Europe has spent much of the past five years responding to successive energy crises. From post-pandemic supply constraints and gas market disruption to renewed instability affecting global energy trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, policymakers have been forced to confront questions of affordability, security and competitiveness. Yet these shocks reveal a deeper challenge. Europe’s energy vulnerability is not primarily a renewable deployment problem. It is a system integration problem.

Europe’s energy problem is not a supply problem
Europe’s vulnerability to energy crises stems largely from a long-standing reliance on imported fossil fuels, exposed during the post-pandemic recovery and intensified by geopolitical instability. When gas storage was depleted and wholesale spot markets were manipulated, prices surged, threatening both household budgets and industrial competitiveness. More recently, disruption affecting key global energy trade routes has highlighted how closely Europe remains tied to events beyond its borders.

The consequences extend beyond energy security alone. Volatile energy prices continue to affect the cost of living, industrial investment and Europe’s ability to compete internationally. While the continent may not rely directly on every region affected by geopolitical tensions, global oil and LNG markets remain interconnected. A shock in one part of the world can quickly translate into higher costs across Europe.

The common assumption is that these challenges can be addressed primarily through the deployment of additional renewable generation. Expanding renewable capacity is essential, but it is not sufficient on its own. Our main finding is that Europe’s energy security, affordability and climate objectives share a common solution: energy system integration.

For too long, electricity, heating, transport and industry have been planned and operated largely as separate systems. That approach is becoming increasingly difficult to justify. As renewable generation expands, the challenge is no longer simply producing clean electricity. It is ensuring that energy can move efficiently between sectors, locations and users at the times it is needed most.

Recent modelling also shows that integrated systems are more cost-effective than approaches that consider sectors in isolation. Analyses that focus solely on electricity while overlooking heating, transport and industrial flexibility can produce misleading conclusions about both costs and security of supply. A more integrated perspective reveals opportunities that are otherwise missed.

Europe’s challenge is therefore broader than replacing one source of energy with another. It requires a more coordinated approach to how energy is produced, transported and used across the economy.

Europe’s energy security, affordability and climate objectives share a common solution: energy system integration.

The cost of planning in silos
The consequences of fragmented planning are becoming increasingly visible across Europe’s energy system. Grid congestion is growing, infrastructure development is struggling to keep pace with demand and significant price differences persist between markets. These are often treated as separate challenges, but they stem from the same underlying issue: a system that still plans electricity, heating, transport and industry largely in isolation.

The clearest example is the grid itself. As renewable generation expands, electricity must be transported across greater distances and used more flexibly than in traditional energy systems. Yet bottlenecks continue to restrict the movement of power between regions and markets. Without a doubling of grid capacity and interconnections, Europe risks limiting the value of the renewable energy it is already deploying.

Planning in silos can also distort how policymakers assess energy security. Models that focus solely on electricity generation often overlook sources of flexibility elsewhere in the system. As a result, they can overstate constraints and underestimate opportunities to balance supply and demand more efficiently.

Transport illustrates this shift. Electrification is commonly discussed as a decarbonisation strategy, but it also strengthens energy security by reducing dependence on imported oil. At the same time, smart and bidirectional charging technologies create new opportunities for flexibility. Millions of electric vehicles (EVs) could help balance the grid by storing electricity when renewable generation is abundant and returning it when demand increases.

Buildings offer similar opportunities. Through thermal storage, smart controls and heat pumps, homes and commercial properties can become active participants in the energy system rather than passive consumers. Demand can be shifted to periods of high renewable generation, reducing pressure on the grid and lowering overall system costs.

Viewed individually, these developments may appear incremental. Taken together, they point towards a different way of organising the energy system. Electricity networks, buildings, transport and industry become increasingly interconnected, creating new sources of flexibility and reducing reliance on imported fuels.

The technologies needed to support this transformation already exist. Progress now depends on whether market structures, regulatory frameworks and infrastructure planning can evolve quickly enough to unlock their full value.

Seven priorities for an integrated energy system
If Europe is to move beyond fragmented energy planning, policymakers will need to focus on a series of practical priorities. These are not separate objectives. Together, they form the foundations of a more integrated, secure and efficient energy system.

