Energy security: The new fuel for renewables

Developments successful the Strait of Hormuz and their interaction connected planetary markets dominated the treatment betwixt METLEN Executive Chairman Evangelos Mytilineos and Financial Times’ European Editor Ben Hall during the Energy Transition Summit taking spot successful Athens.

Referring to the commodities market, Mytilineos stressed that aluminium prices are signaling a important increase, arsenic a ample stock of planetary accumulation is concentrated successful the Gulf region. At the aforesaid time, earthy state — which helium described arsenic the astir captious earthy worldly for his manufacture — has risen by 40–50%, substantially expanding accumulation costs, although, arsenic helium noted, the institution has already hedged its vulnerability for 2026 and 2027.

Mytilineos besides pointed retired that Europe risks replacing 1 dependency with another, shifting from Russian pipeline supplies to liquefied earthy state (LNG), chiefly of US origin, which present accounts for astir 80% of the company’s imports done the Revithoussa LNG Terminal facility. He further warned that the use of vigor arsenic a geopolitical instrumentality by the United States would person acold broader implications for transatlantic relations.

The competitiveness of European industry

In the aforesaid context, helium referred to the contented of the competitiveness of European industry, noting that for industries competing internationally with energy prices of astir 30 euros/MWh, survival becomes highly hard under existent outgo conditions. As helium remarked, European manufacture has been trying for years to explicate the occupation to Brussels, without immoderate meaningful response.

At the aforesaid time, helium criticized the European Union’s attack towards dense industry, noting that for years the prevailing cognition was that Europe nary longer needed energy-intensive industries. Regarding Europe’s vigor outlook, helium warned that little earthy state storage levels compared with erstwhile years are creating further pressure, while a displacement successful request towards Asia could nonstop prices soaring. As helium stressed, markets presently judge that tensions successful the Gulf will beryllium short-lived.

Renewable vigor summation driven by request for vigor security

Regarding the transition towards cleaner forms of energy, Mytilineos underlined that existent priorities are shifting distant from decarbonization and clime concerns towards vigor security. As helium noted, countries with constricted entree to inexpensive vigor are accelerating investments successful renewable vigor sources and infrastructure successful pursuit of greater autonomy, while Europe is besides reassessing its strategy under the weight of geopolitical instability.

He placed peculiar accent connected vigor storage, stressing that the adjacent large boost for renewable vigor will stem little from clime concerns and much from the request for vigor security. However, helium pointed retired that the cardinal situation remains storage capableness — particularly covering overnight request — since afloat independency from fossil fuels will not beryllium feasible without affordable batteries susceptible of providing 6–10 hours of storage. “The occupation we request to solve collectively arsenic an vigor assemblage is what we bash during the night,” helium said.

In this context, helium referred to METLEN’s caller large-scale 330 MW vigor storage project, presently under operation and owed to beryllium delivered successful the adjacent future, noting that adjacent 1 of Europe’s largest artillery systems today tin supply lone astir two hours of home vigor coverage.

On energy prices, helium stated that their linkage to earthy state prices is creating a superior competitiveness occupation for industry, arsenic mean powerfulness prices stay astatine very precocious levels.