Overall, the Energy Transitions Commission estimates in its 2025 report Power systems transformation: delivering competitive, resilient electricity in high-renewable systems that the total global grid length must grow by two to four times from today to 2050, from around 82mn km of grid in 2025 to around 150–200mn km in 2050. To put this in perspective, 150mn km is a little greater than the distance from the Earth to the sun.

Investment must also rise dramatically – from roughly $370bn today to as much as $870bn/y by the 2030s and 2040s. More than half of this will be needed at the distribution level, as millions of electric vehicles, heat pumps and rooftop solar panels connect to local networks.

This transformation will differ markedly across regions. In fast-growing economies such as India, grid expansion will need to sustain the growth rate of the past decade. In Europe and the US, however, a step change will be needed after years of relatively modest investment. Modernisation is not only about expanding capacity; it also means replacing ageing infrastructure.

Technology can cut grid investment needs 
IGTs can help relieve pressure for new investment by improving utilisation of current networks. Software-based solutions – including dynamic line rating (DLR), flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS), and real-time monitoring of grid inertia – enable operators to adjust system operation in response to changing conditions, increasing usable capacity by up to 30%. Hardware-based IGTs, such as advanced conductors, voltage upgrades and energy storage used as transmission assets, can enhance the carrying capacity of existing lines by 40% to over 400%.

Several IGTs are already commercially available and in use. DLR systems are operating in the UK, Belgium, France and Norway, boosting capacity by 10–45%. Advanced conductors, capable of doubling the power that existing pylons can carry, are being deployed at scale: 20,000 km installed in Europe and 175,000 km worldwide. More advanced options, such as superconducting materials that could multiply line capacity four to tenfold, are expected to reach commercial readiness in the 2030s.

The combined potential is considerable. In Europe, widespread adoption of IGTs could improve grid capacity by 20–40% by 2040, effectively gaining four to eight years of new grid build. Even at the lower end of this range, the savings are material – potentially reducing cumulative network investment needs by $1.3tn (around 35%) between now and 2050. There is even greater potential in fast-growing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve a higher proportion of savings on new grid investment.

Regulatory reform and coordination
Despite their promise, IGTs have yet to achieve widespread deployment. The key constraint is not technology, but regulation. In most jurisdictions, grid operators are rewarded through an allowed rate of return on capital expenditure, creating only limited incentives to prioritise efficiency improvements that reduce the need for new physical assets. To accelerate adoption, regulators should ensure that innovative solutions are valued on par with traditional grid build. This will require a gradual shift from frameworks that link revenue solely to cost control, towards those that reward improved capacity, reliability and system performance.

Early progress is visible. The UK, Australia and the US, through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), are experimenting with mechanisms that make innovative solutions ‘bankable’ for utilities. However, these remain as specific initiatives. Embedding IGTs within regulated business plans could help to demonstrate their holistic benefits. This will require growing partnerships between grid operators and technology providers – ensuring that lessons from pilot projects are reflected in future government support.

Equally important is improving coordination between system operators and transmission owners. Shared data platforms and interoperable digital tools can enable consistent, system-wide optimisation – allowing solutions such as DLR to feed real-time data into dispatch and control platforms.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will further amplify the value of IGTs. AI can help to support predictive maintenance, real-time balancing and even ‘self-healing’ networks that automatically detect and isolate faults. These tools will be indispensable for managing increasingly decentralised and dynamic electricity systems.

To accelerate adoption [of IGTs], regulators should ensure that innovative solutions are valued on par with traditional grid build. This will require a gradual shift from frameworks that link revenue solely to cost control, towards those that reward improved capacity, reliability and system performance.

The path forward
Scaling IGTs will require collaboration across the value chain, including regulators, utilities, system operators, technology providers and investors. The prize is substantial: lower costs, faster renewable integration and greater system resilience.

Achieving this will depend on overcoming several open questions: how to progress in the near term despite lengthy regulatory processes, how to adapt cost-recovery frameworks to reward innovation, and how to forge partnerships that can accelerate deployment at scale.

If addressed, IGTs could unlock one of the fastest and most cost-effective accelerators of the clean energy transition – making grids not just larger, but smarter.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author only and are not necessarily given or endorsed by or on behalf of the Energy Institute.

• Further reading: ‘The urgent need to expand the UK’s energy grid for net zero’. Building a grid able to distribute net zero electricity in the UK by 2030 is possible, but will require enormous cooperation by the relevant stakeholders, argues Joanna Carter, Head of Electricity Connections at EDF Renewables.
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