• Put energy efficiency at the centre of system design – Energy efficiency is often treated as an afterthought. It should instead be recognised as a ‘no-regrets’ option that underpins energy security, affordability and sustainability. Lowering overall demand reduces pressure on grid infrastructure and decreases the scale of investment required in new cables, substations and generation assets. Energy efficiency is about more than using less energy. It makes the entire system smaller, smarter and easier to manage.
• Protect the digital infrastructure underpinning integration – Digitalisation is the nervous system of an integrated energy model. It enables load matching, storage optimisation and the coordination needed to manage variable renewable generation. As reliance on digital tools increases, so too does exposure to cyber threats. Protecting information and communication technology infrastructure must therefore be viewed as a core element of energy security.
• Accelerate the adoption of time-of-use pricing – Managing variable wind and solar generation requires greater flexibility on the demand side. Time-of-use tariffs can help align consumption with periods of abundant renewable generation, encouraging households and businesses to use electricity when renewable output is high and wholesale prices can fall to very low levels. In many member states, these pricing mechanisms remain underdeveloped. Expanding them would help unlock the demand response needed for a more integrated system.
• Strengthen cross-border interconnections – Europe’s existing interconnections remain insufficient to support the movement of growing volumes of renewable electricity. Stronger cross-border links would help ease congestion, improve market efficiency and allow surplus generation in one region to be used more effectively elsewhere. A truly integrated energy system requires infrastructure capable of connecting renewable resources, industrial demand and consumers across national boundaries. Progress will also need to be measured more consistently. Independent monitoring and transparent, data-driven assessments can help identify where member states are falling behind on priorities such as grid expansion, interconnection capacity and tariff reform, providing greater accountability for implementation.
• Remove incentives that favour fossil fuels – Many European markets still contain subsidies and incentives that favour fossil fuel consumption. These measures can slow investment in energy efficiency and renewable technologies while prolonging dependence on imported fuels. Policymakers cannot expect to accelerate the transition while continuing to support elements of the system they are seeking to replace.
• Embed energy justice into the transition – A just transition is not a secondary consideration. It is a prerequisite for success. The growth of rooftop solar, batteries, EVs and heat pumps is enabling citizens to become active energy consumers who can generate, store and manage their own energy. This can strengthen resilience and reduce exposure to price shocks. However, market complexity must not become a barrier to participation. Public acceptance depends on ensuring that the benefits of integration are widely understood and widely shared.
• Support vulnerable households through electrification – The transition cannot become a luxury available only to those who can afford the upfront cost of technologies such as heat pumps and EVs. Targeted support for lower-income households will be essential if electrification is to occur at the pace required. Broad participation strengthens both the social legitimacy and long-term durability of the transition.

These priorities provide a practical framework for translating the principles of energy system integration into policy action. They would help create a system that is better able to withstand future shocks while improving affordability, security and long-term competitiveness.

Integration is now a competitiveness issue
Energy system integration is about more than security and decarbonisation. It is increasingly becoming a question of economic competitiveness.

Our findings show that integration provides the most credible pathway towards achieving the objectives of the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal. We are moving towards a future in which electricity becomes cheaper than gas, and industries that electrify early are likely to gain a significant competitive advantage. This is about more than climate policy. It is about industrial survival in an increasingly competitive global economy.

The transition also creates an opportunity to develop new industrial clusters built around clean technologies and circular economy principles. By integrating energy efficiency and renewable energy into industrial planning, Europe can create high-tech hubs that strengthen innovation, attract investment and support long-term economic growth. Advances in sustainability are increasingly becoming drivers of industrial leadership.

Achieving this transformation will require long-term confidence from investors. Major infrastructure projects require stability over decades, not years. Policymakers therefore need to establish credible frameworks that provide certainty for grid expansion, electrification and industrial decarbonisation. Long-term investment becomes far more difficult when policy direction changes or implementation stalls.

Local energy planning also has an important role to play. By integrating multiple energy supplies, carriers, infrastructures and consumption sectors, communities can make better use of energy that might otherwise be wasted. Greater coordination at the local level helps unlock efficiencies that are often overlooked when systems are planned separately. This is the essence of integration: creating value through stronger connections between sectors.

As energy systems become smarter and more interconnected, the role of the consumer will continue to evolve. In the traditional model, consumers were largely passive recipients of energy. In a more integrated system, households and businesses become active participants through flexible demand, distributed generation and storage. Energy markets will need to adapt accordingly, placing greater value on flexibility and reliability services alongside energy supply itself.

Europe already possesses the technical expertise and much of the economic evidence needed to support this transition. The question is whether implementation can proceed at the pace required. Continued fragmentation will leave consumers and businesses exposed to many of the same vulnerabilities that have characterised recent energy crises. A more integrated approach offers a pathway towards a cleaner, more secure and more competitive future.

*The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) is a network of national science academies in Europe.

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

• Further reading: ‘Modern grids will be the foundation for future growth in Europe’. As Europe seeks to strengthen energy security, stimulate sustainable growth and affordability, and reduce emissions, accelerating electrification and investing in modern grid infrastructure must become urgent priorities, writes Maxine Ghavi, Executive Vice President and Head of Europe at Hitachi Energy.
• ‘Local plans and energy infrastructure: an integrated delivery model’. The Local Plan process, and the wider planning system in the UK, could do more to give greater, enduring certainty as to where energy development is suitable in a Local Plan area, writes Anthony Greally, Head of Advanced Energy at planning consultancy Lichfields.