Europe invests an average of 33 billion euros annually in grid infrastructure, but this is not enough while the need for investment only in the distribution network is 66 billion euros annually by 2030, said Ioana Petcu, Senior Advisor, Climate, Energy Policy, Climate & Sustainability, Eurelectric.

“This is enormous. However, this figure can be reduced to 55 billion euros if several elements come together. First, we need to increase electrification all over the EU, because it is currently stagnating at 23%,” she added.

At the same time, Europe is lacking manufacturing facilities for solar panels and batteries and is losing a big share of its industrial consumers to other countries. By doing so, the EU is increasing its overdependence on other countries.

“We have had a brutal wake-up call with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and we have learned how important it is to have a diverse supply and to move away from fossil fuels. We should not make the same mistake again regarding the raw materials or technologies needed for the energy transition. Also, in the energy transition, we should keep in mind national particularities, but the need for coordination is very important too,” she said.

Ioana Petcu was part of a top-level conversation organized by Energynomics and the Romanian Energy Center, with the participation of the Romanian Ministry of Energy and the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, and with the support of Elecrica SA, as a satellite event to the fifth meeting of the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC) in Bucharest on July 23-24, 2024.