The Electrification Staircase is the path to Europe’s Energy Sovereignty

4 February 2026

Article of the month:

“Homegrown, reliable, resilient and cheaper energy will drive our economic growth, deliver for Europeans, and secure our independence” according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Davos last month.

At the same event the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) , Fatih Birol, said that ‘Electrifying everything’ is key to Europe’s future. “When we look at energy security in Europe, and Europe’s goals, such as reaching our climate goals, but also at the same time being affordable, I see one future for Europe,” Birol said. “Electrify everything, as much as you can, electrify everything. Transportation, industry and so on,” he continued.

The Electrification Staircase that we launched at the sold-out Watt’s Next conference in December is the guide to help policymakers, industry and investors to prioritise how and where electrification can happen most effectively. Structured across six steps, it spans from sectors that are ready to electrify today using commercially available technologies, all the way to sectors where electrification remains challenging and may only become viable beyond 2040.

Co-authored by Dr Silvia Madeddu from Schneider Electric, Thomas Butler from the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), William Drake from Liebreich Associates, Michael Liebreich from EcoPragma Capital LLP and Liebreich Associates, and Adrian Hiel from the Electrification Alliance, the staircase is the conceptual descendant of the widely used Hydrogen Ladder. While the Hydrogen Ladder sought to identify where hydrogen use should be prioritised – and where it should not – the Electrification Staircase shifts the focus on where we should electrify first, and why.

From the bottom step – electrify now

The lower steps of the staircase include sectors and applications where electrification is already the most efficient, cost-effective and mature option.

These include household appliances, lighting, electric vehicles, and many low-temperature heat applications in buildings. In these cases, electrification is not a future ambition but a present-day reality, and policy should focus on accelerating deployment, removing remaining barriers, and ensuring grids are fit for purpose.

In these segments, EU legislation already points to electrification as the ideal short-term solution. What’s needed for these sectors now is implementation, new tools to make electricity more affordable, and consumers schemes that encourage electrification.

Climbing up – industrial heat and transport

Moving up the staircase, electrification becomes more complex but remains technically feasible.

Medium-temperature industrial heat, rail transport, and some segments of road freight fall into this category. Technologies such as heat pumps, electric boilers and battery-electric drivetrains are commercially available, but uptake depends heavily on enabling infrastructure, electricity prices, and regulatory clarity.

Here, the staircase highlights the importance of system-level thinking. Electrification at scale requires not only end-use technologies, but also investment in grids, flexibility solutions, and market designs that reward efficiency.

The upper steps – limited and uncertain electrification

At the top of the staircase are sectors where electrification is technically difficult, economically uncertain, or constrained by physical limits.

These include high-temperature industrial processes, long-distance shipping and aviation. While research and innovation may unlock new solutions over time, these sectors are less likely to electrify directly before 2040.

For these applications, direct electrification should be pursued wherever possible first, reserving scarce renewable fuels for the hardest-to-abate uses. They will need more regulatory support to electrify, and they should not be prioritised.

A tool for smarter prioritisation

The Electrification Staircase is not a rigid ranking, nor a forecast. It is a decision-support tool designed to bring clarity to an increasingly complex energy transition debate. By distinguishing between what can be electrified now, what can be electrified with the right conditions, and what remains beyond reach, it helps avoid inefficient pathways and misallocation of resources.

As Europe seeks to deliver on its climate, competitiveness and energy security objectives, frameworks like the Electrification Staircase can play a crucial role. They remind us that electrification is not an abstract goal, but a strategic process – one that must be prioritised, sequenced and supported with the right policies at the right time.

For more on the rise of the electro state and Europe’s drive for electrification, watch this debate hosted by friend of the Electrification Alliance and Oxford Professor Jan Rosenow at the World Economic Forum. https://www.linkedin.com/embeds/publishingEmbed.html?articleId=8357263807463324622&li_theme=light

Now that the staircase is officially published, we would be happy to have your feedback, comments and suggestions. Please reach out to staircase@electrification-alliance.eu with your input.

News

Electrification news:

EMBER European Electricity review: For the first time in 2025, wind and solar power together generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU, a major structural milestone for the bloc’s decarbonisation and electrification trajectory. Wind + solar supplied about 30% of EU electricity vs ~29% from coal and gas.
Electrification Action Plan: Initially expected for Q1 2026, the Action Plan has been delayed to May 2026. More on this in later editions.
Industrial Accelerator Act: the Act has been delayed to February 25.

News from our members:

smartEn Smart Energy Europe is organizing on 5 February a joint launch webinar to present their Market Monitor 2025 on Demand-Side Flexibility and the smartEn Map 2025. The publications will be released shortly after the event.
The Renewables Grid Initiative’s CEO Antonella Battaglini was present at the North Sea Summit in Hamburg, Germany on 26 January. Attending on behalf of the OCEaN – Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature, Antonella brought OCEaN’s messages on a shared vision for offshore wind, grids and marine ecosystems to the Summit, which are summarised in OCEaN’s dedicated Press Release.
WindEurope is organising their annual event on 21-23 April in Madrid, if you’re interested in joining you can register here. Also, watch out for WindEurope’s Annual Statistics Report expected to be published during the last week of February.
The European Heat Pump Association takes us through the 2026 High-Temperature Heat Pump Symposium 2026 here.
This year at EVision, Eurelectric and EY are spotlighting the transformative potential of fleet electrification. With only 6% of Europe’s fleet currently electrified, the event will explore how company cars, vans and trucks can lead the shift toward cleaner, smarter mobility. Join Eurelectric on 4–5 March at Autoworld to dive into the future of Europe’s electrified fleets. You can register here.
SolarPower Europe just published their EU Battery Storage Market Review 2025, highlighting that the EU installed 27.1 GWh of new batteries in 2025: a record growth in utility-scale storage.
EuropeOn – The European Electrical Contractors Association published an article on the role of electrification in securing energy supply: Electrification: Europe’s Key to Energy Independence – EuropeOn
T&E released a position paper warning against the detrimental policy and environmental impacts of the European Commission’s proposal to weaken the EU car CO₂ standards (replacing the 2035 zero-emission target with a 90% reduction). Read the full position paper here: Position paper on the revision of the EU car CO2 standards | T&E
And the International Copper Association‘s new Ensuring a smooth implementation of new EU waste shipment rules position paper, authored alongside FEAD – European Waste Management Association, FERVER – European Federation of Glass Recyclers, Glass for Europe, Glass Fibre Europe, Plastics Europe, Recycling Europe and VinylPlus® explains key operational and regulatory challenges linked to the implementation of the new Waste Shipment Regulation.