Article of the Month:
In the words of International Energy Agency (IEA) Director Fatih Birol, Europe’s direction of travel to ensure its energy security is clear: “electrify everything.”
Fossil fuel imports cover 58% of Europe’s energy needs. As the EU looks to strengthen its Energy Security Framework it is clear that security comes from European energy rather than the outdated idea of diversity of fossil fuel supply.
Recent geopolitical shocks – from Russia’s war in Ukraine to war in the Middle East – have made one thing clear: energy security and electrification are now two sides of the same coin.
Across Europe, electrification is already quietly reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels. Take heating for example, heat pumps are up to five times more efficient than fossil fuel boilers and are already making a dent:
- Around 26 million units installed across Europe
- Avoided 24 bcm of gas demand in 2024
- Potential to save €60 billion in fossil fuel imports by 2030
Replacing fossil boilers in just 7% of homes would cut gas demand by another 13 bcm: roughly equivalent to the EU’s former Russian gas imports for residential heating.
Transport tells a similar story. The EU imported 1 billion barrels of oil for cars in 2025, costing €67 billion. The 8 million EVs already on Europe’s roads saved the bloc a further 46 million barrels of oil imports last year, worth €2.9 billion. Electrification Alliance member T&E already calculated that the Iran conflict is set to hit petrol drives 5 times more than EVs. The cost to fuel the average petrol car could rise by €3.80 per 100km, compared to an increase in €0.70 per 100km to charge an EV due to higher electricity prices.
Electrification is not just about reducing imports – it is also about building a more resilient system. A more electrified, clean energy system is: more decentralised, less exposed to single points of failure and better able to recover from disruptions.
Wind already provides 20% of Europe’s electricity, avoiding at least 100 bcm of fossil fuel imports annually. Looking ahead, electrification combined with renewables and flexibility could generate €160 billion in savings by 2040.
It also comes with an industrial upside – up to 400,000 jobs could be created by 2030 in areas like rooftop solar, battery storage, and EV charging.
Despite this progress, electricity is still at a disadvantage on many angles. Across Europe, electricity prices remain burdened by taxes and levies that often have little to do with energy itself. The result:
- Households often pay significantly more for electricity than for gas
- Industry faces weaker incentives to electrify
- Investment decisions are skewed toward fossil fuels
In short, electricity is still taxed as it was when it was mainly fossil based thereby reflecting yesterday’s energy mix, not today’s.
The good news is that many solutions are already on the table. Member States can act now to reduce taxes and levies on electricity, phase out fossil fuel subsidies, and lower VAT on electrification technologies.
At EU level, funding tools like the Innovation Fund or the Connecting Europe Facility can further prioritise electrification and supporting infrastructure. These are not long-term ideas – they are immediate levers.
Another piece of the energy security puzzle is flexibility. Demand response, storage, and smart technologies can all make the system both cheaper and more secure. Yet much of this potential remains underused. Electric vehicles, for example, are not just consumers of electricity – they can also store and feed it back into the grid through smart charging and vehicle-to-grid solutions.
Unlocking this flexibility means opening markets to new players like aggregators, enabling dynamic price signals and supporting storage and demand-side solutions.
Finally, none of this works without strong electricity grids. As electrification accelerates, grids need to expand faster, integrate more and more renewables, be better geared to withstand cyber and physical risks and adapt to climate impacts.
Grids are quickly becoming the backbone of Europe’s energy security – and will need to be treated as such in the revised framework the European Commission is planning to publish in May.
What emerges from this debate is a broader shift: electrification is no longer just a climate tool – it is a security strategy, an economic opportunity, and a resilience measure rolled into one. The challenge now is to align policy frameworks with this reality: make electricity competitive, enable flexibility and invest in grids. Because ultimately, Europe’s energy security will depend less on what it imports – and more on how effectively it electrifies.
