In ten years, electricity grids will have to grow as much as in a century

If there is something important in the energy transition to achieve the objectives of decarbonisation of the energy system, it is the electricity grids. And this is what the Master's Degree in Smart Grids wanted to emphasise, inviting Agustín Escobar, President and CEO of Siemens Spain, to analyse the role of this technology in Spain and around the world.

Escobar, who is also an alumni of Comillas ICAI, said, in reference to the capacity of electricity transmission grids, that "the needs in grid development mean that in the next ten years we have to double it: in other words, in a decade we will have to do what we did in 100 years, and that is a challenge".

The Siemens CEO also made reference to artificial intelligence and its role in smart grids, as it will "speed up the whole process" and facilitate grid management, as "the level of complexity will mean that we will have to do things differently". But he insisted on the important role of engineers: "the design of the systems and the adaptation to them is going to need engineers."

Antonio Muñoz San Roque, Director of Comillas ICAI, also stressed the importance of engineers and their training to face the challenges that lie ahead. "The solid training that our engineers receive in their undergraduate studies and in the qualifying masters in close collaboration with industry provides the technical knowledge demanded by the various sectors of activity," he said. He also recalled that in November 2023 the European Commission published its Electricity Grids Action Plan, which aims to modernise and prepare Europe's electricity grids for the transition to clean energy based on renewable sources. "It is necessary to join and coordinate efforts to ensure that the world's electricity grids are ready for the new global energy economy that is rapidly emerging," he said.

Comillas ICAI is teaching the Master's Degree in Smart Grids in collaboration with the Scottish University of Strathclyde as a response to what the sector is already demanding, as it is training the necessary talent to carry out investments that, according to the European Commission itself, should have already reached a figure of 40,000 million euros of annual investment, only for the distribution networks of the 27 EU member states and the United Kingdom.