Investments in the energy sector are crucial. Going forward, the level of investment in electricity grids will need to least double of the current rate of investment to meet grid targets. In addition to Mr Jørgensen’s key points, Energy ministers outlined several priorities for grids as an enabler of Europe’s energy policy ambitions, highlighting that expanding grids is key to overcoming challenges the energy sector is facing and ensuring a successful energy transition. 🔑 Some of the main takeaways for grids were: 📈 Accelerating grid development is a must to for the energy transition and to unlock EU competitiveness. 💶 Substantial investments in electricity infrastructure are required. The European Investment Bank (EIB) Investment Bank can play a role in reducing risks in electricity infrastructure investments. 💡 Enhanced grid flexibility and interconnection capacity among Member States, together with a smarter use of electricity, should be prioritised to foster market integration to build a true #EnergyUnion 🤝 Establishing frameworks for regional cost and benefit sharing, particularly for offshore infrastructure, are required to unlock the full potential of renewable energy Europe ⚡ Reflecting on the EU Action Plan on Grids after one year from its adoption, the Hungarian presidency and the Commission emphasized the critical role of grid capacity in integrating renewable energy sources (RES). While informing Energy ministers on the updates from the latest SET Plan Conference, the Hungarian Presidency stressed that new measures are required to bring clean energy innovations to market, including streamlining access to EU funding and financing mechanisms to boost the energy sector's competitiveness. 📍 You can find the main results of yesterday’s Energy Council here: https://lnkd.in/dwGrvXhN

CurrENT's Secretary General, Layla Sawyer, was a key contributor to the Cleantech Reality Check, a timely series of reports by Breakthrough Energy , Cleantech for Europe, and featuring analysis by Systemiq Ltd. This necessary and urgent ‘reality check’ for policymakers reveals that Europe is falling behind on its electrification goals. #ElectricityDemand has stagnated at 22% of final energy demand since 2010, far from the 37-40% target for 2030. In order to achieve significant progress towards the electrification of Europe, #GridModernization is essential. Grids will play a crucial role in a net-zero economy where electricity is likely to supply up to 70% of final energy demand. Financing is highlighted as a critical issue and potential bottleneck, where accelerating the grid buildout will require double the rate of the current annual investment in grid infrastructure. 🔑 The report details four key actions for #GridInfrastructure to develop the EU electrification system:  🎯 Implement an integral strategic vision and targets for coordinated EU network buildout and modernization   💶 Reform investment paradigm and financing structures to stimulate investment in a future-proof grid   📈 Address slow permitting and approvals that limits pace of capacity expansion   🤝 Provide financial incentives to de-risk and speed up adoption of new technologies by system operators The Cleantech Reality Check comes at a pivotal moment as the EU prepares to roll out its #CleanIndustrialDeal. Let’s work together to accelerate these technologies and unlock Europe’s clean energy potential!  Ann Mettler Julia Reinaud Alberto Toril Castro  Jules Besnainou Laetitia de Villepin Lukas Marthaler Abindra P. S. Philip Lake, Eveline Speelman Philipp Offenberg 🔗 Read the full report here:  https://lnkd.in/gfVtVA7J

Today the Energy Council is meeting for the last time of the semester under the guidance of the Hungarian Presidency, and for the first time with Commissioner Jørgensen as the representative of the European Commission. Here you have some agenda highlights today’s meeting: ⚡ Future of energy policy: ministers will exchange views on the priorities for the next legislative cycle and discuss how these can help build the Energy Union. ⚡ EU Action Plan on Grids: the Commission and the Hungarian presidency will provide follow-up information to the EU action plan on grids. ⚡ SET Plan: The Hungarian presidency will brief ministers on the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) Conference, held in Budapest on 14-15 November 2024 ⚡ Geothermal energy: energy ministers will be invited to approve conclusions on the promotion of geothermal energy You can find the agenda and all the information on today’s Energy Council at this link: https://lnkd.in/dwGrvXhN

