Europe redraws the energy map

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t took eighteen years of planning, over 40 infrastructure projects and more than EUR 1.2 billion in European investments. But they did it: on February 8, 2025, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania disconnected from Russia and Belarus’s electric grid and, the following day, synchronized with the European grid via Poland. This marked their full integration into the EU’s internal energy market and, more importantly, guaranteed Europe's independence from a grid controlled by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"All of it was worth it. Because today, we are not just talking about energy [...]. Synchronization is about sovereignty. We remember 1990, when the Soviet Union imposed an economic and energy blockade on reborn Lithuania. A desperate act to stop independence. Yet here we are today, standing together, 35 years later, cutting the last dependence on Russian energy,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared during the ceremony. “These chains of power lines, linking the Baltic states to hostile neighbors will be a thing of the past. This is freedom. Freedom from threats and blackmail,” she added.

The initiative—historic in scope—is part of the EU’s broader strategy to place energy infrastructure at the center of its geopolitical agenda. In November 2023, the European Commission launched its Action Plan for Grids, aimed at addressing infrastructure bottlenecks and ensuring that renewable electricity is delivered efficiently to citizens, businesses, and industrial ecosystems.

Europe currently boasts one of the most advanced and resilient electric grids in the world. Yet the demands of the next decade will call for a pace of expansion with no precedent. Electricity consumption is projected to increase by 60 percent by 2030, driven by the growing adoption of heat pumps, electric vehicles, energy communities, and hydrogen production. To meet this demand, cross-border transmission capacity must double—from the current 93 gigawatts (GW) to more than 180 GW.
 

Needed investments and projects

The EU’s plan calls for an estimated EUR 584 billion in investment over this decade, including EUR 375–425 billion dedicated to renewing and digitizing aging distribution networks. With 40 percent of Europe’s transmission infrastructure over 40 years old, upgrades are essential to integrate decentralized renewable energy sources. The plan centers on seven key areas: accelerating Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), long-term grid planning, ex-ante regulatory incentives, improved grid utilization, access to EU funding, streamlined permitting processes, and strengthening supply chains.

Projects of Common European Interest are the core operational tool of this strategy. Among the projects already launched is the Celtic Interconnector, which links Ireland with Britain in France and will enable the exchange of 700 megawatts (MW) of electricity —enough to power approximately 450,000 homes. It will be Ireland’s only direct energy link to continental Europe, improving energy security, lowering consumer costs, and supporting the country’s shift to a low-carbon energy system. The project will also establish a direct fiber-optic connection between Ireland and France. In 2019, it received EUR 530.7 million in funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to support design and delivery, with operations expected to begin in 2027.

CobraCable is a 350-kilometre offshore interconnection with a capacity of 700 MW linking Denmark and the Netherlands. It facilitates greater integration of renewable energy and is designed to accommodate the future connection of an offshore wind farm. The cable also strengthens energy security by increasing cross-border electricity exchange and providing redundant capacity in case of failures elsewhere in the network. Completed in 2019, CobraCable is part of the Northern Seas Offshore Grid (NSOG) priority corridor.

The Bay of Biscay Interconnection is a 370 km submarine electricity link between Spain and France. It aims to strengthen grid reliability, improve supply security, and enhance system efficiency by reducing the need for peak-generation plants. Once operational, it will double the electricity exchange capacity between the two countries to 5,000 MW —enough to supply around 2 million households annually with zero-emission electricity. The project is expected to be completed by 2028 and will help avoid an estimated 600 million tons of CO2 emissions per year.

By mid-2027, Germany is expected to complete the North-South Interconnection, a roughly 400 km underground cable with a capacity of 2,000 MW. Part of the national grid expansion plan, the project aims to enhance north-south transmission, integrate more renewable energy, and stabilize supply. It also addresses cross-border grid stability, helping to reduce negative spillover effects on neighboring countries such as Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Then there is ELMED, the first electricity interconnection between Europe and a non-EU country to receive financing under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Energy. This high-voltage submarine cable links Italy and Tunisia, spans 200 km, and involves a total investment of EUR 850 million —of which over EUR 307 million comes from the EU. Now under construction, the project is expected to become operational in 2028.

Still in its early stages, the Bornholm Energy Island is an innovative hybrid interconnector in the Baltic Sea. It will link Denmark and Germany while integrating 3 GW of offshore wind capacity. The project aims to be operational by 2034.

The European Union is also making major investments in smart grids. The Sincro.Grid project, for example, establishes a virtual control center between Slovenia and Croatia to manage the variability of renewable energy more effectively. The Smart Border Initiative (SBI) promotes shared energy solutions between border regions such as Saarland and Lorraine. Danube InGrid, a cross-border smart grid project between Hungary and Slovakia, aims to integrate renewables and improve system balancing. These efforts all support a more flexible, secure, and sustainable energy system.

Immediate response via LNG

While the electric grid is essential for the green transition, gas pipelines and LNG terminals remain the EU’s most immediate response to the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting surge in gas prices. For the European Commission, projects like the Baltic Pipe —linking Norway, Denmark, and Poland— and the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) are considered strategic for reducing dependence on single suppliers and strengthening overall system resilience.

The gas interconnector between Denmark and Poland, which began operating in 2022, is a key diversification project transporting up to 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually from the North Sea to Poland and onward to Central and Eastern Europe —a region historically reliant on Russian supplies. Designated as a Project of Common Interest (PCI) in 2013, the Baltic Pipe received approximately EUR 267 million in EU funding.

The IGB pipeline, launched on October 1, 2022, provides a direct link between the national gas systems of Greece and Bulgaria. It enhances energy security in southeastern Europe by diversifying supply routes and sources, including from the Caspian Sea and the Middle East, through its connection to the Interconnection Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) corridor. The pipeline has an initial capacity of 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year in the south-to-north direction.

The Balticconnector pipeline, along with the Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania (GIPL), connects Finland’s gas network to the continental European system, effectively ending its previous isolation. Together, these projects enable Finland and the Baltic states to diversify their gas sources, routes, and trading partners, thereby strengthening regional interdependence and increasing the region’s energy security and solidarity.

However, it is not just about pipelines. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has also played a critical role in offsetting the collapse of Russian gas supplies. The 137 bcm of natural gas the EU imported from Russia in 2021 fell by 77 percent to just 31.6 bcm in 2024. Russia’s share of pipeline gas dropped from 41 percent of EU imports in 2021 to around 18 percent in 2024. This shortfall has been largely filled by LNG from the United States, which accounted for 45 percent of EU LNG imports in 2024, as well as increased pipeline deliveries from Norway (50 percent, up from 30 percent in 2021), North Africa (18 percent), and Azerbaijan (7 percent).

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Europe has added 78.6 bcm of new LNG regasification capacity, with 70.9 bcm of that total built within the EU, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Among the countries that have added LNG regasification capacity since February 2022 are Germany (24.7 bcm), the Netherlands (13 bcm), Turkey (7.7 bcm), Italy (7.5 bcm), France (6.5 bcm), and Belgium (6.3 bcm).

The potential of hydrogen

Looking to the future, the European Commission is placing major emphasis on hydrogen. Over the next two years, hydrogen infrastructure will receive more than EUR 250 million in grants across 21 development studies. These projects span Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. Notable initiatives include the BarMar-H2med project —a 455 km submarine hydrogen interconnector between Barcelona and Marseille— as well as backbone networks in Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and new hydrogen corridors and routes in the Baltic region.