Work on establishing new tripartite contracts in the EU is advancing rapidly, with Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen confirming plans to start from the offshore wind and grids, and storage sectors.
The concept of ‘tripartite contracts to ensure affordable energy for Europe’s industry’ was one of the key actions foreseen in the Affordable Energy Action Plan published in February 2025. The concept is aimed to bring together the public sector, energy producers, and energy-consuming industries to counteract high energy prices and market uncertainty and thereby create a favourable investment climate, facilitating a competitive EU industrial sector, while ensuring the retention and creation of quality jobs.
Speaking during a visit to the Avedøre Power Station in the margins of the Informal Energy Council in Copenhagen on 4 September 2025, Commissioner Jørgensen said:
[..] Earlier this year, I announced that the European Commission will establish Tripartite Contracts for Affordable Energy.
What is the rationale behind this approach?
Well, on the one hand, European companies need reliable and affordable energy to remain competitive, especially in the context of today’s global economic challenges.
On the other hand, the rollout of homegrown clean energy projects is insufficient. To reverse this trend, clean energy producers require stable demand that can support their investments.
Tripartite contracts represent an innovative solution: to tackle these challenges through a combined and collaborative approach.
Through political and sectoral commitments, sectoral tripartite contracts will bring together a trio of actors: that is, developers and the supply chain; industrial consumers; and finally the public sector, with the support of financial institutions like the EIB.
Of course, each energy technology has its particularities. That is why the Commission is working to establish a number of sectoral tripartite contracts.
And today, I am delighted to announce the first 2 sectoral contracts on which we are working.
The first one is on offshore wind and grids.
Based on the ambitions indicated by Member States, we could have as much as 88 GW of offshore renewables by the end of this decade, and up to 360 GW by mid-century.
To put it into perspective, that is equivalent to the current installed generation capacity in Germany, Poland and Greece combined.
To reach this potential, we will also need to reinforce our grid and storage capacities.
And that brings me to the second sectoral contract that I announce today, which is focused on storage.
Energy storage will enable the penetration of more renewable energy in our system, while optimizing grid use and mitigating price spikes.
At EU level, some studies point to a need of approximately 200 GW of energy storage by 2030.
Enabling this potential by encouraging more investments will be a key goal of our tripartite contract.
And while storage and wind are the first sectors to benefit from our new tripartite contracts, they will not be the last.
The Commission is currently assessing the usefulness of contracts for other sectors.
For instance, we are thinking of biomethane, energy efficiency, nuclear energy, energy integration of data centres… to name but a few.
I look forward to discussing these possibilities with Member States and the private sector.
Europe has always been a frontrunner in clean energy. But the race is not over. In fact, it is only beginning.
So, together, let’s keep putting our best foot forward.
To spur investments. To propel our industries. And to drive our independence, as a strong and sustainable Europe.
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