Published
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Energy has for a long time been a geopolitical question of dependency on physical flows, as seen in the current European energy crisis(1). But it is not just that anymore. The access to energy planning of renewables is also locked when you depend on black box software.
Energy models are critical digital infrastructure that guide billions of euros in infrastructure investment. Grid expansion, security of supply, and other model-heavy processes are essential for the energy transition(2) and as such, they should be governed with the same principles of transparency, resilience and strategic autonomy that the EU applies to other critical digital infrastructure. All relevant stakeholders should be able to understand and challenge those assumptions before public money is committed.
The necessity of open models for grid operators
If we choose NOT to use open models, critical infrastructure will run on proprietary software. That could mean the risk of change of costs, licensing dependencies, changing contract terms, and no recourse if a vendor deprioritizes the tool or exits the market. It will leave less room to adapt tools to European regulation, grid realities, or operational needs, and for European organizations to collaborate on tool development and use.
It is the normal lifecycle of proprietary software, and not a hypothetical.
Open-source energy models flip three things that matter directly to grid operators’ bottom line and risk register(3):
- Auditability. Grid operators’ engineers, a regulator, or a board member can see exactly what a model assumes and why and base decision making on a data-driven foundation.
- Vendor independence. No single company's pricing, roadmap, or continuity decides whether the planning tools keep working.
- In-house knowledge. Staff who work with an open model build expertise within an organization, rather than leaving it all to the vendor's consultant.
Open models give grid operators the control over our own digital destiny(4)(5). It means no vendor lock-in, easier auditing and procurement, knowledge retained in-house, and lower long-term costs.
Cross border collaboration on electricity
Models like PyPSA are already industry-ready(6)(7). One example is PyPSA-Eur, which models entire European electricity grid and is copied (soft-forked) to various national models and to the Open-TYNDP(8); an open energy model to complement the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E)(9) and for Gas (ENTSOG)(10) biannual report, the Ten-Year Network Development Plan(11) (TYNDP) to investigate sets scenarios for future grid investments in the continent. Currently has been benchmarked against TYNDP2024 with good results(12).
Open models serve as an analytical foundation to debate the energy transition and decarbonization pathways.
Image: Open-TYNDP Documentation: https://open-tyndp.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#open-source-ecosystem
As Europe electrifies, strategic autonomy therefore extends beyond hardware and cloud providers to the software that guides infrastructure investment. Cross-border institutions, a pan-European electricity market, and a European tradition of public cooperation are essential for creating a strong ecosystem of collaboration between grid operators, policymakers, academia, and NGOs. It makes it easier to plug into a thriving ecosystem in Europe than in many other places.
Digital sovereignty is not about closing borders between member states, or between the EU and the rest of the world. It can be about using open energy models in an EU-collaboration. Openness means accountability, auditability, interoperability, and resilience. Having open assumptions and standards make it easier to trust the model.
Ability to model your own future
With geopolitical tensions and a tech acceleration, now is the time to look at digital sovereignty. Time to allow open models to be operational. Following ‘open by default’-rules for public tenders and establishing common standards across the continent, are important first steps.
The Free Software Foundation Europe has for years been advocating that public money should be used on open code on public tenders(13). The Open Source Initiative(14) has also recently supported the approach to open-source communities in the EU-Commission Tech Sovereignty package(15).
The operators who can model their own energy future will be better able to govern it. In the age of electrification, digital sovereignty is energy sovereignty. Open energy models are one of the most practical ways to build it.
It can be done in many ways; by including open modelling in the Tech Sovereignty agenda(16), requiring open standards in publicly funded energy models, or funding European maintenance of core modelling infrastructure. The infrastructure is there and it is just a matter of plugging in. Our digital future should be ours - also with energy system modeling tools.
For grid operators with fewer economic resources, open models are a cost-efficient way to plan for energy security and access. The reproducibility and transparency will increase the level of trust in your planning process. Local ownership of the model stays with you, not a foreign company.
Reference:
(1) https://www.bruegel.org/newsletter/what-eus-response-current-energy-crisis
(4) https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/europe-digital-sovereignty/
(6) https://openmod-tracker.org/
(7) https://youtube.com/live/4TQvwnKtSGs
(8) https://github.com/open-energy-transition/open-tyndp
(12) https://open-tyndp.openenergytransition.org/
(14) https://opensource.org/blog/osi-welcomes-the-european-unions-tech-sovereignty-package
(15) https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-tech-sovereignty
(16) https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-tech-sovereignty
Authors
Charlotte Heikendorf
Marketing Lead
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Dr. Harry van der Weijde
Head of Research & Market Development