Europe Is Laying the Groundwork for Its Energy Transition

The energy transition is rapidly gaining momentum in Europe. In 2021, the European electricity system saw an increase of more than 41 GW of wind and solar capacity while more than 10 GW of coal capacity was decommissioned in 2020.

This transition hasn’t come without setbacks. Existing energy infrastructure was designed to facilitate highly predictable load and production profiles, but the decentralization of power generation is now posing severe challenges to the operation and continuous balancing of the power grid. To enable the integration of increasing renewables shares, European transmission system operators (TSOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs) now face the challenge of modernizing the physical assets within their portfolios and developing new monitoring and forecasting methodologies. At the same time, consumers and prosumers are becoming more active in the market. 

The most innovative projects undertaken by European TSOs, DSOs, and industries to address these challenges are highlighted in a recent progress monitoring report published by the European Technology & Innovation Platform (ETIP) Smart Networks for Energy Transition (SNET) and supported by Guidehouse. The report identifies the latest state and trends of European and nationally funded research and innovation (R&I) that tackles grid modernization, sector coupling, and the energy transition. ETIP SNET is an industry platform comprised of 12 stakeholder groups and the European Commission (EC) that aims to advise the EC on R&I priorities with 10-year R&I roadmaps, 3-year implementation plans, and white papers. The roadmaps and implementation plans build strongly on Guidehouse’s report.

R&I Are Catalysts for Europe’s Energy Transition

While the power sector, industry, and the built environment continue actively exploring and implementing decarbonization solutions, the management and operation of electricity infrastructure faces challenges. Distributed and variable power production requires additional effort to keep voltage and frequency within safe limits while electrifying heating and cooling, transport, and industrial processes, resulting in increasing power demand. 

The R&I community is continuously exploring solutions to such challenges. Research institutes, universities, and system operator and manufacturer R&I departments focusing on facilitating the energy transition. The ETIP SNET progress monitoring report reviews the most recent developments by European and nationally funded projects to assess recent progress, identify promising innovations nearing commercialization, and determine gaps that require additional funding and support. 

R&I Activities Target Digitalization and System Flexibility

ETIP SNET’s progress monitoring activities lead to a consolidated view on the relative advancement of research areas and research topics. The research areas with the largest number of project contributions and greatest potential impact are digitalization and system flexibility. These Key Exploitable Results have been identified due to their increased potential to be exploited down the value chain of a product, process, or solution or act as an important input to policy, further research, or education. Within the identified research areas, the ETIP SNET report identifies demand aggregation and control and direct load control as solutions that are closest to commercialization. On the other hand, research topics within the areas of system planning and operation will likely require additional funding and support to achieve the desired level of maturity. 

Level of Contribution to ETIP SNET Research Topics by Projects Assessed

(Source: Guidehouse)

Progress Monitoring Allows for Efficient Coordination of New R&I Efforts

ETIP SNET will use the progress monitoring report as the basis for shaping a new implementation plan to inform future funding decisions and guide the portfolio of European TSOs, DSOs, and the broader R&I community. In addition, progress monitoring supports the EC's efforts to coordinate future R&I projects and calls. Progress monitoring activities by ETIP SNET not only enable the efficient coordination of European R&I efforts but also provide a platform that facilitates the modernization of European electricity networks and the energy transition.