IRU welcomes the European Commission’s European Grids Package and Energy Highways initiative as an important first step towards modernising the electricity system. But the essential operational enablers for the electrification of commercial road transport are still missing.
The Grids Package is an economy-wide initiative designed to strengthen and future-proof EU electricity networks across all sectors. It includes measures to accelerate grid planning, simplify and shorten permitting, improve cross-border interconnections, and guide forward-looking investments. Together with the Energy Highways initiative, it sets out a long-term vision to support the shift to electrification, hydrogen and digitalised energy systems.
IRU recognises that this represents good news for transport operators: a more predictable permitting framework, stronger interconnections and more coordinated planning are indispensable foundations for road transport decarbonisation and the deployment of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). These are elements the sector has long called for, and the Commission’s initiative is a welcome signal that the EU is prioritising its electricity infrastructure.
But this can only be the beginning. For commercial road transport, the package still falls short of addressing several critical operational needs that determine whether operators can realistically scale up investment in ZEVs across the EU. (....)