Brussels, 22 March 2026
The European Commission’s AccelerateEU Communication shows that Europe is ready to reap the rewards of its ambitious energy policies. Twenty years of market reform, renewables policy and the Green Deal mean that electrification is ready to be an overnight success. Electrification links energy security, affordability, and competitiveness as the key to phase out fossil fuel dependency and stabilise energy costs over the long term.
“No one wanted an energy crisis. AccelerateEU is an ambitious move by the European Commission to help make this Europe’s last energy crisis,” said Adrian Hiel, Director of the Electrification Alliance. “This is not about inventing new technologies. It is about removing bottlenecks like outdated energy taxation so we can electrify at speed. Europe’s motto should be: deploy, deploy, deploy.”
The Electrification Alliance supports the incentives for clean technologies, and the development of social leasing models demonstrate attention to the social and industrial impacts of the energy price crisis.
The energy price crisis is already reshaping Europe’s energy demand. What was considered ambitious a few months ago has quickly become the baseline. European energy is increasingly powering european homes, european transport and european industry.
“EV sales rose by 52% in March for two reasons: the fossil fuel price crisis and forward-looking EU policies, such as emissions standards, that ensure affordable electric vehicles are available to households,” added Adrian Hiel.
Delivery will depend on implementation. The Communication places a central role on Member States to drive this effort, an opportunity for each country to identify and address its own barriers to electrification and accelerate progress where it matters most.
“If there is one key technology for Member States to focus on, it is smart meters and flexibility. By giving people the means to consume electricity when it is cheap and green and plentiful, and avoid it when it is gas-fired and expensive, we can slash electricity bills and we can make an overwhelming business case for heat pumps and EVs. Those are the two main technologies for reducing fossil fuel dependency. Heat pumps can replace over half of Europe’s gas consumption and EVs can replace two-thirds of our oil dependency.” concluded Adrian Hiel.
The Electrification Alliance looks forward to the upcoming Electrification Action Plan, expected in June, and stands ready to work with the European Commission on turning the AccelerateEU into action.