Interview with Dirk van Hertem

“Getting people to deal with energy differently without it costing them a lot of money or significantly changing their comfort level — that is the biggest challenge.”

Dirk van Hertem is a Professor at the University of Leuven. He is part of the EnergyVille research center in Genk, where he leads the Energy Transmission Competence Hub and conducts research on how to implement high-voltage connections underground and integrate them into existing and future networks.

How is Europe doing in terms of the energy transition?

We’re making good progress, but there are concerns about costs, which are causing delays. Understandably so. We’re in a transition driven by governments and industry, aiming for a 100% renewable energy system. That involves more than just connecting transmission and electricity networks to wind turbines and solar panels. We need to fully move away from traditional energy sources like gas and oil. While this will save money in the long term, it’s primarily costing money now. Significant investments are needed in new infrastructure — for generation, transport, and at the consumer level. Consumers worry whether they can afford the rising costs, and industries question whether they’ll remain cost-efficient.

How do you convince people that we’re on the right track?

You have to be honest and say that it requires a completely different way of dealing with energy. It’s a societal challenge that goes beyond engineers looking for technical solutions. We still import far too many fossil fuels from the Middle East and Russia. Europe imports more than €300 billion worth of fossil fuels annually. That’s a lot, and it makes us dependent. We want to become independent, but we also want cost certainty, and reliability is crucial. Wind and solar are green and local, but they fluctuate. So, it’s a nuanced story, and you have to communicate it clearly and honestly.

How do you get people on board?

Clear and honest communication. I can’t repeat it enough. You can’t summarize everything in a tweet. Saying everything will be better and have no impact is a lie. The future will be a correction of the present, and you must make that clear. We need to ensure that by 2050, we use less energy than today. It has to be more efficient. Currently, 25% of our energy consumption is electric. That needs to rise to around 80% by then — much more than now. That requires more cables and a much larger network.

How do you make that happen?

We need to look at systems, not individuals. For example, energy sharing, even between companies in so-called energy valleys. We need to think about smarter devices that prevent everyone from charging their cars at the same time, and about installing batteries in neighborhoods, ideally operating automatically. Local solutions are also an option. You could say: in this neighborhood, we won’t upgrade the network, but at its entrance, we’ll build a large parking lot with charging stations. People might then have to walk 15 minutes to their car, even in the rain. Will they accept that? If not, you’ll have to dig up every sidewalk and lay extra cables. If we want highways for electricity, we need public support because if we don’t build them, it will cause problems.

What does your research at the Energy Transmission Competence Hub (ETCH) involve?

At ETCH, we study how to achieve the energy transition, focusing on the transmission network. We know the transmission network needs to double or triple in size, requiring us to upgrade the existing network both offshore and on land. Given the high power requirements and the need to bury the network underground, direct current (DC) is the most suitable solution. Our research focuses on four areas: pushing the boundaries for underground transmission, securing future electricity networks, studying interactions in converter-based networks (wind, solar, and HVDC), and building robust future networks.

When will such a network be operational, do you think?

We’re talking about building a new energy system. That’s not something you change overnight. You won’t simply replace all alternating current lines with DC lines one day. But by 2050, we hope to have a new network layered over the current one — a supergrid connecting various countries and linking Scottish wind to Dutch wind, as well as the sun and wind in Spain. Europe already has a network, but we want to add a DC layer on top.

Are there other obstacles we must overcome to fully transition to renewable energy?

The transition entails costs, but a particularly significant concern is: ‘Who will do the work?’ We need to accelerate, but there simply aren’t enough people qualified to make it happen. We’re short on engineers, ICT experts, and electrical technicians. Traditional electricians alone aren’t enough anymore.

Additionally, we need to get people to use energy differently without requiring much effort from them or significantly impacting their comfort levels. That might be the single greatest challenge.

If you could correct one misconception about renewable energy, what would it be?

That renewable energy is uncontrollable. People think wind and solar are variable, so we must live with that variability. That’s partly true. It’s variable, but you can control it. You can store it, and you can also say: ‘My wind turbine can deliver five megawatts, but today I’ll only deliver four. If there’s a sudden shortage, I can supply that extra megawatt.’ That’s already possible. We just don’t do it yet because it isn’t economically viable, and we still rely too heavily on traditional generators for this role.

Is achieving a fully net-zero system by 2050 realistic?

Absolutely. It just takes time. Almost everything we’re currently installing in the electricity sector is renewable, and over the coming years, what remains will be systematically replaced.

Electric cars, for instance, are already cost-effective in the luxury segment. For someone who currently drives short distances in a Twingo, switching to an electric car doesn’t make sense yet. But as batteries become more affordable — and they will in the coming years — people will naturally buy electric vehicles. Hopefully, those batteries will be produced in Europe and not China, with minimal environmental impact from mining the required materials.

In time, small, affordable electric cars will be available, making the switch a no-brainer for most people. That shift could happen quickly, within just a few years. Converting the building and industrial sectors, however, will take longer.

Mario Draghi recently led a study on the energy transition and Europe’s role in it. How do you view the conclusions of Draghi’s study in relation to Europe’s position in electricity?

Draghi pinpointed the challenges but also highlighted opportunities for Europe to innovate in areas where we are traditionally strong. The energy sector is one where Europe has historically excelled globally and where, with our focus on sustainable energy, we continue to lead.

However, the history of Europe’s dominance in the development and production of solar panels and batteries — followed by a decline — shows that leadership isn’t guaranteed. It doesn’t come automatically. That’s why it remains essential to invest in research and innovation, as well as in the competitiveness of European industries.

What advice would you give governments in this area?

There’s still a lot of innovation needed. We need to keep investing. There are possibilities we haven’t yet discovered, and it’s important to involve people in these developments.

We also need to focus more on fostering innovative entrepreneurship in the energy sector and on translating research into real-world applications. Furthermore, we need to educate and inform people. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, and we need to filter that out. Events like Arnhem Electricity Week can help form and communicate a nuanced and accurate perspective.