【欧洲电力行业联盟】电力耦合：通过电气化提高工业竞争力-2026.6

throughelectrification

Enhancingindustrialcompetitiveness

JUNE2026

POWERCOUPLES|EXECUTIVESUMMARY2

ElectrificationasastrategicleverforEurope’ssovereignty,competitivenessandclimatetrajectory

Whymustindustryelectrifynow?

Europe’sindustrialbaseisata

strategicinflectionpoint.The

technologiestoelectrifyareready.Thewindowtoactcompetitivelyisnarrowing.Whatstandsbetween

ambitionanddeploymentisnotinnovation,butsystemalignment.

Buildingonlastyear’sEurelectric-

Accenturereport“TheNewIndustrialAge”1thisstudymovesthequestionfrom'shouldEuropeelectrify?'to'howdoesitscaleinpractice?’.Asenergymarketsstayvolatileandgeopoliticalrisksdisruptsupplychains,shifting

industrialdemandfromimported

fossilfuelstodomesticallyproducedelectricitycanimprovecoststability,strengthenresilienceandsupport

long-termgrowth.

Technologyisnotthebottlenecktoscalingelectrification

Europeisalreadyprogressingwheresystemconditionsarealigned.The

evidenceinthisreportshowsthattheconstraintisnottechnological

readiness,butthecomplexityofthesurroundingsystem,infrastructure,investmentframeworksandpolicy.

Thesearenotparalleltracks.Price

visibilityistheprerequisite.Withoutit,gridinvestmentandcapital

mobilisationfollowslowlyregardlessofintent.Europemustactonfour

fronts–providingstablelong-terminvestmentsignals,aligning

infrastructurewithindustrialtimelines,enhancinginvestmentclarityand

bankabilityandcreatingcoherent,

execution-focusedpolicy

frameworks.Eachreinforcestheotherandnonearesufficientinsilos.

Themodelexistsandthetimetoactisnow!

Breakingdependencyandbuildingcompetitiveedge

Europe’sindustrialbasestillrelies

heavilyonimportedfossilfuels,

exposingcompaniestopriceshocks,supplyuncertaintyandstrategicrisk.Electrificationoffersadirectpathtoreducetheexposure.Byexpandingtheuseofclean,locallyproduced

power,Europecananchormore

industrialactivityinasafer,moreself-reliantenergysystem.

Atthesametime,electrificationis

movingfromcostpremiumto

competitiveedge.Inmanyindustrialapplications,electricsolutionsare

approachingcostparitywhileofferinggreaterpricestabilityandlower

exposuretovolatilefuelmarkets,

creatingmorepredictableand

resilientcoststructuresthatbenefitbothcompaniesandthesystem.

Industryremainsamajorsourceof

emissions,especiallyfromprocessheatandheavyoperations.Manyoftheseusescanalreadyshiftto

electricsolutions.Rapid

electrificationcancutemissions,

improveenergyefficiencyandmakeindustrialoperationsmoreresilienttoclimateandmarketdisruption.

Forindustrialleadersand

policymakers,theimmediate

imperativeistoalignthesystemfastenoughtocaptureinvestment.ThisreportintroducesthePowerCouplesframework—anintegrated

partnershipmodeldevelopedfromcross-sectorevidence—asEurope'smostscalabledeploymentpath.

1

Thenewindustrialage

POWERCOUPLES|POWERCOUPLESCONCEPT3

PowerCouples:Anewclassofintegratedpartnerships

PowerCouplescouldbeanewclassofmulti-layerpartnershipthatbringstogetherindustrialplayers,energyproviders,technologyandcapital

partnersinintegrated,outcome-drivenmodelsthatjointlyoptimisesystem-levelcoordinationacrossindustrialdemand,low-carbonsupplyand

infrastructuredesign.

HowPowerCouplesarestructured:

POWERCOUPLES

Integrated,outcome-drivenpartnershipsthatjointlyoptimise load,supplyandinfrastructure

TECH/CAPITALPARTNERS

Equipment,digital

orchestration,financing

ENERGYPROVIDERS

Power,heat,gridaccess,flexibilityroutes

INDUSTRIALPLAYERS

Processoutcome,site,demandanchor

Whythisconceptisdifferent

Insteadoftraditionaldemandpoolingandcollocation,PowerCouplesjointlyoptimiseforsystembenefitsacrossindustrialdemand,low-carbonsupplyandinfrastructure.Theresultisfasterdeployment,lowerriskconcentrationandbetteroutcomesforallpartnersandthesystem.

