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Electrification
Electrification: the most efficient solution for decarbonising the European economy
Energy produced by renewable energies is the most efficient and cost-effective solution to reach EU decarbonisation targets.
What is electrification?
Electrification involves replacing fossil fuels with electricity across all sectors.
The European Union has set a goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to combat climate change. This will require developing renewable energies and expanding the fields of electric-powered vehicles, products, and processes.
That’s why our strategic plan revolves around a key pillar: the promotion of clean electrification based on emission-free generation sources as a lever to address the main challenges of the energy sector across Europe.
The electrification of demand refers to the growing reliance on electricity in both households and businesses, which helps to reduce the use of CO2-emitting technologies. This will achieve a competitive energy system for customers, making it more secure by reducing external energy dependency and more sustainable by decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
What are the benefits of electrification?
- Cleaner energy. Energy produced by renewable energy sources will enable us to achieve a clean energy system.
- Economic savings. Electric installations and appliances are more energy efficiency than other types.
- Smart homes. Digitalisation of household appliances promotes customer empowerment.
- Improved air quality. Moving from fossil fuels to electricity can improve air quality by reducing pollution from emissions.
- Energy independence. Electrification based on renewables is synonymous with energy independence.
Electrification by sectors
Electricity produced by renewable energy is the best way to decarbonise energy use in the sectors that cause the majority of greenhouse gases. These are mainly in transport, construction and industry.
Transport
If we wish to reach zero net emissions by 2050, 60% of vehicles sold worldwide will need to be electric by 2030. That’s why we’re working to ensure all electric vehicle drivers have access to charging points. By the end of 2024, we had 26,000 charging points in operation, both public and private.
Transport
If we wish to reach zero net emissions by 2050, 60% of vehicles sold worldwide will need to be electric by 2030. That’s why we’re working to ensure all electric vehicle drivers have access to charging points. By the end of 2024, we had 26,000 charging points in operation, both public and private.
Transport
If we wish to reach zero net emissions by 2050, 60% of vehicles sold worldwide will need to be electric by 2030. That’s why we’re working to ensure all electric vehicle drivers have access to charging points. By the end of 2024, we had 26,000 charging points in operation, both public and private.
Construction
The construction sector accounts for 40% of total energy consumption, 75% of which is produced with fossil fuels, mainly for heating. That's why we are working to offer our customers digital solutions for their installations and energy consumption.
Construction
The construction sector accounts for 40% of total energy consumption, 75% of which is produced with fossil fuels, mainly for heating. That's why we are working to offer our customers digital solutions for their installations and energy consumption.
Construction
The construction sector accounts for 40% of total energy consumption, 75% of which is produced with fossil fuels, mainly for heating. That's why we are working to offer our customers digital solutions for their installations and energy consumption.
Industrial Sector
In order to meet European objectives, direct electrification of industrial processes needs to reach 37% by 2030 and 46% by 2050. This can be achieved by changing the fuel used in industrial fields such as iron and steel through the use of electric arc furnaces. In sectors that are difficult to electrify, indirect electrification with green hydrogen or e-fuels may be used.
Industrial Sector
In order to meet European objectives, direct electrification of industrial processes needs to reach 37% by 2030 and 46% by 2050. This can be achieved by changing the fuel used in industrial fields such as iron and steel through the use of electric arc furnaces. In sectors that are difficult to electrify, indirect electrification with green hydrogen or e-fuels may be used.
Industrial Sector
In order to meet European objectives, direct electrification of industrial processes needs to reach 37% by 2030 and 46% by 2050. This can be achieved by changing the fuel used in industrial fields such as iron and steel through the use of electric arc furnaces. In sectors that are difficult to electrify, indirect electrification with green hydrogen or e-fuels may be used.
The electrification of end-uses will rely on the generation of increasingly decarbonised energy. A total of 80% of our peninsular energy production is already emission-free, and by 2040 we will be a fully decarbonised company.
Our main goal is to promote clean electrification: we are striving to ensure that around 90% of the energy sold to customers at a fixed price comes from non-polluting sources by 2026.
“Our aim is to achieve a 100% decarbonised status by 2040.”
Indirect electrification, another great ally
Another way to decarbonise the economy is with indirect electrification. For those “hard-to-shrink” sectors, such as aviation and long-distance shipping green hydrogen can be produced from renewable electricity and thus carbon neutral fuels in gas or liquid form.
Green hydrogen costs remain higher than blue. But it should begin to decline as manufacture of electrolysers increases. Monitoring the evolution of the green hydrogen market is key to identifying additional business opportunities and contributing to decarbonisation in the coming years.
Electrification by sectors
Electricity produced by renewable energy is the best way to decarbonise energy use in the sectors that cause the majority of greenhouse gases. These are mainly in transport, construction and industry.
Graph depicting direct and indirect electrification by sector.
Graph depicting direct and indirect electrification by sector.
Transmission
● Vehicles
Direct electrification: yes
Indirect electrification: no
● Naval
Direct electrification: yes (Cold ironing)
Indirect electrification: no (Long Range Naval Propulsion System)
● Trains
Direct electrification: yes
Indirect electrification: yes (If direct is not feasible)
● Air
Direct electrification: no
Indirect electrification: yes
Buildings
Direct electrification: yes
Indirect electrification: no
Industry
Direct electrification: yes
Indirect electrification: yes (In hard-to-decarbonise sectors, H2 as feedstock and replacement to produce high-quality heat).
Investment in infrastructure and transmission grids
Transmission grids are essential to electrification and must gain flexibility to ensure quality of supply.
The digitalisation of transmission grids allows consumers to take a proactive role in the energy system and promotes more efficient and sustainable use models.
In order to reach zero emissions by 2040, it will be essential to make significant investments in electricity grids. Therefore, in the investments outlined in our 2025-2027 Strategic Plan, 4 billion euros will be allocated to the electricity grid to improve service quality and make it easier to access new electricity production and consumption methods.