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The European Union (EU) can aspire to achieve energy independence through the deployment of existing and emerging technologies. Electrification, renewables and energy storage could reduce the EU's reliance on conventional fossil fuels. What are the developments, expectations, concerns and societal implications associated with these technologies? And what initiatives and policies could lead to a resilient EU energy system, through anticipating impacts?

Innovative technologies in the field of geothermal energy focus on three areas: (i) resource assessment, (ii) resource development, and (iii) resource utilisation and management for electricity, heat supply and mineral extraction (lithium). They include increased electric power system efficiency, novel and optimised drilling technologies, underground thermal energy storage, new exploration methods, closed loops, smart systems, and 3D models. Advanced plants and technologies include ultra-deep geothermal ...

This At A Glance - Study In Focus provides information on the proposed reform of the electricity market design which maintains crucial elements of the existing system to ensure continued efficient operation. The impact that changing the rules on longer-term contracts will have on consumer prices and investment will depend on the concrete language of proposed legislation as well as its ultimate implementation. Overall, neither the expected mode of impact of individual reform elements, let alone their ...

On 13 September 2023, Kim Jong-un, leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea), met with President Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome (spaceport) in the Amur region in Russia's far east. Although very little is known about what they discussed, many observers assume that one of the topics involved hammering out the details of a deal whereby North Korea would help Russia replenish its stocks of artillery shells and send a considerable number of workers to staff Russian ...

The proposed reform of the electricity market design maintains crucial elements of the existing system to ensure continued efficient operation. The impact that changing the rules on longer-term contracts will have on consumer prices and investment will depend on the concrete language of proposed legislation as well as its ultimate implementation. Overall, neither the expected mode of impact of individual reform elements, let alone their interaction, is clearly spelled out by the legislators. This ...

According to Article 194(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, each Member State independently decides on its own energy mix and use of nuclear energy. However, there are common rules and standards on nuclear energy, the basis for which is the Treaty on the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom Treaty) signed in 1957. All current EU Member States are party to it and it has remained largely unchanged throughout the years. Common EU rules also stem from the Nuclear Safety Directive ...

If it is to achieve the Paris Agreement objective of keeping the rise in global temperature well below 2° C, the EU must consider every possible technology to decarbonise energy production. Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the sun and it can be reproduced on Earth. However, even once the considerable engineering challenges of designing a fusion power plant are overcome, there are major constraints inherent in upscaling fusion power.

The energy crisis of 2022 has brought new challenges for the EU electricity market. Concerns over very high prices (driven in part by their coupling with gas prices), security of energy supply, and the need to increase decarbonisation have sparked discussions on the need to redesign the EU's electricity market. The EU has already taken a number of short-term measures to contain the energy crisis. The REPowerEU plan of May 2022 was introduced to phase out Russian fossil fuel imports, diversify supplies ...

Even though the EU and Iran have worked together over the past 4 years to save the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), relations between the two sides have reached a new low. The EU is concerned about the acceleration of Iran's nuclear programme in violation of the JCPOA and the country's reluctance to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency. In addition, the Iranian authorities' violent crackdown on and execution of peaceful protesters has ...

On 30 September 2022, the Council of the European Union agreed an urgent regulation to address the problem of very high energy prices in the EU. The Council regulation would raise revenues for Member States to compensate energy consumers for rising prices. Firstly, Member States would receive the excess revenues of electricity generators that rely on cheaper 'inframarginal' energy technologies. These companies are obtaining windfall revenues from high electricity prices caused by the exceptional ...