This morning in London, the Energy Industries Council’s Bankable Energy conference kicked off with high-level discussions on the future of UK-EU energy relations and the path to making clean energy projects commercially viable.
While finance is increasingly available, speakers stressed that structural challenges around risk, regulation, and collaboration must be addressed to scale technologies like hydrogen, CCUS, and renewables.
Neil Golding, EIC’s Head of Market Intelligence, gave an overview of energy projects in Europe. He said there are $1.35 trillion of energy projects across Europe that could enter operation by 2030.
Joanna Drake, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission, who delivered the keynote, highlighted the UK and EU’s “common priorities” in energy infrastructure and climate action. Both regions share 2050 net-zero targets, carbon capture ambitions, and hydrogen market development goals. “Collaboration will be on energy, security, and people-to-people contact.” She added, “Industry will play a key role… We must make full use of resources at our disposal.”
Andrew Lee, Managing Director at Société Générale's Energy+ Group, cut to the core of the financing challenge: “The big challenge is making projects bankable. There is plenty of finance available—Société Générale and other banks want to support energy transition projects. There is capital, and banks are willing to be flexible, recognising the need for adaptability.” But he cautioned that regulatory compliance and internal approval processes create hurdles if projects “don’t meet minimum bankability thresholds.”
Lee also flagged the tension between risk appetite and project scale. “Energy transition projects typically involve increased technology risk. Contractors have become more risk-averse… Suppliers of key components—such as CCUS units, electrolysers, and downstream conversion units—need to take their share of project risk.”
With some megaprojects facing delays, he noted a pivot: “We continue to support large projects, but are now also looking at projects that may have previously been considered too small. These projects will help develop and shape the market.”
Other speakers echoed the need for structural reforms. Rob Rome of National Grid warned fragmentation complicates cross-border energy trade: “Too much splitting up… things were better when we were talking to each other.
