The colossal investments dedicated to the transformation of the European electricity network – essential to achieve climate objectives by allowing the deployment of heat pumps, electric vehicles, photovoltaic panels and wind turbines – will they come up against the weaknesses of the supply chain? supply ? This is what several players in the sector fear, as our colleagues recently pointed out.‘EURACTIV.
“ We have received numerous reports of delivery times of up to four years for an electrical transformer. Which is considerable in view of the objectives of connecting renewable energies by 2030. There is a real bottleneck at this level and we can already speak of a shortage », reports to The gallery Kristian Ruby, secretary general of the European industry association Eurelectric.
These huge industrial machines are crucial to the electricity grid. They are what make it possible to transform a high voltage current into medium and low voltage current. However, according to the Eurelectric association, the number of transformers should double by 2050, going from some 4.5 million units currently in service on the Old Continent to 9 million, implying an annual deployment rate of 172,000 over the next 25 years.
Several materials under surveillance
Contacted by The gallerythe European Commission assures that it is “aware of the problems linked to the shortage of transformers”. The manager of the electricity transmission network in France RTE does not yet prefer to speak of a shortage, but recognizes “ tension on the supply chain “.
“ On the transformer side, our supply is secure in the short term. On the other hand, the question arises in the longer term, for a horizon of five or six years.reports Thomas Veyrenc, general director of RTE in charge of strategy, economy and finance. But this tension does not only affect transformers. Several materials are today under surveillance such as underground and overhead cables or even circuit breakers “, he specifies.
“ As an illustration, the delays observed between the order date and the delivery date were multiplied by three between 2021 and 2023 for underground cables and substation equipment (power transformers, phase-shifting transformers, chokes), and a part of the needs are still not ‘secure’ for the coming years (for example: 80 km of cables by 2025) », Details the manager in one of the documents published as part of the public consultation of its future ten-year network development plan (SDDR).
An undersized European industrial base
According to Eurelectric, the bottleneck observed in electrical transformers is directly due to the increase in demand for this type of equipment and limited production capacities. “ The good news is that there is an existing industrial base in Europe, and particularly in France. », assures Thomas Veyrenc. “ Some materials come from Asia, but we also have a strong manufacturing capacity for quality components in Europe with the presence of manufacturers such as Siemens, ABB and Hitachi. », says Kristian Ruby.
“ The bad news is that this industrial base is today most certainly undersized compared to the scale of the investments to be made throughout Europe. », However, points out Thomas Veyrenc.
In fact, the investments to be made are colossal. In a new study, published this Wednesday, May 22, Eurelectric estimates that 67 billion euros must be injected each year into the distribution networks of the European Union, between 2025 and 2050. ” Which corresponds to an almost doubling of investments », Raises Kristian Ruby.
Challenges comparable to the arms industry
“ The challenges of increasing the pace of our ecosystem are comparable to the situation in the world of armaments, believes Thomas Veyrenc. Today, our industry is capable of supplying cutting-edge equipment, but in relatively small quantities. The question is how this industrial base will be able to deliver much larger quantities with much greater speed requirements. “.
One of the major issues in meeting this challenge relates to the standardization of equipment. “ Today, the tailor-made approach prevails. Each piece of equipment must meet European standards, but also the standards of the Member State as well as the requirements of the ordering network manager, explains the general secretary of Eurelectric. The lack of harmonization of technical standards is also a factor in increasing costs, because it removes the ability of manufacturers to mass produce », he continues. In this context, RTE is committed to simplifying its catalog by reducing the number of references. These issues should, moreover, be addressed at the next European Energy Council, scheduled for May 30.
A need for long-term visibility
Supply chain players also need longer-term visibility in order to be able to make decisions to expand production capacities. “ Today, when we buy equipment, it involves contracts lasting four years. The idea is to go for ten-year contracts for certain types of equipment », Explains RTE. To meet the needs of manufacturers, the manager also intends to commit to guaranteed minimum volumes. It also plans to introduce more restrictive clauses in terms of carbon content.
“ Today we find ways of organizing a growing industry that we have not seen since the 1980s. », summarizes Thomas Veyrenc, for whom the energy transition is “a large equipment program, which requires a robust supply chain”
The sector, made up of both large international groups, such as the cable company Nexans, and small structures, such as the Lyon-based ETI JST Transformers, will necessarily have to structure itself to succeed in this move to scale, which is essential for success. of the energy transition. As elsewhere, the question of the availability of skills will also be a crucial issue.
