On 3 June 2026, the European Commission published a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the energy sector. This roadmap aims 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 roadmap also addresses the increasingly heavy energy consumption of data centres and how they can be more sustainably integrated into the energy system, as well as the need to implement safeguards to mitigate potential challenges linked to the large-scale deployment of AI solutions in the energy sector.
In the framework of the roadmap, EGEC is involved in a new initiative that aims to support collaboration among European industry associations to foster the sustainable integration of data centres in the energy system. This will be done through the definition of an EU model for tripartite agreements between data centre operators, energy-related parties and public authorities.
Based on numerous examples around the world, we can see that geothermal energy is increasingly being utilized by data centre operators. The benefits of geothermal solutions include: continuous 24-7 electricity generation, highly efficient geothermal cooling solutions and underground thermal energy storage. So there is huge potential for geothermal companies to get more involved in meeting the energy needs of data centres!
Also on 3 June, EGEC participated in a Signature Event in Brussels, which was hosted by the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing – Dan Jørgensen. In the photo below (on the left side) you can see EGEC Board Member Carla Barrera (SLB), alongside our Vice-Presidents Marco Baresi (Turboden S.p.A.) and Kamila Piotrowska (Baker Hughes).
[Photo: © European Union, 2026]
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