The European Commission is expected to present its European Grids Package, which aims to enhance the EU’s competitiveness by helping individuals and businesses to access affordable, secure and clean energy.
CurrENT, the European Association of Innovative Grid Companies, that SuperNode is a founding member of, has provided input to the European Commission’s Call for evidence on the European Grids Package and published its recommendations ahead of the Commission’s proposal, expected to be published on 25 November.
CurrENT states that:
- the existing regulatory framework is insufficient to guide, support, and drive the massive acceleration of grids capacity that Europe will need in the coming decades;
- Europe can accelerate the build-out of grid capacity by both optimising the existing grid and developing and deploying new conductor technologies with 5-10 times the capacity of existing technologies;
- Innovative grid technologies, including grid-enhancing technologies and high-capacity conductors, can increase capacity of the grid without replacing existing infrastructure, such as towers, greatly reducing cost, permitting time and project delivery timelines;
- de-risking innovation and opening access to funding and delivery mechanisms are essential to accelerate the deployment of innovative grid technologies. Access to EU-level funding should be improved by revising eligibility criteria.
- the European Commission must strengthen the governance structure, including ensuring that all “grid needs assessment and planning complies with the EU climate and energy targets2” with a focus placed on cost effective solutions. The regulation should follow the example set by US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) order 1920 which mandates that transmission providers must consider innovative grid technologies as potential solutions in their long-term planning processes.
- system operators do not consistently consider the full range of available solutions, particularly innovative technologies, even when these have been successfully demonstrated. The slow pace of technology adoption by TSOs and DSOs not only delays infrastructure delivery, but it also undermines Europe’s competitiveness and innovation objectives. Improved coordination between energy, industrial, and innovation policy is essential to address these interlinked challenges and ensure the EU leads in both clean energy deployment and technological leadership.
- to improve planning and investment decisions, it is essential to evaluate solutions based on their total cost and system impact over the full project lifecycle. This includes, adapting to emerging needs such as the electrical architecture of data centres and AI campuses. Superconducting cables can enable medium-voltage solutions to replace high-voltage infrastructure, simplifying permitting, improving operability, and reducing dependency on foreign supply chains.
- This mismatch between planning and deployment timelines prevents the system from correcting forecasting errors, adapting to network delays, or responding flexibly to urgent capacity needs. The framework must be adjusted to enable the fast-track deployment of short-term, high-impact projects, especially those leveraging innovative grid technologies. The TYNDP lacks consideration of expected technological advancements by 2040-2050, limiting its ability to reflect an optimal future grid.
It is expected that the European Commission’s European Grids Package will include measures for:
- accelerating the upgrade, digitalisation and expansion of the European grid infrastructure
- removing bottlenecks
- increasing overall efficiency and resilience.
The package is expected to focus on electricity, but is likely to also cover hydrogen and other infrastructure categories included in the Trans-European Network for Energy framework.
See CurrENT’s policy recommendations here.
See CurrENT’s full response to the European Commission’s consultation on the European Grids Package here.