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EU Energy Transition: Policy Ambition vs Industrial Capacity



11 June 2026 

Earlier this June I had the pleasure of participating in two highly relevant discussions for accelerating the renewable energy adoption in the EU. The meeting on Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) implementation was focussed on policy changes required to achieve the goal. Whereas the meeting on grid resilience focussed more on the technical aspects that could actually make renewable energy work on a continental scale. [1-3]

The Renewable Energy Directive proposed by the EU is now a law that the member states are required to enforce. But while the intent has been positive the actual implementation of the law has been lagging. The reasons could be many: slow bureaucracy, political opposition, conflicting goals, technological gaps and prioritisation of other pressing concerns. 

Member states have their own complex politics & their own issues to take care of before they can look at union directives. Now to overcome this challenge the union has adopted a carrot and stick policy. One one hand they are incentivising green projects by making access to capital/funds easier (the carrot) and on the other they are penalising fossil based projects and products(the stick). 

This approach is questionable. The most important question that needs to be asked here is that do the member states even have the capability to produce their own green fuel? Fossil fuel is extracted for free from the ground; it's almost all profit. But to make green hydrogen for instance you'd need a massive green energy capability. Is that available? Where are giant electrolyser plants that can produce enough green hydrogen? Where are massive Fischer Tropsch vessels that can produce e fuels for aviation? The union can hold big corporations captive all it wants but it's basically asking private companies to build national/ international level energy infrastructure. That raises another question. Why do corporations even need a government then? If they are going to build the infra they might as well administer it too. 

Another pressing concern is the absolute hypocrisy of the union. As it preaches to private corporations to adopt green fuel,and green energy it practices opportunistic realpolitik and increases oil production in unstable regions like Venezuela[4]. Why would any member state follow union directives if union actions are not harmonized with their preachings. 

Yet there is even more compelling reason for the states to not comply. Which is that the green energy transition immensely benefits developed,economically powerful western EU nations like Germany & England. While the east EU countries lag behind & become technologically captive. 

Without a clear,compelling ,universally available tech breakthrough green energy would either remain a pipe dream or become a leverage against developing nations [5-7]

Breakthroughs are happening. Not as fast as we would like but they are emerging. I was pleasantly surprised to learn during the meeting on grid resilience how cheap CO2 is being used as a thermal energy storage to manage grid demand. This is just one among the many,many,many thermal energy storage options that are available today making expensive batteries completely redundant for everything except portable use. 

Today oil companies are being treated as villains. From a historical perspective though, all of the technology that we possess today has its roots in oil,gas and coal. Oil industries can play a leading role again by investing in their pipe infra to transport green fuels and in research of new combined heat and power engines that can revolutionise renewable energy generation. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. Oil n gas industries have a clear advantage. If they are unable to capitalize on it ,they'll have no one to blame but themselves.  [8-9]

REFERENCES 

1.H2 Talk: REDIII Implementation – Where are we now?             
       
https://hydrogeneurope.eu/events/?he_event=aX178Y9B5ePgRvD

2. H2Talk: REDIII implementation: shaping national paths for transport targets

https://hydrogeneurope.eu/events/?he_event=g8DmVYrRXYBGzw5

3. From Grid Congestion to Grid Resilience: The Role of Flexibility Enabler  
https://energystorageeurope.eu/event/from-grid-congestion-to-grid-resilience-the-role-of-flexibility-enabler/

4 Repsol agrees Venezuela deal to boost oil production and regain control of assets
https://energystorageeurope.eu/event/from-grid-congestion-to-grid-resilience-the-role-of-flexibility-enabler/

5 Geopolitics of climate tech: Notes from the bharat climate forum
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/01/geopolitics-of-climate-tech-notes-from.html

6 The materials blind spot in clean energy policy
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-materials-blind-spot-in-clean.html

7 Breaking the Chicken-and-Egg Trap: LDES, Hydrogen, and the Future of Infrastructure
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/03/breaking-chicken-and-egg-trap-ldes.html

8. Pipes and the future of energy transport
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/03/pipes-and-future-of-energy-transport.html

9 Annual oil and gas conference —Pragmatic paths in energy transition 
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2025/11/annual-oil-and-gas-conference-pragmatic.html

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