⚡ UK ‘needs to play catch-up’ in global race to rewire electricity grids ⚡   A recent report by BloombergNEF highlights how critical issues such as a lack of financing for grids and excessively long lead times to build new transmission lines are hindering the energy transition in the UK’s power system, writes Jillian Ambrose in The Guardian. The report underscores the importance of grids, and how failing to support their buildout is resulting in them acting as a huge bottle neck in the energy transition, undermining increases in available renewable energy resources. 🔑 Some of the key takeaways from the report: 🏃♂️➡️ The pace of financing towards grids needs to increase massively:  For every pound the UK has spent on renewables it has spent only 25p on the cables and power lines. This places the UK eighth in an index of the world’s 10 biggest energy markets, according to BloombergNEF. This needs to increase to a 1:1 ratio, where one pound of grid investment is needed for every pound of investment in renewable energy sources, added Keith Anderson, CEO ScottishPower. 📈 The grid needs to expand on a never before seen scale: Adapting the global electricity grid for a net zero future could require investment of $21.4tn to roll out 152m km of new cables, or enough to stretch from Earth to the sun, according to the report. 💷 Congestion of renewables is costing consumers billions each year: The report showed that the UK has spent about £1bn so far this year paying for wind turbines to be turned off during windy weather due to insufficient grid connections. 🛑 Excessive planning requirements remains an issue: Increasing grid capacity and RES integration by building new lines is not happening quick enough. “It can take a decade to consent and build a new transmission line, with 70% of that time spent in planning”, said Lawrence Slade, FEI, the chief executive of the Energy Networks Association (ENA). #InnovativeGridTechnologies need to be a central part of the energy transition. Deploying #InnovativeGridTechnologies at scale can help solve some of these issues mentioned in the report, by quickly increasing grid capacity and facilitating a greater integration of renewable energy sources. Innovative grid technologies are more cost effective than conventional technologies and can increase grid capacity far quicker than adding capacity through conventional technologies alone.  You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/e8messmz Brian Berry | Mark Norton | Alberto Méndez Rebollo | Duncan Burt | Marco Rettig | Romain COULLETTE | Yann Duclot | Andrea Augieri, Ph.D. | Georg Rute | Martina Fritzel | Wolfgang Troppauer | Stephan Heberer | Sankara Subramanian | Dominic Quennell | Layla Sawyer | Peter Hughes | Marie Hayden | Oluf Ulseth | Christian Kjaer | Mart Duitemeijer |

💢 Flexible energy transition gets boost as over 100 nations and organisations back global storage and grids targets The COP29 Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge has the support of 58 governments, including major players from all continents such as Brazil, Kenya, India, the USA, Ukraine, Pakistan, Morocco, Uruguay, Congo, Peru, Venezuela, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, numerous European countries, and dozens of organisations. CurrENT is proud to be amongst the supporting signatories that are taking the lead in implementing the ambitious #3xRenewables target agreed at COP28, with action-oriented goals for #storage and #grids set by the @COP29 Presidency: ✅ Deploying 1,500 GW of energy storage ✅ Doubling global grid investments ✅ Developing 25 million kilometers of grid infrastructure by 2030 This marks the first time that energy storage and grids have been officially acknowledged as imperative components of the energy transition. They are essential for providing the flexibility needed to achieve the tripling of renewables target, turning ambition into action. Wider participation is now required to fully unlock the potential of renewable energy and ensure energy security for all. With #COP30 on the horizon, we call for further endorsements and translation of these targets into actionable national plans. 🔗 Support the pledge and see more: https://lnkd.in/dciexAW2 #COP29 #3xRenewables #Time4Action #NowDeliverChange Ampacimon | AMSC | CTC Global | Enertechnos | Epsilon Composite | Reactive Technologies Limited | Saft | Fluence | GridRaven | GRIDPULSE d.o.o. | Heimdall Power | Lindsey Systems | Suprema | SuperNode Ltd | LineVision | MetOx International | Nexans | Plexigrid | Prisma Photonics | Smart Wires Inc. | VEIR | Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) | Green Grids Initiative |

It’s not often CurrENT gets to have member meetings in person, with our members based in different countries around the world. After meeting so frequently online, it is great to see some familiar faces in person for CurrENT’s AGM, taking place in Brussels. ⚡️It is important to mention those members who couldn’t make it in person but joined online as we discussed CurrENT’s plans for 2025 and how to promote the development and wide scale deployment of #InnovativeGridTechnoloies across Europe’s electricity grids. 📤 Check out CurrENT’s policy position Clean Industrial Deal and how Innovative Grid Technogies can help unleash the full potential of Europe’s electricity grid: https://lnkd.in/gwihrpw5 #CleanIndustrialDeal #Decarbonisation #ElectricityGrids Brian Berry | Mark Norton | Alberto Méndez Rebollo | Duncan Burt | Marco Rettig | Romain COULLETTE | Yann Duclot | Andrea Augieri, Ph.D. | Georg Rute | Martina Fritzel | Wolfgang Troppauer | Stephan Heberer | Sankara Subramanian |

CurrENT is happy to be media partner of the upcoming #PowerGridLeadersEurope, taking place in Amsterdam next year on March 12 - 13. Powergrid Leaders Europe 2025 is looking to unite transmission and distribution system operators, policymakers, and industry innovators to address the challenges and opportunities of this transition. Layla Sawyer, Secretary General of CurrENT, will be speaking about the importance of #InnovativeGridTechnologies for Europe's future energy grid as it looks to achieve its ambitious #decarbonization goals. See the full agenda and register for the event here: https://lnkd.in/ef35mMDF