Typicalcommercialmodels

PowerCouplesvoluntarilycollaboratethroughacombinationofcommercialstructuressuchaslong-termpowerpurchaseagreements(PPAs),heat-as-a-service,energy-as-a-service,waste-heatofftake,flexibilityrevenuesorblendedpublic-privatefinancing;structuresthatconvertvolatilecostexposuresintopredictable,bankableoutcomes.

Whattheydeliver

Forthepartners:Lowerupfrontcapitalexposure,fastertime-to-deploymentandcleareraccountabilityforoutcomes.Forthesystem:bettergridutilisation,easierrenewableintegrationandsharedinfrastructurethatreducescost.

PowerCouplescontributetosolvingtheelectrification

deploymentchallengebyoptimisingcoordinationoffragmenteddecisionsforsystem-leveldelivery.

POWERCOUPLES|APPROACHANDMETHODOLOGY4

Howwebuilttheevidence

Electrificationcannotbeunderstoodsectortosector.Itoperatesasasystem.

Thismethodologywasdesignedtosurfacethatsystemlogic:triangulatingmarketsignals,

stakeholderperspectives,syntheticdataandreal-worldprojectdatatoisolatetherecurringenablersandconstraintsthatcutacrossindustries.

Fromfragmentedinsightstoacoherentsystem-levelunderstandingofelectrification

Desktopresearch

•Public-domainresearch

•Sentimentanalysis*

→Capturepatterns,

challengesandemergingpriorities

•Cross-sectorintegration:

fromsector-specificinsightstoasharedsystemlogic,

identifying

interdependencies,trade-offs,andcommonenablersacrossindustries.

→Combineallinputstorevealcross-sectordynamicsandasharedelectrificationlogic

•Project-levelanalysisto

highlightwhatworksin

practice,thenidentifythe

conditionsandsuccess

factorsthatenablereplicationatscale.

→Anchorfindingsinreal-worldstrategicperspectives

Stakeholderinsights

RoundtablesInterviewsReal-worldevidenceSystemlevelsynthesis

4PowerCouplesRoundtables:

•Electricityconsumers(Nov13,2025)

•Energy-Intensive

Industries(Nov27,2025)

•DataCentres(Mar3,2026)

•Low-/mid-heat

Industries(Mar4,2026)

•LiveC-suiteinterviews

forenergy-intensive

industries;AI-derived

CEOperspective**for

datacentresand

low-/mid-heatindustries

→Structurecross-stakeholderdialogue(industry,utilities,policymakers)

→Bringoperationalandstrategicperspectives

*Sentimentanalysisbasedon~3,500datapointsfromexpertcalls,companyreports,andindustrydiscussionsacross61energy-intensivecompanies.AI-assistedanalysis,combinedwithexpertvalidation,wasusedtoclustersignalsrelatedtoelectrificationchallengesandopportunitiesandidentifyareasofconvergence.

Seeappendixformethodologydetails

**AI-derivedCEOperspectiveswerereconstructedusingAI-assistedanalysisofverifiedpublicsources(includingexecutivestatements,interviewsandreports),toreflectrepresentativeleadershipviewpoints.

Content

01Contextandobjectives

02Imagineif:ElectrificationUnlocked

03RealityCheck:Cross-sectorconstraints

04FromBarrierstoScale

05Conclusion

2CommissionproposesactionstoprotectEuropeansfromthefossilenergycrisisandacceleratetheshifttoclean,homegrownenergy

POWERCOUPLES|CONTEXTANDOBJECTIVES6

ElectrificationinEuropeisnolongerconstrainedbytechnology,butbythe

system’sabilitytoenableitatscale

Buildingontheturningpoint

Thequestionisnolongerwhethertoelectrify,buthowtodosoatspeedandscale.Foralargeshareof

industrialprocesses—particularlyinlow-andmedium-temperatureheat—technologiesaremature,provenandalreadydeployable.Electrificationisthereforenotjustadecarbonisationpathway,butastrategicleverfor

competitiveness—enablingmore

predictablecosts,higherefficiencyandgreaterresiliencetofossilfueldependency.Giventheweightof

industryinEurope’semissions,thisshiftisnotamarginalone.Itisa

system-widetransformationshapingthefutureofboththeenergysystemandindustrialcompetitiveness.

