Abstract:
A rapid expansion of clean energy infrastructures — from renewables and grids to emerging solutions like hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and advanced nuclear — is critical for a clean, secure and competitive Europe. This was a key message from this year’s European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW). Yet speed must not override meaningful public engagement, because the trust, awareness, and participation that emerge from such engagement play a decisive role in whether infrastructure projects succeed or stall.
On 17 June 2026, as part of EUSEW, the Users TCP Public Engagement for Energy Infrastructure Task and the Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy (IEECP) hosted a webinar asking: do people actually want to engage with energy infrastructure — and if so, how? Which engagement approaches are effective? And what can we learn from established or emerging energy infrastructures?
The event also marked the official launch of the Engage4Energy Community of Practice, a new space for ongoing exchange on public engagement for energy infrastructure across Europe.
Presenter(s):
Diana Süsser (Senior Expert, IEECP), Moderator
Nives Della Valle (Senior Expert, IEECP)
Andrzej Ceglarz, Director Energy Systems, Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI), Germany — Expert on electricity grids and the EU’s Pact for Engagement
Merryn Thomas, Researcher, University of Exeter, UK — Expert on public engagement, currently working on underground thermal energy storage (the PUSH-It project)
Tanja Perko, Senior Researcher, SCK CEN, Belgium — Expert on public engagement for advanced nuclear (small modular nuclear reactors)
Jazaer Dawody, Senior Adviser, Swedish Energy Agency — Expert on hydrogen infrastructure
Presentation slides and related publications/links