Pathways & Action Agenda

The Roadmap shares clear, fact-based information about the great energy potential of the North Sea, as well as the challenges, such as meeting growing energy needs. It outlines short-, medium-, and long-term actions needed to connect different energy systems and speed up the shift to low-carbon and renewable energy.

Right now, there is no shared plan or vision for how to integrate offshore energy systems by 2050, leading to confusion for governments, developers, and the public. This also slows down progress.

This NSE Roadmap helps solve that by offering a clear vision, possible future pathways, and specific actions to build a fully integrated North Sea energy system by 2050. It includes a broad vision that balances current and future uses of the sea, outlines future scenarios for offshore wind, hydrogen, CCS, and natural gas, and presents an Action Agenda developed with input from experts and stakeholders in and outside the NSE program.

Pathways The North Sea Energy Roadmap outlines possible ways to integrate different energy systems by 2050. It focuses on offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and natural gas. These areas were explored through research, discussions with experts, tested and validated, and they align with European and national energy goals.

Action Agenda The Action Agenda lists steps that should be taken in the short, medium, and long term to help create a successful and sustainable energy future in the North Sea.

Key challenges include limited space at sea, different views among stakeholders, complicated decision-making, unclear rules, separate sectors, and uncertain market conditions for long-term investments.

To address these, the consortium has suggested strategies and actions focused on seven main themes that apply to all North Sea stakeholders. It also highlights the top three actions for each of six key energy sources: offshore wind, marine energy, green hydrogen, blue hydrogen, CCS, and natural gas. Taking these actions will help unlock the North Sea’s energy potential in a way that balances economic growth, social needs, and environmental protection.