Apolicywindowopeningnow

Forthefirsttime,thepoliticaland

economiccasesforelectrificationarealsoconverging.TheEuropean

Commission’sproposed

AccelerateEUpackage2signalsthatthisagendaisnowatthecentreofEUpolicy.Itscoreobjectiveofmakingelectricitycheaperandmorewidelyavailabledirectlymirrorsthesystemalignmentchallengethisreport

addresses.Forindustrialleadersandpolicymakers,thetimingissignificantandthesignalisclear:theconditionsforscalingelectrificationandthe

politicalwilltoactareconverging.

Thewindowisopen—thequestioniswhetherEurope’sindustrialsystem

canmovefastenoughtoseizetheopportunity.

Fromelectrificationpotentialtosystemdelivery

Whilethepreviousreportestablishedthatelectrificationisbothviableandstrategic,thisreporttakesthenext

step—examininghowelectrificationplaysoutinpractice.Itfocuseson

whereprojectssucceed,wheretheystallandwhatmakesthedifference,highlightinghow“PowerCouples”

canenablemorecoordinated,

system-leveldeliveryatscale.

Specifically,itaddressesthree

questions:whatsystemconstraints

recuracrosssectors;whatsuccessfulprojectshaveincommon;andwhatconditionsmustbereplicatedto

scalethosemodelsacrossEurope.

Together,theseinsightsshedlightonhowEurope’sindustrialbasecan

capturethecompetitiveadvantagesofelectrification—orriskleaving

themunrealised.

Threesectors,onesystemreality

Toaddressthesequestions,the

reportdrawsoncross-sector

evidencefromthreecriticalindustrialfrontiers:energy-intensiveindustries,low-/mid-heatsectorsanddata

centres—coveringmorethan3,500marketsignalsacross61companiesand30documentedprojects.

Despitethedifferenceinprocesses,loadprofilesandoperationalrealities,thesesectorsrevealaconsistent

finding:electrificationprogresses

whensystemconditionsarealignedandstallswhentheyarenot.The

implicationisclear—solving

electrificationisnotasector-to-

sectorchallenge.Itisasystemdesignchallenge.

SECTION1

Imagineif:

in5years,

electrificationin

Europenolonger

competedforpowerbutorchestratedit

POWERCOUPLES|IMAGINEIF:ELECTRIFICATIONUNLOCKED8

Imagineifelectrificationnolongerlookslikeaqueueofsteelplants,foodfactories,

papermillsanddatacentrescompetingforscarce,volatilepower.Instead,EuropebuildsPowerCouples:multi-layerpartnershipsthatjointlyoptimiseload,supply,

infrastructureandsystemvalue.InaPowerCouplesmodel,oneloadanchorslong-termcleanpower,anothershiftsdemandwhenpricesspike,athirdprovidesfast

balancingandallofthemshareinfrastructure,riskandsystemvalue.

Theprizeisnotonlydecarbonisation.Forindustry,itisalower-cost,faster-to-deployandcompetitiveelectricitysystemthatresultsinimprovedreturnsforelectrificationinvestments.

