the time to act is now. Investment in renewables has significantly outpaced grid investment in recent years, leaving many power networks under severe strain. According to the IEA, to meet climate and energy security goals, the world will need to add or refurbish more than 80 million kilometres of grid infrastructure by 2040 – a scale equal to nearly 100 % of today’ s entire global electricity grid. In other words, almost the equivalent of the entire grid in use today will need to be renewed or expanded by 2040 to support growing renewable capacity and ensure reliable delivery of clean energy. Without that level of upgrade and expansion, the clean energy generated simply can’ t reach the people and places that need it.

In Europe alone, hundreds of gigawatts of renewable projects are awaiting connection – delayed by permitting bottlenecks, limited transmission and distribution capacity and outdated infrastructure. The result: a growing gap between our ability to generate clean power and the grid’ s ability to deliver it reliably.

Strengthening the grid There are three priorities that stand out most prominently when we consider what must be done to strengthen the grid. Here are three key priorities as we see it.

First and foremost, you can’ t build tomorrow’ s grid with yesterday’ s tools. Of course, we still need robust components – switchgear, transformers, breakers, cables. Yet those components alone won’ t make the grid resilient. We need a grid that sees what’ s coming, reacts in real time, and recovers faster. That’ s where digitalisation plays a critical role.

Modern electrical equipment is already equipped with sensors measuring everything from temperature and load to vibration and humidity. But raw data alone isn’ t enough. With AI, machine learning and advanced software, we can translate data into early warnings, predictive maintenance and automated interventions that keep small issues from becoming big failures.

Second, we need tools that allow the control of the power flow to secure stability and integrity of the grid – such as battery energy storage systems( BESS) and synchronous condensers.

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