In the context of the revision of the regulation on the trans-European networks for energy, the conference – jointly organised by the Ministry of Energy of Luxembourg, IRENA and the EIB – gathered experts from various backgrounds, political leaders, industry and civil society organisations to discuss the future of the EU energy infrastructure.
The EU energy system needs profound adaptations to meet the 2030 energy and climate goals, and achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. The future energy system needs to be more efficient, smarter and better integrated between sectors. Direct electrification is at the core of the decarbonisation effort and offshore wind will play a central role in it, alongside distributed generation.
The power sector will increasingly rely on variable renewable energy sources, requiring smarter and more flexible transmission and distribution grids. Battery storage and electrolysers converting renewable electricity into hydrogen for the purpose of seasonal storage are important tools. A renewed, science-based approach to network planning is indispensable to take these new elements into account and include flexibility options and demand-side policies.
How can we integrate large volumes of electricity and dispatch it all across Europe? How can landlocked countries benefit? How can we drive investment in batteries and electrolysers with a network function? How market disruptive will these technologies be, notably on price formation and cost-recovery for generation assets? How should network planning evolve to promote system-wide optimisation and implement the “energy efficiency first” principle?
You will find the programme here.
For questions on the conference please contact events@eib.org.