POWERCOUPLES|IMAGINEIF:ELECTRIFICATIONUNLOCKED9

EachactorinthePowerCouplessystemhasadistinctrole;together,theysolve

whatnosingleplayercanNon-exhaustive

ROLEINTHEENERGYSYSTEM

SYSTEMBENEFITS

ENERGY-INTENSIVEINDUSTRIES

•Anchorlarge,bankabledemand*

•UnderwritePPAs*andsharedinfrastructure

•Justifygridreinforcementandnewcleansupply*

•Providelong-termofftakecertainty*

•Contributeselectedwaste-heatandstructuredflexibilitywherefeasible

•

•

•

•

•

ImprovesbankabilityofpowerandgridinvestmentRaisesinfrastructureutilisation

Reducesindustrialpower-costrisk

Strengthensadequacyandinvestmentsignals

Supportscompetitivenessandlowerscarbon-leakagerisk

LOW-/MID-HEATINDUSTRIES

•Provideflexibleelectrifiedheatdemand

•Deployheatpumps,electricboilers,thermalenergystorage(TES),hybridsystems

•Shiftloadacrosshourswithoutmajoroutputloss

•Scalebrownfieldretrofitpackages

•Absorblow-costrenewablepower

•

•

•

•

•

Deliversintradayanddailyflexibility

Lowerspeakdemandandcurtailment

Reduceseffectivecostofelectrifiedheat

Improvesrenewableintegration

Makesbrownfieldelectrificationscalable

DATACENTRES

•Providestablehigh-volumepowerdemand

•Deliverfastflexibilityviauninterruptiblepowersupply(UPS)andrecoverablewasteheat

•Enableadvanceddigitalcontrolandforecasting

•Supportco-locatedpower,storage,andheatdesign

•Improvesbankabilityofpowerandgridinvestment

•Raisesinfrastructureutilisation

•

•

•

•

•

Deliversseconds-to-minutesbalancing

Improvesheat-networkeconomics

Monetiseswasteheat

IncreasesvisibilityofloadandsystemconditionsImprovesutilisationoflocalpowerinfrastructure

CROSS-SECTORVALUEINPOWERCOUPLES

•Energy-intensiveindustryanchors

•Low-/mid-heatindustryflexes

•Datacentresanchor,stabiliseandexportheat

•Utilitiesorchestratecomplementaryloadsandflexibilityacrossthegrid

•Networksandpolicyenablescale

•

•

•

•

•

Lowerstotalsystemcost

Reducesduplicationofinfrastructurethroughgrid-enabledcoordination

Improvesflexibilityandrenewableuptake

Cutselectrificationriskanddeliverytime

Strengthensindustrialcompetitivenessandresilience

*Rolealsoapplicabletodatacentres

POWERCOUPLES|IMAGINEIF:ELECTRIFICATIONUNLOCKED10

Inpractice,theserolesconnectintoamoreintegratedenergysystemthatrewardsflexibility

Imagineascenariowhereadairyplant(low-/mid-heatsector)andadatacentreinPolandinvestinon-siteenergysolutions*andleveragetheirflexibilitytogether…

Illustrative

Workingtogether

Datacentre(DC)anddairyplantpurchase

electricityfromthegridtoruntheiroperations

•Byinstallingon-sitesolar,DCreducesitsbaseloadconsumption

•Duringnegative-priceperiodsdatacentre3chargesitsUPS

•DuringpricespikesDCprovideselectricityfromUPStodairyplant

•Duringnegativepriceperiodsdairyplantchargesitsbatteryenergystoragesystem

(BESS)

DuringpricespikesdairyplantdischargesBESSandreducesitsgridconsumption

•DCdecreasesitsworkloadsduringpricespikesandincreasesduringnegativepriceperiods

Legend:NewinvestmentStandardfacilityassetsPowerflows

DATACENTRE

On-sitesolar

1CoreProcesses6

DAIRYPLANT

CoreProcesses

4

3

0

Grid

BESS

UPS

0

5

2

*Inamarket,whereflexibilityispricedeffectively,andflexibleassetsandgridarewelldeveloped,benefitscanalreadybedeliveredatsystemlevel.Illustrativeexamplepresentedhereinprovidessimplifiedviewforthepurposeofcalculatingindicativebenefitsfortheinvolvedenergyconsumers.

Seeappendixforassumptions

Sources:(a)AccentureonEurostat,Electricitypricestatistics,asofOctober2025;Eurostat,Electricitypricesfornon-householdconsumers-bi-annualdata(from2007onwards),asofApril20,2026;(b)Kamiya,G.andBertoldi,P.,EnergyConsumptioninDataCentresandBroadbandCommunicationNetworksintheEU,PublicationsOfficeoftheEuropeanUnion;(c)IEA,

Energy

andAI

;(d)IEA,

KeyQuestionsonEnergyandAI

;(e)publicindustryportals&news.

11

POWERCOUPLES|IMAGINEIF:ELECTRIFICATIONUNLOCKED

Coordinatedflexibilityunlockshigherelectrificationreturnsthanstandalonedeployment

Flexibilityisrewarded–butonlywhenitiscoordinated

System-levelflexibilityinPowerCouplesmodeladdsmaterialreturnsbeyondbaselineelectrificationROI

Indicative

Charttotherightpresentscombinedreturnoninvestment(ROI)ofsolarandBESSinstallationindatacentreanddairyplant.Baselinerepresentsbothfacilitiesoperatingindividually.Increaseinreturnsisachievedbyoptimisingfacilities

together.

