Brussels and Helsinki, 25 April 2025 – Aetlan released a new report for EIES: Strategic Grid Technologies for European Resilience: Blueprints for acceleration.  

Europe faces geopolitical risks that demand new solutions to secure and improve the functioning of its power infrastructure. The report calls for the development at scale of strategic grid technologies in Europe including distributed energy resources (DERs), power asset software platforms, and drones (unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs) for infrastructure resilience. The paper points to Ukraine as an acceleration blueprint. 

The above-listed technologies meet EIES’ strategic technology criteria, established in December 2024, to prioritise investments in Europe that contribute most to Europe’s long-term energy security, economic competitiveness and resilience.  

“The electricity grid is at the centre of European industrial and security interests. Technologies capable of strengthening our grid – particularly those in which European companies have or can gain an edge – must be prioritised for Europe’s energy security,” said Alberic Mongrenier, EIES Executive Director.  

It highlights that diluted investment in R&D, growth capital, and world-class technical talent have gutted the electric sector. “There is a dramatic need for improved talent and capital allocation – we need to stop throwing good money after bad” cautions Shaheer Hussam, Partner at Aetlan and author of the report. “More of the same with less bureaucracy and more capital could facilitate further capital erosion and accelerate strategic missteps, which are unlikely to lead to real innovation in energy-industrial technologies.” 

Aetlan & EIES identify three pillars to support the deployment of strategic grid technologies across Europe through 2030. The key recommendations include: 

Prioritise tech that builds energy system resilience: 

• Improve investment conditions to streamline installation and operations of distributed energy resources (DERs), including solar, storage and efficiency, which offer energy system resilience via decentralised generation, and drive workforce development, economic growth and native resource availability. 

• Boost digitalisation and develop European power asset software platforms – from generation analytics, grid controls, end-user optimisation to eventually full power grid orchestration co-pilots, namely comprehensive generative AI and physics-based platforms. EU-led initiatives should focus on improving data governance, interoperability, and cybersecurity resilience. 

• Scale dual-use robotics to strengthen grid resilience, building on the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) base in Ukraine. Europe should seek to develop vertically integrated UAV manufacturing capacity for civilian grid use cases with a security-by-design approach. 

Focus on commercialisation models that can be quickly scaled:  

• A simplified and standardised regulatory environment – which includes interconnection standards, energy market participation, and workforce improvements – is needed to ease the commercialisation of energy-industrial technologies and maximise the benefits of DERs.  

• Streamlining and standardising the procurement processes for electric grid technologies across Europe so startups and scaleups can compete with incumbents. 

Overhaul energy-industrial entrepreneurship financing: 

• Require investors into energy-industrial funds deploying public capital to demonstrate greater financial transparency and to have pan-European energy-industrial commercial and technical experience.  

• Expand the competitive arena, minimising non-natural monopolies, building products for the global market which are benchmarked against global standards and competitors rather than local norms. Focusing on quality outcomes will drive a focus on recruiting world-class talent.  

About EIES     

The European Initiative for Energy Security (EIES) advocates for secure pan-European and national energy policies, dedicated to fostering collaboration between government and industry leaders. EIES seeks to address critical energy challenges and champion comprehensive solutions for the benefit of Europe's energy security, transition, and industrial competitiveness. EIES works with the Energy Security Leadership Council-Europe (ESLC-Europe), composed of retired military, former political and active business figures, to achieve these goals.   

About Aetlan 

Aetlan is an energy & infrastructure advisory firm, focused on the electric sector. Shaheer Hussam, Partner with Aetlan, has over 20 years of private sector experience in strategy, operations, research, and investment due diligence on both sides of the Atlantic. Representative areas include power asset development & acquisitions, electric grid resilience, infrastructure robotics, and energy analytics software. Hailing from Centreville, Virginia, Mr. Hussam serves on the MIT Alumni Council for Europe, is a TNSP Security Fellow, and is based in Helsinki.  

Contact: Isabelle Dupraz, Deputy Director – idupraz@secureenergy.org