Benjamin Lakatos saw signs in 2024 that all levers would be pulled in Europe to “drive the energy transition in the right direction with a pragmatic approach”. According to the CEO of MET Group, this involves, among other things, bringing energy prices back down to a competitive level. Not only politicians, but also the European energy sector must contribute to this.
Original article in German: Energate Messenger Schweiz
Guest commentary by Benjamin Lakatos, Chairman and CEO of MET Group
After the huge energy crisis in 2022 and the severe turbulence in the energy markets the following year, 2024 was more of a time of waiting and transition. This is mainly due to the fact that there were numerous elections in important countries around the world, not least in the USA, which had an impact on the energy markets – and whose outcome was unclear for a long time. Apart from a few short-term price spikes, 2024 was therefore rather unspectacular, an average year overall.
What has not changed, however, are the major trends – and at the heart of this is still the question of how the energy transition can be made a success in the medium to long term without compromising on security of supply and without financially overburdening the economy and society. What is new about the debate, however, is that politics and business in many European countries have been made acutely aware over the past year that things cannot go on as before. And – this must be credited to politicians in particular – that there is finally the consensus to show the yellow card to ‘business as usual’.
The challenge facing Europe and therefore Switzerland, too, is much greater than originally thought. It can no longer be a question of making the prices for electricity and natural gas, which are still too high even after the peak of the crisis, more bearable for the population by means of band-aid policies, but essentially of saving European industry from ruin and making it globally competitive again. Because one thing is clear – compared to the USA and quite a few countries in Asia, we Europeans have fallen fatally behind. We simply can no longer keep up. And one of the main reasons is this – we have to pay far too much on our continent for the energy we need to keep our economies running.
Fortunately, insight is the first step towards solving a problem. I was therefore very pleased that the Draghi report sets out in black and white where we need to start. Interestingly, there are numerous overlaps between the energy transition and Europe's overall competitiveness. I definitely welcome the fact that all the levers are now finally being set in motion to stop leaving the energy transition to ideologues and to drive things forward in the right direction with a pragmatic approach.
We are still many steps away from having a solution to the overall problem. What is likely to play a decisive role here, however, is the renunciation of prohibitions on technology and thinking. In my view, it is equally important to specifically promote those technologies that can contribute to bringing energy prices back down to justifiable and competitive levels. If all this happens as hoped it could, in the best-case scenario, bring Europe back to par with the USA and Asia.
But it is by no means just down to politics and regulation – on the contrary, I see us, the players in the European energy sector, as bearing a large part of the responsibility. We have to do our part to bring prices back down to an acceptable level. This includes seizing the opportunities presented by the energy transition and investing in the right technologies.
Battery storage systems are a good example in this context: this technology is very promising and we have seen a big leap internationally in 2024, with more and more projects being implemented. Europe and Switzerland are moving from talk to action, and that is a good thing.
We at MET Group are not standing back: in addition to the purchase of the French battery storage developer Comax in November, we have been implementing projects in various countries for some time and will also press ahead with the planned construction of a battery storage facility in the canton of Neuchâtel in 2025. This latest project is part of our plans to become even more active in Switzerland, which can also be seen in our activities for the planning of wind farms in the canton of Valais as part of our 25% stake in SwissWinds. We therefore also welcomed the decision of the Swiss electorate on June 9 to adopt the Federal Act for a Secure Electricity Supply from Renewable Energies. An important step in the right direction – so let's get on with it!