Lessons:

•CoordinatingsolarandBESSacrossdatacentreanddairyplantgenerateshighercombinedROI.

•System-levelvaluedoesnotaccrueevenly.Collaborationmodelsmustbedesignedsoeachparticipantremainscommerciallyviable.

•Storageandloadflexibilitycapturethehighestvalueinvolatilemarketswithfrequentprice

spikesanddips.

•On-sitegenerationperformsbestinhigh-pricemarkets,whileflexibilitydelivers

disproportionatevalueundervolatility.

16%

14%

12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0%

6.9%14.9%

5.9%

Morethanhalfofthetotal

ROIupliftcouldcomefrom

sharedflexibilityand

systemservices,notasset

deploymentalone.

BaselineROISystembenefitROIwithPowerCouple

BaselineROIROIincreasebyPowerCouple

3Eurelectric:ElectrificationAccelerationAreaspositionpaper:

/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Electrification-Acceleration-Areas-Eurelectric-position.docx.pdf

*DSO:DistributionSystemOperator;TSO:TransmissionSystemOperator;PPA:PowerPurchaseAgreement;UPS:UninterruptiblePowerSupply;BESS:BatteryEnergyStorageSystem

POWERCOUPLES|IMAGINEIF:ELECTRIFICATIONUNLOCKED12

IMMEDIATENO-REGRETMOVESWHYITMATTERS

血

Withthevaluecaseestablished,theprioritynowiscoordinated,no-regretactionacrossthesystem

POLICYMAKERS

Createafast-trackframeworkforelectrificationareas3withanticipatorygridbuild-outandparallelpermittingfornewandexistinginvestments.

Removesthemostcommondeploymentbottleneckacrosssectors:infrastructureandapprovalslagginginvestmentreadiness.

UTILITIES

Engageinorchestrationofintegratedportfoliosofproductsandservices

Utilitiescontinuefocusingoncustomer-centricitytofurthersupportclients

supportingend-to-endelectrificationneeds,includingpilotingthemin

inoptimisingpower,heat,storageandcontractingacrossmultipleusersand

electrificationareas

locationsacrossthegrid.

DSO/TSO*

Publishtransparentconnection,congestionandflexibilitymapsforindustrialareas,andcoordinatelocalflexibilityprocurement.

Givesdevelopersvisibilityonwhereelectrificationcanmovefastest,

reducesqueueuncertainty,createsthebasisfornon-wirealternativesandcoordinatedflexibilityprocurement,andsupportssecurityofsupply.

ENERGY-INTENSIVE

INDUSTRIES

Aggregatefutureloadandflexibilityintoonebankableelectrificationroadmap.

StrengthensnegotiationsaroundPPAs*,improvesgrid-planningcredibility,supportssharedinfrastructureandreducestheriskoffragmentedsite-by-sitedecisions.

.'LOW-/MID-HEAT

INDUSTRIES

Prioritisethermalflexibilitybeforefullprocessconversion.

Createsfastoptionality,lowerexposuretovolatilepowerpricesandmakesbrownfieldelectrificationeasiertoscaleusingheatpumps,electricboilersandthermalstorage.

·DATACENTRES

Encourageeverynewsitetobeflex-readyandwaste-heat-readyby

Avoidscostlyretrofitslater,improvesconnectionquality,enables

design.

UPS/BESS*participationandcreatesaroutetomonetiseheatfromdayone.

POWERCOUPLES|IMAGINEIF:ELECTRIFICATIONUNLOCKED-HOWTOMAKEITHAPPEN13

Infiveyears,electrificationbecomesastandard,bankableindustrialinvestment

Whatcustomersexpectfromthefuturesystem

Customersexpectelectricityto

becomeapredictableindustrialinput,notamarketrisktohedgeagainst.

Powerinfrastructureandoperationsareplannedtogether,givingearlyvisibilityintocost,capacityandtimelines.

Electrificationisdesignedasasystem,notaretrofit.Processredesign,

storage,flexibilityanddigitalcontrolareintegratedupfront.

