Climate action, energy independence and reindustrialisation call for an ambitious, yet well-balanced decarbonisation strategy for Europe, according to Eurelectric’s latest Decarbonisation Speedways report. By 2050, 70% of fossil-fuel-based final energy demand in Europe’s transport, buildings and industry must be decarbonised.

The report shows that electricity capacity will have to triple by 2040, together with a 10-fold expansion in renewables and a stable basis of firm capacity to match around 4,600 TWh of final electricity demand by 2040. Delivering on such ‘daunting’ numbers will call for enabling policies, the report says.

Eurelectric’s President and E.ON Chief Executive Officer, Leonhard Birnbaum, comments: ‘The EU has highly ambitious targets for 2030. The step change we achieved already this decade will determine our success in delivering any target we might set ourselves for 2040. That is why we must get laser-focused on making progress on the ground now. This means ensuring investors’ confidence, reaching warp speed in permitting for power generation and grid infrastructure, defending competitiveness – and modernising our grids to manage a bigger, more complex system.’

Massive investments in power generation and infrastructure are essential to a successful energy transition. With properly designed policies, consumers could save €175bn/y by avoiding fuel imports, the report notes. Lowered emissions and energy use, air quality, biodiversity preservation, job creation and competitiveness would also benefit Europe and lower costs for the economy.

Powering the energy transition
Meanwhile, a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has provided governments with a toolbox of 100 innovative solutions to tailor national strategies and cut emissions in end-uses.

Electricity will be the main energy carrier of the future, accounting for more than half of global energy consumption by 2050, according to IRENA. The dramatic cost reduction of renewable electricity generation has pushed progress in the power sector, with installed renewables reaching 40% globally in 2022. In the European Union (EU), almost 60% of power generation capacity is from renewable sources. Around 40% of total electricity generation came from renewables in 2022, out of which wind and solar generated close to 22% of electricity, overtaking gas for the first time. The focus must now move towards electrifying end-uses that still largely rely on fossil fuels, suggests IRENA.

The report says that many of the electric-powered technologies are available today, including electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps for buildings and industrial processes. In addition, indirect electrification, using green hydrogen produced by renewable power, can be a solution to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors.

Yet electrifying the demand goes beyond the adoption of technology solutions and requires the involvement of all stakeholders across the energy value chain from both the power sector and end-uses (power-to-x).

Innovation can reduce costs, minimise investment and create new business opportunities. Massive stimulus packages like the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and the Net Zero Industry Act in the EU are the result of innovation in technology, policies, market design and financing instruments.

The report concludes that in the absence of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution for smart electrification, optimal strategies and implementation of innovations will vary among countries and system-specific attributes.