SupergridEurope is a new, independent research tank established in Brussels that wants to speed up the building of a pan European electricity supergrid.
Trifecta Energy, an Irish think tank, started SupergridEurope to push for coordinated EU grid policies. These policies would include changes to governance, grid planning, and market mechanisms to create a modern, interconnected grid that can handle the problems of this important decade.
SupergridEurope is asking for the creation of a European energy agency that would act as an independent grid architect in charge of long-term grid planning, finding gaps in innovation, making data available, overseeing the building of major cross-border infrastructure, and making sure that Europe’s energy system changes to meet its climate and competitiveness goals.
SupergridEurope also wants the Commission to use its €40 billion ($47 billion) innovation fund to make grid technology innovation available. So yet, no money has been given to manufacturing or demonstration projects from this pool.
SupergridEurope believes that sector-specific requests for novel energy transmission technologies might be added, and the assessment criteria could be changed to better reflect the nature of supporting technologies like innovative grid technology.
The group says that now is the time to act since the European Commission’s grids package is coming out this fall and there is more political support for coordinated grid planning.
“We must recognise the importance of this moment in history; the responsibility we entrust to our policy makers during their new terms in office, in this critical decade for European energy sovereignty and the fight against climate change,” says Lesley O’Connor, founder of SupergridEurope.
“The realisation of a pan European electricity supergrid is no longer a technical debate – it’s an urgent political priority for maintaining European competitiveness that requires governance reform.”
The Commission’s grid action plan talks of a “true energy union” in Europe. SupergridEurope’s goal is to speed up the development and implementation of the supergrid while simultaneously getting more political and public backing.
SupergridEurope’s idea of a supergrid is like an internet for electrons. It would move energy from wind, water, and solar sources in Europe to where it is needed at any given time. This idea seems to be based on the work of O’Connor’s late father Eddie, who was a major figure in Ireland’s energy sector, and his book “Supergrid—Super Solution,” which came out in 2023.
In 2024, a second version came out, which O’Connor revised after her father died.
Christian Kjaer is the executive director of Supergrid Europe, while Suzana Carp is the permanent representative in Brussels.
Kjaer is the head of public relations of Supernode, a firm started by O’Connor, and the chair of currENT Europe.
Carp is an expert on climate policy. He is the deputy director of Cleantech for Europe and the senior policy adviser to currENT Europe.