Riskshiftsfromindividualprojectsto

coordinateddelivery.Policy,capital

andinfrastructureframeworksreduceexecutionriskandspeedupdecisions.

Electrificationscalesasarepeatable

choice.Investmentcyclesshorten,

systemcostsdeclineandelectrificationbecomesthedefaultoption.

Howafullyalignedelectrificationsystemoperates:

Systemoutcome

Reliableindustrialoutputwithimprovedcostvisibility,uptimeandcarbonintensity

Operationallayer

Electrifiedprocesses,digitalcontrol,storageandcoordinatedoperations

Commerciallayer

Long-termpowervisibility,demandassuranceandflexibilityrevenues

Infrastructurelayer

Visiblecapacity,phasedconnections,co-locationoptions,heatnetworksandstorage

Policy&capitallayer

Strategicprioritisation,technology-neutralsupport,de-riskingandmarketaccessforflexibility

Whatthissystemenables

Fasterinvestmentdecisions

Projectsareunderwrittenonvisiblecosts,timelinesandrisk-sharing

frameworks

Lowertotalsystemcost

Coordinateddemandand

infrastructurereduceoverbuild,delaysandinefficiencies

Higherassetutilisationandvaluecapture

Flexibility,storageandheatintegrationincreaseutilisationandimprovebothsystemandprojecteconomics

Strongerindustrialresilience

Reducedexposuretovolatilitythroughdiversifiedsourcingandstructuredcontracts

POWERCOUPLES|IMAGINEIF:ELECTRIFICATIONUNLOCKED-HOWTOMAKEITHAPPEN14

Whensystemsalign,electrificationbecomesacompetitivenesslever—notjustadecarbonisationsolution

“TheNewIndustrialAge”alreadyestablishedin2025thatelectrificationcouldbeacost-effectivealternativetodirectuseoffossilfuels.Withrecentlydisruptedhydrocarbonsupplychainsresultinginhistoricallyhighpricevolatility,electrificationoffersevenmorebenefitstoday.

1

Competitiveness

Predictabledomesticpowerbecomesacompetitiveinputagainstpriceshocks

Electrificationreducesexposuretofossilpricevolatility,makingenergyamorepredictableinputand

supportingthecaseforindustrialanddigitalgrowthinEurope.

•Supportscleaner,higher-valueproductpropositions

•Enablesnewindustrialserviceandbusinessmodels

•Improvesinvestmentattractivenessinenergy-intensivesectors

2Resilience

Amoreelectrifiedsystemincreasesoperational

resilience

Electrificationlowersrelianceonimportedfossilfuelswhileenablingmoreflexibleanddiversifiedenergyuse,strengtheningoverallresilience.

•Multiplesourcingstrategies(grid,contracts,on-site)

•Flexibility,storageandheatrecoveryincreaseoptionality

•Bettersystemvisibilityimprovesplanningandcoordination

3Decarbonisation

Decarbonisationbecomesastructuraloutcome

ofsystemstrength

Whenelectricitybecomespredictable,low-carbonandavailableontime,emissionsnaturallydecrease,

enablingcleanerindustryandmoreefficientdigitalgrowth.

•Accelerateselectrificationofprocessheat

•Improvesrenewableintegrationandreducescurtailment

•Turnswasteheatandflexibledemandintosystemassets

Europe’srealprizeistomovefromcompensatingforsystemfrictionstoscalinganewindustrialoperatingmodelbuiltonlow-carbonpower.

SECTION2

Realitycheck:

cross-sectorconstraints

POWERCOUPLES|REALITYCHECK:CROSS-SECTORCONSTRAINTS16

Electrificationisnotconstrainedby

ambition—itisconstrainedbyexecution

Thevisionisclear.Thisiswheredeliverybreaksdowntoday.

Acrossindustries,electrificationprojectssloworstallforthesamereasons.Electricitycostsremainvolatileandhardto

underwrite.Gridaccessisuncertainanddelayed.

Investmentsstruggletoreachbankability.Integrationintooperationsiscomplex.Policyframeworksfailtosupportdeliveryatpace.

Drawingoncross-sectorevidence,thisanalysisisolateswhereprojectsconsistentlybreakdown—acrosspriceuncertainty,infrastructuredelays,financingriskand

operationalcomplexity—andwheretheysucce