The SuperGrid project is an outgrowth of Europe’s efforts to gradually achieve carbon neutrality within the next few decades. The goal of SuperGrid is to bring clean electricity from sparsely populated areas to densely populated areas in a way that reduces pollution and carbon emissions from electricity production. After nearly 10 years of planning and experiments, the SuperGrid is currently the best solution for the large-scale popularization of clean energy in Europe.
The first phase of the SuperGrid will serve most of continental Europe (excluding the Four Northern European countries) while serving parts of England and Scotland via the existing Anglo-French submarine cable. The first phase of the project, estimated at €200-300 billion, will include clean energy plants in North Africa, two UHVDC undersea cables, and dozens of necessary substations, as well as the overall intelligent renovation and connection of the existing HV grid. North Africa’s clean-energy plants, which generate electricity through wind, photovoltaic and thermal power, will need to meet 50% of the continent’s electricity needs annually. Two ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) undersea cables linking Morocco to Spain and Tunisia to Italy will deliver electricity directly to the hinterlands of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. When the power is added to the existing power grid through the new ultra-high-voltage DC converter, the intelligently upgraded high voltage grid will deliver clean power to cities and towns to meet people’s demand for electricity. Since clean energy plants require little sustained capital investment beyond maintenance after completion, plus the low loss and high-density transmission characteristics of UHVDC transmission systems, they can compete with traditional power generation methods at lower prices. SuperGrid is expected to cut electricity prices in Europe by half, making it more competitive with conventional energy.
As the coverage of the SuperGrid increases and the demand for electricity in Europe grows, clean energy such as tidal power and geothermal energy could be added to the SuperGrid, in addition to the three sources in North Africa. The continent doesn’t have a lot of potential for clean energy, but its northeastern islands have geothermal energy and a ring of ocean power. The abundant clean energy around combined with the advantages of the ultra-high voltage DC power grid can well break the problems such as the inability to store clean energy according to local conditions.
As a super project that aims to cover more than 50 countries and regions, SuperGrid is not a project that any single company or group can accomplish independently. Europe and the rest of the world are home to several strong companies in ultra-high voltage power grids, electrification, and clean energy production. Among them, ABB, GE Grid Solution, Hitachi, and Siemens of Germany can all become the cooperative companies and leading companies of super Grid projects. They have mastered the core technologies and markets in each stage and field of SuperGrid and have rich experience in UHVDC grid construction. A combination of these companies could effectively share the engineering difficulty of the SuperGrid, breaking it up into smaller pieces. Most of these companies have operations in or are Based in, Europe. These companies will take SuperGrid from fantasy to reality.
In addition to these companies, State Grid Cooperation of China (SGCC) is the only company in the world that has successfully built UHVDC Grid and UHV AC Grid to form a long-distance power transportation network. China is the technology leader and sets most of the standards for UHVDC power systems. In the design and construction phase of the super grid in Europe, we can cooperate with SGCC, learn from China’s experience, and reduce elementary mistakes caused by unfamiliarity with relative fields. At the same time, China is currently building the one BELT one Road UHVDC system, which could be one of the sources of cheap electricity in the future. Germany has shown in previous studies that importing electricity from China could lower the price of electricity to €0.12.
The SuperGrid could take 30 years to build, with complete completion around 2050. But SuperGrid can be built over time as investments are made. During this period, many difficulties may be encountered, whether technical, environmental, social, economic, or political. SuperGrid is still in the tentative stage but will not hinder the future SuperGrid after the completion of the enjoy. All these problems will be solved one by one in the future and solving environmental problems will be the main topic for the next 30 years. SuperGrid, as the most favorable solution to the carbon emission problem of electricity, will become the main soldier in the future carbon-neutral battlefield.