The real challenge isn't choosing between growth and decarbonization - it's strengthening resilience by ensuring energy systems can support both, through higher performance, greater flexibility and the reliable integration of new sources.

That means automation, electrification, and digitalization working as one system rather than three separate levers. Automation gives operators the real-time control to run complex assets reliably and efficiently. Electrification opens the door to lower-carbon power sources. Digitalization amplifies the impact of both by turning operational data into continuous optimization. As energy systems become more interconnected and variable, this coordination becomes essential, strengthening resilience while supporting decarbonization.

For policymakers, industry leaders, and communities dependent on energy systems, this moment presents both urgency and opportunity. Building energy resilience is increasingly essential to supporting energy security, affordability and decarbonization.

ENERGY RESILIENCE AND DECARBONIZATION ARE INCREASINGLY INTERCONNECTED AND BUSINESS-CRITICAL

As energy systems evolve, energy resilience increasingly depends on maintaining reliability, affordability and flexibility while integrating renewable and low-carbon energy sources. Electrification, renewable power generation, and energy storage are core instruments are core instruments of energy security.³ As energy systems become more diverse and interconnected, flexibility, coordination and system integration become critical to maintaining reliability and resilience. That is backed by policy: 130 countries now have electrification and energy efficiency policies in place,⁴ while businesses are increasingly investing in low carbon systems to, amongst other benefits, reduce fuel-price exposure and align with evolving regulatory requirements.

Delivering more resilient and lower-carbon energy systems requires sustained commitment. Capital still needs certainty to move at scale, and investors consistently point to strong market demand, policy certainty, manufacturing capacity and credible execution as the foundations for long-term investment.^5,6

HOW ELECTRIFICATION, RENEWABLE ENERGY AND DIGITAL OPTIMIZATION STRENGTHEN RESILIENCE WHILE ADVANCING DECARBONIZATION

The enabling technologies are proven: industrial electrification powered by renewables and optimized through digital tools helps strengthen resilience while reducing emissions and improving efficiency. The evidence is global. Increasingly, policymakers see electrification not only as a pathway to decarbonization, but also as a means of improving energy resilience. The European Commission's “Electrify Now” initiative (June 2026) is accelerating clean electrification toward a goal of 35 percent of final energy demand by 2035. Several national pathways now position electrification as a key lever for both energy security and emissions reduction, while China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) pairs deep electrification with regulatory frameworks designed to support long-term system reliability and emissions reductions.

Digital tools add another layer of resilience. For example, AI improves the forecasting and integration of variable renewable generation, helping operators manage increasingly complex and variable systems while reducing curtailment. AI is also improving weather forecasting and climate-risk analysis, helping utilities anticipate disruptions, identify vulnerabilities and strengthen system planning.⁷ Beyond prevention, AI-based fault detection can help operators rapidly identify and precisely pinpoint grid faults, reducing outage durations by roughly 30 to 50 percent.⁷

HOW ARE WE TURNING AMBITION INTO OPERATIONAL REALITY

We are actively partnering with customers and system operators to turn resilience and decarbonization ambitions into operational outcomes.

Grid stability through renewable integration

Red Eléctrica awarded ABB four synchronous condenser contracts to stabilize the Canary and Balearic Islands' grids as they integrate renewable energy.⁸ These machines provide inertia and voltage regulation essential for grid stability, enabling 67 percent renewable integration, while strengthening system resilience. The project demonstrated how advanced technology makes technically complex decarbonization feasible and reliable.

Modernizing legacy assets

ABB was selected by ContourGlobal to modernize control systems at four Concentrated Solar Power plants in southwest Spain.⁹ The migration to ABB Ability™ Symphony® Plus SCADA improves efficiency, reliability and cyber security while extending asset life. The project highlights how targeted modernization can strengthen energy resilience by improving reliability and performance without replacing existing infrastructure.

ABB has applied a similar approach to sites where reliability carries historic weight. We recently modernized critical power infrastructure at the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building in Washington, D.C., retrofitting the site's switchgear with custom-engineered circuit breakers built at ABB's Electrification Service factory in South Carolina and refurbishing three switchgear line-ups and six network protectors.

Scaling resilient low-carbon fuels

ABB has partnered with Charbone Hydrogen to develop up to 15 modular green hydrogen facilities across North America,¹⁰  supplying the electrical substations and automation systems that enable efficient production. The Sorel-Tracy facility, for example, harnesses hydroelectricity to produce green hydrogen for steelmaking, displacing grey hydrogen while supporting a more diverse and resilient energy system, and creating skilled manufacturing jobs.

Solving for complexity

The biggest challenge in building more resilient and lower-carbon energy systems isn't always identifying the right technologies - it's understanding which combination of solutions creates the most value.

That complexity is why ABB recently invested in Gridcog. Gridcog's platform models and compares energy scenarios, giving clear insight into costs, emissions, and performance. Combined with ABB Energy & Carbon Services and engineering expertise, it helps commercial and industrial customers accelerate the adoption of energy solutions that reduce costs, improve resilience, and support decarbonization.

Modeling the right scenario is only half the problem, though- sourcing the clean energy itself is its own challenge. Through our strategic partnership with LevelTen Energy, ABB is helping customers navigate this increasingly complex challenge of building more resilient and lower-carbon energy strategies. LevelTen operates the world's largest renewable energy marketplace and facilitates approximately 20 GW of renewable energy transactions annually, equivalent to enough generation capacity to power up to 20 million homes. 

FROM CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS TO OUR OWN OPERATIONS

Our solutions span the full energy system. We're strengthening energy resilience and advancing decarbonization through high-efficiency solar technologies. We're supporting grid stability as AI and data center demand reshapes power systems. And we're helping industries like marine reduce energy use, operating costs, and emissions through advanced integrated technologies.

This commitment extends beyond customer solutions to our own operations. Through Mission to Zero™, we're working toward net-zero emissions and more sustainable operations across our facilities - combining digital solutions, renewable energy, and electrification with hands-on employee engagement at every site.

THE PATH FORWARD

The evidence is increasingly clear: operational resilience, energy security, affordability and decarbonization are becoming more closely aligned. Electrified, renewable-powered, digitally optimized systems can help organizations advance all these objectives simultaneously. With proven technologies and a compelling business case, organizations that strengthen resilience while advancing decarbonization will be better positioned to outrun: leaner, cleaner and more resilient.

References:

1. IEA, Global Energy Review 2026 — Electricity demand
2. IEA Renewables 2025 report
3. IRENA 2026 Policy Advisory: From Energy Crisis to Energy Security
4. IEA, State of Energy Policy 2026
5. India's $300–350B Clean Energy Pitch to Investors at Davos 2026
6. WEF, Making the Transition Investable: Policy Certainty, Capital, and Coordination
7. IEA, Energy and AI
8. ABB's Integrated Technology for Spanish Islands Grid Stabilization
9. ABB Modernizing Solar Power Plants in Spain
10. ABB & Charbone Hydrogen North American Green Hydrogen Partnership