NEWS & INSIGHTS | Opinion
Electricity demand trends and carbon removal strategies
Luca Corradi
Luca works to bring “the outside in”, connecting innovators and academics across sectors and disciplines, to explore the latest technologies that could be adopted to address oil and gas industry challenges. Leading The Net Zero Technology Centre’s horizon scanning activity, he identifies emerging technology trends, cutting through the hype to identify potential areas of impact and application. With a background in business and organisational change leadership, Luca has developed a strong network and is passionate about harnessing this to deliver the next generation of the net zero energy industry.
Outside work Luca loves reading, music and travel. He is married with two young daughters and a dog. He enjoys the rare motorbike ride in Scotland and even rarer ski trip on the Alps.
More to net zero news – electricity; Europe’s largest battery site; CO2 removals
Chief Technology Officer at NZTC, Luca Corradi, and his team closely monitor the global net zero landscape. They follow the trends, policies, investments, and technological innovations that, together, bring the world closer to its shared climate goals. Learn more about our horizon scanning service. This week, Luca and his team explore the latest trends in electricity demand, the start of the operation Europe’s largest battery site and strategies to scale up carbon removal in the EU.
Global electricity demand trends and challenges
The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts electricity demand will increase by close to 4% per year over 2025-2027. Consequently, consumption will rise by an unprecedented 3,500 TWh. Growing industrial production, rising use of air conditioning, and electrification drive this surge. Increased use of electric vehicles and heat pumps, along with the expansion of data centres worldwide, among other end-use technologies, also contribute to this trend. Moreover, low-emissions sources will meet this increase in electricity demand, causing emissions from electricity generation to plateau.
Emerging economies will drive 85% of the growth over the next 3 years. In 2024, over half of the global electricity demand growth came from China, where electrification is progressing rapidly.
Electricity consumption in advanced economies has stayed relatively flat since 2009, despite economic growth. This stability is due to improvements in efficiency, and restructuring and relocation of heavy industries over the past several decades. Electricity demand in advanced economies will rise significantly again, alongside economic growth.
Whilst wholesale electricity prices in the EU, India, the UK and the US fell by around 20% on average in 2024 compared to the previous year, there is higher volatility. This highlights the need for more flexibility.
Evolution of per capita electricity consumption and GDP in selected regions throughout the years, 1990-2027
Source: IEA Electricity 2025 Report
Weather is having an increasing impact on power systems, with extreme weather events leading to widespread power disruptions in 2024. Storms and hurricanes damaged infrastructure, while power systems are becoming increasingly reliant on weather-dependant sources.
Periods with reduced weather-dependent supply may put significant strain on the power system, particularly if this coincides with elevated electricity demand.
Largest battery site in Europe begins operations to address grid congestion and enhance power quality
Europe’s largest battery site, developed and operated by Zenobē, has begun commercial operations. The site is located in Blackhillock, between Aberdeen and Inverness, to address grid congestion from the Viking (443MW), Moray East (950 MW) and the Beatrice (588MW) offshore wind farms.
Phase 1 has an initial capacity of 200MW/400MWh, adding over 30% to the operational battery storage capacity in Scotland. In 2026, the capacity will increase to 300MW/600MWh. Moreover, the site is grid- connected and is the first to provide Stability Services to the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
Wärtsilä is supplying its Quantum energy storage system technology and GEMS Digital Energy Platform with SMA grid forming inverters. This will enable a resilient power system with high power quality.
By building more flexibility into the grid and reducing wind curtailment, Zenobē says the site will lower consumer bills by over £170 million over 15 years. Additionally, it will prevent approximately 2.6 million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
Europe’s largest battery site
Source: www.zenobe.com
Accelerating carbon removals in the EU to meet climate goals
To meet climate goals, the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change recognises the need for both deep emissions cuts and CO2 removals. Carbon removals can either be temporary, such as in forests or soil, or permanent through methods such as direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
The EU has set a target for the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector to increase net removals by approximately 15% compared to the current level. However, restoring ecosystems takes years. The current capacity of the EU to remove carbon permanently through DACCS or BECCS is limited, and development at an industrial scale takes time.
Roles of removals towards EU climate neutrality, as illustrated by scenarios in the Advisory Board’s 2040 scenario database
Source: Advisory Board Report – Scaling up carbon dioxide removal
Moreover, insufficient technological or commercial readiness, significant capital investment, lack of market incentives, and governance challenges hinder permanent removal methods. Therefore, the EU must take significant action to accelerate the scale-up of carbon removals. This includes developing adequate incentives for high-cost removals, aligning land policies, supporting innovation and infrastructure development, and ensuring robust governance to achieve net-zero and net-negative emissions.
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