Shockproof: how electrification can strengthen EU energy security

The report 'Shockproof: how electrification can strengthen EU energy security' by Ember argues that accelerating the electrification of the EU economy, powered by homegrown renewables, is the primary mechanism to reduce the bloc's high dependency on imported fossil fuels. It suggests that fossil import dependency could be halved by 2040 through the adoption of mature technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps.

• The EU is one of the most fossil-import-dependent major economies globally, with imported fossil fuels providing 58% of its primary energy in 2023. This dependency is significantly higher than in China (24%) or India (37%), though lower than in Japan (84%) and South Korea (80%).
• High reliance on fossil imports creates economic and political vulnerabilities. During the gas crisis from 2021 to 2024, fossil fuel imports cost the EU €1.8 trillion, which was €930 billion more than the cost would have been at pre-crisis prices.
• While the EU has reduced its reliance on Russia, new dependencies have emerged, with the US becoming the top supplier of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Gas imports remain highly concentrated, with the top four suppliers providing 83% of imports in 2024.
• The EU power sector has a relatively low reliance on fossil imports, with only 19% of electricity generation using them in 2024. In contrast, other sectors are far more exposed; for example, the road transport sector is estimated to be 88% reliant on imported fossil fuels.
• Electrification could halve the EU's fossil import dependency from 58% in 2023 to 30% by 2040. This transition would be driven by growing homegrown clean electricity, switching end-uses to electric energy, and reducing combustion waste. 86% of the resulting fossil import reductions would occur outside the power sector.
• A significant portion of EU energy demand is ready for electrification using established technologies. While only 22% of energy demand was electrified in 2023, an additional 67% could be electrified, with the largest potentials in road vehicles (30%), households (19%), and industry (11%).
• Early adoption of electric technologies is already displacing fossil imports in some countries. In 2024, electric cars in Denmark avoided 3.3 million barrels of oil, equivalent to 11% of the country's net oil imports. In the Netherlands, residential heat pumps avoided 0.34 bcm of gas, representing about 10% of annual consumption for residential space and water heating.

APA

Rosslowe, D. C. (2025). Shockproof: how electrification can strengthen EU energy security. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Report-electrification-and-security.pdf

Chicago

Rosslowe, Dr Chris. Shockproof: how electrification can strengthen EU energy security. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Report-electrification-and-security.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rosslowe |first1=Dr Chris |title=Shockproof: how electrification can strengthen EU energy security |publisher=Ember |date=16 October 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Report-electrification-and-security.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rosslowe2025shockproof, author = {Rosslowe, Dr Chris}, title = {{Shockproof: how electrification can strengthen EU energy security}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Report-electrification-and-security.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }