On 5th of November 2021, RGI, together with ABB and the Dutch Ministry for Infrastructure and Water Management, organised a COP26 side event "Lessons for a net-zero carbon grid",  in the EU pavilion.

A high-level panel discussion focused on the future design of the European energy system that will allow to reach full decarbonisation, largely based on renewable energy sources. In order to reach  decarbonisation targets while ensuring security of supply, infrastructure needs to be optimised. In that context, collaborative planning and a holistic development of a net-zero energy system is a critical precondition for a reliable, net-zero grid. The political, quantitative scenario developed in the first phase of PAC, provides the perfect base for a fundamental change in the European energy system design. The PAC guiding principles not only underline the necessity to optimise the entire energy planning, deployment and consumption, using all resources efficiently, but also point out that it must take place within a close collaboration across various actors and countries. Therefore, for a successful implementation, optimisation has to be achieved not only in the energy sector, but also in the natural and societal environment.

To better understand the complexity of the net zero carbon grid implementation, the COP26 side event was a great opportunity to share lessons and insights from research, practice, as well as national and European governance levels. Presentation of preliminary PAC modelling results from the RGI and Hitachi Energy collaboration, which explores different pathways for the infrastructure optimisation, contributed ideally to the scope of this discussion.

The whole event can be watched on YouTube here, on the European Commission EU Climate Action's channel.