The integration of the European gas and electricity sectors, which includes TSO and DSO infrastructure, is essential to enable the EU to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate targets as part of the EU Green Deal.

The organisers propose to host this EU SEW panel session to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the energy transition, within the current and possible upcoming regulatory frameworks.

Innovation, integration and efficiency are key to meeting European energy consumers’ needs, whilst also achieving EU decarbonisation goals. This panel session will particularly focus on the role that gas and electricity infrastructure will play as part of the upcoming Energy System Integration strategy, whilst also highlighting the societal cost savings and environmental and climate benefit of a hybrid energy system that uses electricity and gas.

A hybrid energy system of both electricity and gas, with cross-border energy carriers /infrastructure as a backbone, will result in increased flexibility, storage and security of supply. The speakers will discuss and propose policy measures as inputs to the EU Green Deal that can accelerate the deployment of biomethane and hydrogen alongside renewable electricity.

Additionally, ENTSOG and ENTSO-E, as part of their Ten-Year Network Development Plans (TYNDP) 2020 have jointly developed scenarios for the European energy sector up to 2040 - the first important step to identify and assess the interlinkages and interactions between the gas and electricity systems. It is therefore paramount to deliver the best assessment of the infrastructure in a hybrid system. This will also be addressed in the panel session.

This is a timely occasion to present to consumers, industry and EU institutions relevant studies, case-studies and examples of innovative gas and electricity projects that showcase smart sector integration, as well as examples of the interlinkages and synergies between TSOs and DSOs. The future role of gas storages and LNG terminals will also be addressed.

The European Green Deal reflects the European Commission’s commitment to tackling climate change and other environmental challenges and to “foster the deployment of innovative technologies and infrastructure, such as smart grids, hydrogen networks or carbon capture, storage and utilisation, energy storage, also enabling sector integration.” (Ref: The Green Deal Communication - COM (2019) 640 final).

Read the speakers’ bios & register HERE