EU Electrification Action Plan targets 46% electrification by 2040 and BESS buildout

The European Commission is aiming to make Europe the world’s first ‘electro-powered continent’ though its Electrification Action Plan and revised Emissions Trading System (ETS) announced 17 July. Electrification of energy demand has stalled at 23% for a decade; the Commission wants to lift that to an indicative 46% by 2040, a shift it says could cut the EU's fossil fuel import bill by €260 billion a year. The ETS review backs this with an investment engine, a €100 billion Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, and a requirement that member states plough half their ETS revenues into decarbonisation.