Reducing energy costs within the European Union is a primary goal, and the European Commission will unveil measures to address this issue next month, president Ursula von der Leyen recently announced.
"Energy prices in Europe are still structurally higher than in the United States and in China, and they vary significantly within the European Union," von der Leyen noted.
"We must bring them down while we complete the phase-out of Russian fossil fuels." She emphasized that diversifying energy sources and investing in "next generation clean energy technologies" were essential for lowering prices, citing fusion, enhanced geothermal, and solid-state batteries as examples.
Geothermal energy taps into the heat from deeper layers of the Earth’s crust to generate power. In contrast to conventional nuclear reactors, fusion involves fusing atomic nuclei at extremely high temperatures rather than splitting them.
Von der Leyen also highlighted the need to attract more private investment for the modernization of electricity grids and storage infrastructure, alongside improving the connection of low-carbon energy systems.
The Commission views the EU's high energy prices as a major hurdle to reviving its struggling economy and enhancing the bloc's global competitiveness. Von der Leyen stated she will present a plan for affordable energy in February.