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DIGITALEUROPE’s Plan for Europe’s Energy and Technology Competitiveness
DIGITALEUROPE wants the EU to pair a binding 32% electrification target for 2030 with one year permitting for grid infrastructure and more funding for digital scale up. Its central argument is that energy resilience, grid capacity and Europe’s ability to commercialise technology are interdependent.
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Key takeaways
- DIGITALEUROPE wants the EU to pair a binding 32% electrification target for 2030 with one year permitting for grid infrastructure and more funding for digital scale up.
- Its central argument is that energy resilience, grid capacity and Europe’s ability to commercialise technology are interdependent.
- The group also argues that 25% of the EU budget should support digital investment, versus the 7% share it identifies as current.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: How is DIGITALEUROPE urging the EU to address Europe’s exposure to high energy costs and geopolitical fuel shocks, weak grid capacity, and a. Article summary: DIGITALEUROPE’s prescription is to treat energy security, grid modernisation and technology scale-up as one competitiveness agenda: electrify more rapidly, build and digitalise the enabling infrastructure, and direct EU . Topic tags: general, general web. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts with fake numbers, clic
Europe’s energy exposure and its technology scale-up challenge should be addressed together, according to DIGITALEUROPE. Its proposals connect faster electrification and grid build-out with digital infrastructure, AI deployment and financing for European technology companies.
Make electrification a binding competitiveness goal
DIGITALEUROPE recommends an EU-wide mandatory target to electrify at least 32% of final energy use by 2030, translated into national and binding sectoral targets. It also calls for EU funding and the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank to prioritise cost-efficient electrification technologies. 3
The group’s premise is that a greater role for clean electricity can reduce reliance on fossil fuels while supporting industrial competitiveness. Its separate priorities document describes the intended direction as an energy system powered by homegrown clean electricity and identifies a 32% economy-wide electrification rate as an objective. 2
Remove the grid bottleneck with faster permits
Electrification depends on infrastructure that can connect new supply, demand, storage and digital tools. DIGITALEUROPE therefore proposes extending the one-year permitting acceleration measures used in the revised Renewable Energy Directive to grid infrastructure, including grid-enhancing technologies and innovative networks. 4
In practical terms, the request is for a maximum 12-month path for the grid and associated digital infrastructure needed to deploy electrification at speed. Faster approvals alone would not build a grid, but the organisation sees permitting delays as a barrier to expansion and connection. 4
Treat grids as digital, flexible systems
The organisation wants the EU’s Grids Package and forthcoming energy digitalisation and AI roadmap to make digital infrastructure a core part of energy policy. Its position paper identifies digitalisation and AI as levers for competitiveness, climate leadership and industrial resilience. 4
That approach includes digitalised permitting and support for grid-enhancing technologies. The broader policy aim is to equip electricity systems to manage a more complex mix of generation, demand and network assets rather than treating grid investment as a purely physical construction challenge. 4
Shift more EU funding toward digital capability
DIGITALEUROPE argues that the next EU budget should allocate 25% to digital investment. In its budget response, it says the current share is 7% and estimates that Europe needs an additional €157 billion to €227 billion in digital investment each year on average to close its digital investment gap. 6
The group also supports a €51.5 billion Digital Leadership allocation and argues that this would still be inadequate to turn leading research into competitive commercial products and digital capabilities at scale. Its proposed scope includes areas such as AI, high-performance computing, quantum technologies, semiconductors, photonics and robotics. 7
Focus policy on getting innovation to market
DIGITALEUROPE’s funding principles emphasize faster decisions, rolling calls, simplified access and a stronger focus on commercialisation. 6 The intended result is to improve the route from research and pilots to deployable products and growing businesses, rather than concentrating support only at the research stage.
For energy and industrial technology, that means aligning infrastructure investment and public demand with the companies that provide the relevant capabilities—from AI and digital grid tools to storage, semiconductors, robotics and other strategic technologies. The organisation’s argument is not that any one intervention will solve Europe’s competitiveness problem; it is that finance, market access, digital capability and energy infrastructure must reinforce one another. 4
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The bottom line
DIGITALEUROPE is advocating a combined energy-and-technology competitiveness strategy: binding electrification goals, faster grid permits, digital and AI-enabled energy systems, and EU financing designed to help technology reach commercial scale. The proposals are advocacy positions, so their impact would depend on whether EU institutions and member states adopt them. 3
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DIGITALEUROPE wants the EU to pair a binding 32% electrification target for 2030 with one year permitting for grid infrastructure and more funding for digital scale up.
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DIGITALEUROPE wants the EU to pair a binding 32% electrification target for 2030 with one year permitting for grid infrastructure and more funding for digital scale up. Its central argument is that energy resilience, grid capacity and Europe’s ability to commercialise technology are interdependent.
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The group also argues that 25% of the EU budget should support digital investment, versus the 7% share it identifies as current.