Electrification plan puts Europe on the right track, but it needs to be smarter
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By PRESS RELEASE | With today’s Electrification Action Plan [1], the European Commission has taken an important step towards a cleaner, competitive and secure Europe. But it could do more to deliver the full benefits of electrification, ECOS says, including making sure it is powered by renewables, prioritising energy efficiency, and better integrating heat pumps and electric vehicles with the electricity grid. It also overlooks the massive environmental impacts of data centres– a gaping hole that must be properly addressed at EU level.
Every step towards electrification makes Europe more secure
Electrification is more than climate policy – it can reduce Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels, lower energy bills and strengthen competitiveness [2]. By including an electrification target in its Electrification Action Plan, the European Commission has put the EU on the right track, ECOS says.
Accelerating the roll-out of heat pumps is also a step in the right direction. However, this measure should go much further, explains ECOS, including by giving demand-side flexibility [3] for heat pumps a boost beyond mere voluntary initiatives.
Luka De Bruyckere, Acting Head of Energy Transition at ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards, said: With its electrification target and attention given to cooling, this plan signals that Europe is serious about moving beyond fossil fuels. It’s encouraging to see this ambition. But installing millions of electric heat pumps is only half the job. Smarter devices can also actively support the electricity grid rather than simply adding to demand. EU policymakers must also address the elephant in the room: energy demand from data centres will keep getting bigger, together with their damaging environmental impacts.
Smart electrification: How to harness the opportunities this plan offers
This plan is a good start, but several major opportunities remain untapped, particularly around demand-side flexibility and the soaring energy demands of data centres, ECOS experts warn.
Measures ECOS supports:
- An EU electrification target that supports decarbonisation, competitiveness and energy security.
- Decarbonisation of the grid: Reinforcing the need to move away from fossil fuels through widespread electrification, including energy efficiency as a key principle and ensuring the price difference between electricity and gas is reduced.
- A clear push to roll out energy-efficient heat pumps.
- Boost for interoperable bidirectional EV charging (vehicle-to-grid), allowing electric cars to act as a battery and support the electricity system rather than only consume power [4].
- Cooling made the cut, with a ‘Cooling and Heating Strategy’ planned. Demand for inefficient air conditioning is rapidly growing, so publishing this long-delayed strategy is vital [5].
What is missing:
- Data centres: The energy-hungry elephant in the room was mostly ignored, with only a weakened rating scheme and vague plans to make data centres flexible, despite the obvious need to reduce energy and water demand [6].
- Demand-side flexibility capabilities from key devices such as heat pumps continues to be considered as a voluntary option, not a critical must.
The Electrification Action Plan lays strong foundations, but its success will now depend on what is built during its implementation.
Notes to editors
[1] Communication – Electrification Action Plan (COM/2026/595): https://energy.ec.europa.eu/publications/communication-electrification-action-plan-com2026595_en
[2] ECOS factsheet (January 2026), ‘Making electrification work’: https://ecostandard.org/publications/factsheet-making-electrification-work/; and ECOS position paper (May 2025), ‘Vision for a successful EU Electrification Action Plan’: https://ecostandard.org/publications/ecos-vision-electrification-ap/
[3] Demand-side flexibility helps to align electricity consumption with the availability of clean energy. To achieve it, devices must become smarter and work together with energy management systems and other large appliances, such as electric vehicles. This way they can consume electricity when ample renewable energy is available or when demand for electricity is low. More information here: https://ecostandard.org/smart-charging-2025/
[4] ECOS position paper (May 2024), ‘The best way to smartly manage our energy is with the S2 standard’: https://ecostandard.org/news_events/the-best-way-to-smartly-manage-our-energy-is-with-the-s2-standard/
[5] ECOS position paper (October 2025), ‘Vision for EU Heating & Cooling Strategy’: https://ecostandard.org/publications/position-on-eu-heating-cooling-strategy/; and ECOS factsheet (March 2025), ‘How to decarbonise heating and cooling by 2030’: https://ecostandard.org/publications/factsheet-how-to-decarbonise-heating-and-cooling-by-2030/
[6] ECOS report (September 2025), ‘How data centre expansion risks derailing climate goals’: https://ecostandard.org/publications/data-centres/
Contact
If you have questions, please contact:
Alison Grace
Senior Press & Communications Manager at ECOS
alison.grace@ecostandard.org
+32 493 19 22 59
ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards is an international NGO with a network of members and experts advocating for environmentally friendly technical standards, policies, and laws around the world. In 2026, ECOS is celebrating 25 years of bringing the environmental voice to standards.