News
News from the Electrification Alliance:
- Response to the Governance Regulation call for evidence: the Electrification Alliance replied to the European Commission call for evidence on the Governance Regulation, highlighting the need to develop electrification indicators in the update of the governance framework.
- Joint call for regulatory certainty and effective implementation: also this month, the Electrification Alliance sent this month a letter to EU Heads of State and Governments to urge them to preserve regulatory certainty, a key to safeguard investor certainty and accelerate electrification.
- Factsheet on the role of electrification for Energy Security: want to know more about the role of electrification in energy security? Have a look at our new factsheet.
- Can Adrian Electrify his home – for free? Episodes 1 & 2 are out: follow Adrian Hiel, Director of the Electrification Alliance and his home journey in the Brussels Region as he progressively replaces fossil fuel systems and makes real-world electrification decisions.
- Listen here to our Director Adrian Hiel discuss with FORESIGHT Climate & Energy Sam Morgan about the electrification of his house.
- The Alliance was also featured in the Guardian – talking about the urgency to make electrification affordable for as many people as possible.
- And as usual, we shed light to the great work of our members. Check out the members interviews with Antonio Arruebo Lacleta from SolarPower Europe, Julie Beaufils from EuropeOn – The European Electrical Contractors Association and Vasiliki Klonari from WindEurope.
News from members:
The Electrification Alliance’s chair T&E, published several recent analyses highlighting the importance of electrification in Europe’s energy security. Its State of European Transport 2026 report shows that Europe is now only three years behind China on EV uptake and could close the gap by 2030 while reducing oil dependence. Especially important given that, as T&E’s new analysis on the impact of the Iran conflict finds: petrol drivers are significantly more exposed to price shocks than EV users, reinforcing the case for faster electrification (read more). Other briefings highlight the growing geopolitical cost of oil dependence (150mn a day), the improving sustainability of EV supply chains driven by EU regulation (more here), and the need to strengthen Europe’s battery industry despite current cost gaps (briefing).
Heat pump sales show EU focus on electricity tax is right call: Cost reduction was crucial to the recent 10% jump in heat pump sales, new analysis from the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) finds. In 12 out of 16 European countries, sales went up in 2025. This was mainly due to governments helping consumers with upfront purchase costs by providing stable incentive schemes, and with running costs by reducing tax on electricity. Learn more here and read the report: ‘Pump it up: why heat pump sales rose in 2025’
EuropeOn – The European Electrical Contractors Association published an article on the role of women in the electrical sector across Europe, highlighting both progress and ongoing challenges. In it, EuropeOn points to the persistent shortage of electricians and underlines the need to attract more diverse talent, particularly women, who remain underrepresented in technical roles. Drawing on member data and national initiatives, it shows that while progress is being made, structural barriers and low participation in vocational pathways continue to slow change. The article also showcases initiatives aimed at improving inclusion and concludes that increasing female participation is key to addressing workforce gaps and strengthening the sector. You can read the full article here.
As the EU shapes its approach to AI regulation, it is crucial that the energy dimension is fully understood. smartEn Smart Energy Europe’s latest paper demonstrates how the Flexible Demand Management Industry (FDMI) is already deploying AI across significant parts of Demand-Side Flexibility business models – from real-time optimisation to coordinating thousands of distributed energy resources. Find the position paper here.
Lastly, in March, Renewables Grid Initiative published their report ‘Powering Security: Sustainable & Circular Approaches for Resilient Grid Supply Chains’, summarising takeaways from expert discussions on implementation challenges and opportunities for circular approaches within electricity grid infrastructure. As climate change increasingly impacts Europe’s energy system, the EU’s Destination Earth (DestinE) initiative is developing digital twin models to better integrate climate data into energy planning. At DestinE’s 5th User eXchange in Brussels, RGI, together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Aarhus University, will host a public workshop to strengthen collaboration and advance co-design of energy research through a technical “World Café” format.
This article was originally posted as part of the Watt’s Next Electrification Alliance newsletter. For timely updates subscribe here.