The EU Commission has launched an open public consultation and a call for evidence on its upcoming strategic roadmap for digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) in the energy sector.
Both exercises are seen as important elements that will feed into the preparation of this roadmap, due for publication in the first quarter of 2026.
With the Commission having previously stressed that the green and digital transitions should support each other, the aim of the strategic roadmap is to accelerate the rollout of digital solutions (including European AI solutions) in important areas for the decarbonisation process, such as electricity grid optimisation, energy efficiency in buildings and industry and demand-side flexibility.
The Commission says its consultation underlines that fostering research, innovation and coordination in those fields will further help prepare the energy system of tomorrow. It will also consider the increasingly heavy energy consumption of data centres and look at how they can be more sustainably integrated into the energy system.
Another area of interest is the need to implement safeguards to mitigate potential challenges linked to the large-scale deployment of AI solutions in the energy sector.
Both consultations will remain open for 14 weeks and will close on 5 November 2025.
As well as the open public consultation and the call for evidence, the Commission is holding targeted consultations through dedicated workshops with stakeholders from the digital and energy fields. Foreseen in the EU’s ‘Affordable Energy Action Plan’, the strategic roadmap also complements the multiple initiatives announced in the AI field such as the AI Act and the AI Continent Action Plan.
