| News
Eight leading European Transmission System Operators (TSOs) have joined forces to launch the first TSO Innovation Alliance Open Call: Building a Climate-Resilient Power Grid. The Alliance recognises that innovation is essential and is therefore reaching out to technology providers, start-ups, scale-ups, research institutes and established companies to ask them to collaborate. Only by working together can we strengthen Europe’s electricity system against extreme weather and plan infrastructure that will remain resilient for decades to come.
Europe’s power system is becoming more weather-dependent and more interconnected across borders. Climate-driven events, storms, floods, heatwaves and wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity, placing new demands on grid operations and long-term planning. Traditional deterministic methods and static assumptions are no longer sufficient when faced with rising uncertainty and rapidly changing conditions. The TSO Innovation Alliance (Swissgrid, Elia Group, 50Hertz, TenneT, Terna, RTE, Red Eléctrica and Amprion) is inviting the technology community to help accelerate practical solutions that can be deployed and scaled across Europe.
Two urgent topics
Topic 1: Weather-Aware System Operations
Why it matters now. Extreme weather is no longer an incident; it is an operational reality. Control rooms must anticipate risks earlier and act faster, shifting from reactive measures to proactive, data-informed operations. While n-1 and n-2 contingency checks remain important, operators increasingly need early warnings, probabilistic impact assessments and actionable guidance across time horizons from month-ahead to real-time.
What we’re seeking:
- Weather-aware diagnostic systems that detect and diagnose the operational impact of events such as icing, lightning, salt pollution, floods, wildfires or extreme wind.
- Multi-horizon forecasting and decision-support tools that combine meteorological forecasts with grid vulnerability models and produce recommended actions (e.g. redispatch, topology adaptations and targeted alerts) that fit control-room workflows.
Topic 2: Climate-Proof Network Planning & Investment
Why it matters now. Intensifying climate hazards challenge long-term planning assumptions. Relying on historical data alone risks underprotecting assets or oversizing investments. TSOs need robust, scenario-based insights to balance resilience, cost-effectiveness and system reliability across new builds and existing infrastructure.
What we’re seeking:
- Advanced climate scenarios and hazard maps (European coverage, up to ~50 years) that show where and how risks will materialise.
- Planning & investment decision support that can be integrated into existing TSO processes and platforms, providing information on routing choices, retrofit/upgrade priorities and economically efficient resilience strategies.
Why participate?
Selected technology providers will:
- Collaborate directly with eight European TSOs.
- Fast-track their solutions into Proofs of Concept with real operators.
- Gain a unique opportunity to scale solutions across borders.
Details about expected pilot outcomes and integration preferences are available on the Open Call page.
Key dates
- Open Call period: 1 October – 7 November 2025
- Selection days: 27 November – 5 December 2025
- Start of Proof of Concepts: January 2026
About the TSO Innovation Alliance
The TSO Innovation Alliance is a joint initiative of Swissgrid, Elia Group, 50Hertz, TenneT, Terna, RTE, Red Eléctrica, and Amprion. Together, they represent a significant share of Europe’s transmission network.
Europe’s energy transition brings challenges that cross borders and can no longer be solved by individual TSOs alone. The Alliance recognises that innovation is necessary to keep the grid reliable, affordable and sustainable. By working openly with technology providers and broader society, the Alliance aims to accelerate solutions that strengthen resilience and safeguard energy security.
The programme is multi-annual by design, and will address a series of topics over the coming years. The current Weather & Grid Resilience Open Call is the first step in this long-term effort to build a future-proof European grid.