Azerbaijan becoming key hub for Asia–Europe energy supergrid

The Black Sea Energy Cable project is becoming one of the key elements of an emerging transregional energy architecture capable of linking Central Asia with Europe and setting a new logic for the development of energy networks across the Eurasian space, ACWA Power President for Central Asia Abid Malik told a seminar dedicated to the prospects of creating an Asian super grid, held as part of the 59th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Samarkand.

Malik recalled that a number of integration energy platforms are already operating in Central Asia. In particular, the CASA-1000 project connects the energy systems of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and is currently being expanded to connect Afghanistan and Pakistan. In parallel, the Central Asian Unified Energy System is functioning, covering five countries of the region - from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

According to him, the CAREC program plays an important role in coordinating and developing these initiatives, acting as a catalyst for synergy between existing projects and contributing to the strengthening of regional energy integration.

"The key question now is how far these systems can be scaled - not only to cover all countries of the region, but also with the prospect of connecting Mongolia," he noted.

Special attention, according to Malik, is being paid to the prospects of connecting Central Asian energy systems with Azerbaijan and Georgia, with subsequent access to the European market across the Black Sea, particularly toward Romania and Hungary.

"This is the future of energy networks. Sovereign states are beginning to see the real economic benefits of creating such interconnectors," he emphasized.

Malik added that despite Europe's leadership in developing cross-border energy infrastructure, similar processes are today being actively discussed in a broader geographical context, including projects to connect Saudi Arabia with Europe through the Middle East, the Mediterranean, or the territory of Türkiye.

"The key factor remains political will. It is formed when the large-scale economic benefit of integrating energy systems becomes evident," he concluded.