Accelerating the energy transition: Insights from Belgium’s first EuGB issuer

•06 January 2026•less than a min

Picture of Elia Transmission Belgium's representatives

In 2025, the first European Green Bonds (EuGBs) were brought to market following the implementation of the much-awaited European Green Bond Standard at the end of 2024. To discuss the rationale behind issuing green bonds under this new gold standard, we sat down with Nicolas Pire and Irina Buslova, CFO and Head of Group Treasury respectively, at Elia Transmission Belgium. Not only is the electricity transmission system operator the first EuGB issuer in Belgium, it is also featured in the Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s (LuxSE’s) EU Taxonomy Issuers Window on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX).

This new window on LGX highlights issuers with significant turnover or capex alignment with the EU Taxonomy. Only companies that generate more than 75% of their revenues from EU Taxonomy-aligned activities are included in this category. As a designated LuxSE EU Taxonomy Issuer and with 3 green bonds featured on LGX, we were curious to learn more about Elia’s efforts to decarbonise the energy sector and support Europe’s ambitious green transition.

After issuing its first green bond two years ago, Elia Transmission Belgium, or ETB, issued its first European Green Bond in October this year, the first EuGB brought to market by a Belgian issuer. What led you to opt for a European Green Bond?

Nicolas Pire: Indeed, after two ICMA Green bonds, we decided to take the next step in Elia’s sustainability journey. The EuGB framework offers stricter transparency and alignment with the EU Taxonomy, giving investors stronger assurance on how proceeds are used. By issuing our Group’s first European Green Bond – and the first in Belgium, we reaffirmed our ambition to stay at the forefront of sustainable finance while supporting the development of a future-proof grid.

Our strategy enables us to stay at the forefront of the sector and to stay attractive to investors, which allows the development of the grid to the benefit of the consumer and the Belgian society.

The EuGB label is seen as the highest green standard, and we believe it helped us to secure very tight credit spreads through fair value.

Elia’s EuGB was six times oversubscribed, what do you think motivates this strong investor response?

Irina Buslova: Yes, the transaction attracted strong demand from institutional investors, reflecting their confidence in both our credit quality and our sustainability strategy.
We saw interest from high-quality, long-term investors, which indicates that the market values our role in enabling the energy transition and views Elia as a low-risk, reliable issuer.

In addition, the European Green Bond Standard provides an additional layer of assurance. Investors know that the use of proceeds, reporting, and verification requirements under the EuGBS are rigorous, which increases trust in the environmental integrity of the bond.

Elia is featured in LuxSE’s dedicated EU Taxonomy Issuers Window. What does it mean for Elia to be featured on this list?

Irina Buslova: Being featured in the EU Taxonomy Issuers Window highlights that the vast majority of our revenues stem from EU Taxonomy-aligned activities. We see it as a strong independent validation that our activities are aligned with the EU’s sustainability goals and that we are genuinely contributing to the energy transition. This recognition supports our position as a key actor in Europe’s energy transition and strengthens our credibility in sustainable finance market. We appreciate this initiative of LuxSE.

Elia is committed to enabling the decarbonisation of the power sector. What actions and initiatives have you implemented in this respect?

Nicolas Pire: The most impactful contribution we can make is to accelerate the delivery and modernisation of the electricity grid to answer customers’ increasing demands when it comes to the transmission and distribution of electricity, and enable the integration of low-carbon energy sources. This is why we increased our investment plans, ensuring the grid is ready to support a rapid and secure transition to cleaner power.

Moreover, we are actively reducing our own operational emissions. Through the Act Now programme, we are implementing targeted initiatives to lower our carbon footprint and operate more sustainably across all parts of the business.

This strategy and efforts are translated in Elia’s solid ESG rating – with a 14.1 risk rating from Sustainalytics, highlighting that ETB is assessed to be at a low risk of experiencing material financial impacts from ESG factors and positioning ETB as best in class in the electric utilities industry. It underscores that sustainability is embedded in our DNA and all of our operations.

In 2024, Elia announced that it would build the world’s first artificial energy island with support from the EIB. Could you please explain the background of this innovative project and what it brings to Belgium and Europe more broadly?

Nicolas Pire: The Princess Elisabeth Island will connect 2.1 GW new wind farms capacity in the North Sea to Belgium’s mainland electricity grid. By clustering the generated power and transmitting it via advanced infrastructure, the island will enhance security of supply, make large volumes of renewable electricity available, and allow Belgium to further reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

On a broader scale, the project positions Belgium at the heart of the future European energy network. The island is designed to facilitate further interconnection with neighbouring countries, effectively acting as a building block for a meshed European offshore grid. This increased integration creates opportunities for cross-border renewable energy exchange, and supports Europe’s long-term climate and energy goals.

Supported by the European Investment Bank’s green financing, the project also brings benefits to Belgian consumers through competitive interest rates and diversified funding. It clearly demonstrates European support for strategic infrastructure, underlining confidence in Elia’s vision.

What do you see as the main hurdles to stablish a reliable, sustainable and affordable energy system across Europe? What are the main developments you would like to see in 2026?

Nicolas Pire: Accelerating the rollout of electricity grids while keeping costs manageable is a major challenge across Europe. Speeding up grid development is complicated by a highly constrained supply chain – particularly in Europe, limited engineering capacity, and the massive financing needs such expansions require.

To build future-proof networks in an affordable way, several key factors must be addressed:

Regional coordination in planning is essential, especially for offshore developments, so investments are truly optimised and societal benefits are maximised across borders.
Developing flexibility in electricity production and consumption can significantly reduce the infrastructure needed. This means deploying solutions like flexible generation, storage technologies, and demand-side management to balance supply and demand.
Innovative financing structures must be developed, enabling transmission system operators to invest in critical infrastructure without disproportionately burdening their balance sheets. At the same time, investments need to be de-risked to keep financing costs low for investors.
Strengthening the European supply chain will be key to adding capacity and bringing down prices, helping the continent deliver projects faster and at a competitive cost.
Streamlining permitting for large infrastructure projects will also be crucial, ensuring grid expansions can progress quickly and reliably.

By focusing on these priority areas, Europe can build grids that support a reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy future for all.