ENERGY ENTERPRENEURSHIP AS A KEY DRIVER IN STRENGTHENING EUROPEAN ENERGY SECURITY

The wars in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, and Iran have generated unprecedented challenges to both energy and economic security, not only for Ukraine and Europe – historically among the world’s largest importers of fuel and energy resources – but also for the global system as a whole. In the current geopolitical context, fuel supply chains and national energy systems have increasingly become strategic targets and instruments of coercion, affecting both importing and exporting countries. Concurrently, there is a discernible decline in the regulatory capacity and effectiveness of international and intergovernmental organisations in addressing and resolving global challenges. This evolving landscape necessitates a fundamental rethinking of approaches to strengthening Europe’s energy security.
A review of the academic literature reveals the absence of a unified and universally accepted definition of the term “energy security.” As noted by Chester (2010, p. 891), the concept has historically represented a broad and context-dependent idea, the interpretation of which varies according to its field of application (technical, environmental, political, social, economic, etc.), its purpose (institutional, national, or individual perspectives), and the actor employing it (Sovacool and Brown, 2010, p. 80).
The term “energy security” has been present in academic discourse since the 1960s (Lubell, 1961), initially used to describe the interconnections between energy, security, and foreign policy (Miller, 1977, p. 111). Early research also focused on distinguishing between “security of demand” and “security of supply” (Willrich, 1976, p. 746), as well as on supply-oriented concerns such as diversification of energy sources, price stability, and the continuity and accessibility of energy provision (Deese, 1979; Yergin, 1988).
Over time, the pressures of industrial development have triggered irreversible and large-scale global transformations, prompting a shift in conceptual approaches. Energy security is now increasingly understood as an interdisciplinary phenomenon, incorporating dimensions of sustainable development and the “culture of perception” (Sovacool et al., 2012). More recent contributions have further refined the concept by emphasising system vulnerabilities and resilience across different components of energy systems, including infrastructure, energy services, and renewable energy sources (Cherp and Jewell, 2014, p. 420).
The conceptualisation of the category “energy security” dates to the 1960s, emerging as a response to oil crises and the need to establish an international institutional mechanism to ensure its provision, notably through the creation of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA was originally established to counter crises and disruptions in oil supply to international markets; over time, its mandate has been expanded to encompass the security of natural gas supply, electricity systems, renewable energy supply chains, and broader energy systems.
A more advanced definition of energy security is articulated as “reliable and affordable access to all fuels and energy sources” (IEA, 2026). This definition incorporates several key dimensions, including: oil supply security (market monitoring, stockholding requirements, and collective response mechanisms); natural gas supply security (ensuring flexibility, transparency, and reliability of global gas supply, including the potential development of voluntary gas storage and reserve mechanisms); electricity security (ensuring a reliable and secure power supply, a diversified energy mix, reduced dependence on imported fuels, system flexibility to integrate variable renewable energy sources, and cybersecurity); critical mineral supply security; energy system performance (including energy supply and transformation, energy efficiency, demand, and emissions); and fuel-switching capacity.
As can be observed, these approaches primarily examine how the state of energy security influences economic security and the activities of firms and households. However, there is a notable lack of analysis of the reverse relationship and of the role of energy entrepreneurship in shaping and enhancing energy security. In general, both academic research and policy practice pay insufficient attention to the role of energy entrepreneurship in ensuring energy security, despite its critical importance within specific mechanisms (see Fig. 1).
Furthermore, industry oil stocks in European countries are approximately twice as high as public reserves, although they remain significantly lower than those observed in North America.
In addition, in line with the Paris Agreement, the EU aims to achieve a fully or predominantly decarbonised electricity sector by 2035 and expects to mobilise and diversify the necessary investments in the energy sector from both public and private sources (IEA Governing Board, 2024).

Figure 1. IEA total oil stocks, December 2025
Resource: IEA 2025; Oil security, URL: Energy Security – Topics - IEA, License: CC BY 4.0.

In times of energy crises and disruptions, companies must enhance flexibility and resilience to ensure a reliable energy supply, strengthen energy security, and improve energy efficiency by reducing reliance on imported fuels and diversifying or substituting them with renewable energy sources.
Achieving the goals of tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030 (IEA, 2024) requires substantial development of energy entrepreneurship. It is particularly important to ensure not only the expansion of generation and distribution capacities in the renewable energy sector but also the development of networks and services supporting its consumption. A pivotal role in this process is played by enterprises and financial institutions in driving innovation and scaling resource capacities. This includes, inter alia, grid-scale battery systems, pumped-storage hydropower, other energy storage technologies, grid reinforcement, smart grids, digitalised demand-side management, solar self-consumption, distributed generation, gas storage and reserve systems, the establishment of critical mineral stockpiles, and the development of diversified processing and refining capacities to enhance supply security.
In addition, the development of capacities for producing renewable, zero-carbon, and low-carbon gases is essential. Consumers also assume an increasingly important role as prosumers, actively participating in energy generation, storage, and system flexibility.
The authors further developed the integrated macro–meso–micro approach proposed by Dopfer, Foster, and Potts (2004) to model the assessment of energy security at the level of the national economy, emphasising the critical role of entrepreneurial entities in the production, supply, and consumption of fuel and energy resources as a fundamental component of energy security (Mazur, 2015). Based on simplified functional representations of wholesale and retail markets for fuel and energy resources, a system of determinants of national energy security was constructed across key components (electricity, heat energy, natural gas, peat, coal, crude oil, petroleum products, secondary energy resources, and renewable energy sources) and evaluation criteria (energy efficiency, energy availability, energy reliability, energy independence, and economic resilience).
In particular, the criterion of economic resilience reflects the efficiency, stability, and flexibility of enterprises engaged in the production, transformation, supply, and distribution of fuel and energy resources, thereby characterising the overall performance of the energy system.
The assessment across all determinants for Ukraine indicates a critical and unsafe level of energy security, primarily driven by excessive import dependence, low energy efficiency, a high degree of depreciation of networks and critical infrastructure, and the financial instability of enterprises.
The application of the proposed model requires the identification of country-specific components in accordance with the structure of production and consumption of fuel and energy resources, as well as the establishment of a universal conversion unit (e.g., tonnes of oil equivalent).
Conclusions. The study demonstrates the growing importance of energy entrepreneurship in ensuring energy security through the mobilisation of private capital and the enhancement of productive capacity, particularly in the generation, distribution, and supply of energy and fuels from renewable sources. The integrated macro–meso–micro approach to modelling energy security warrants further development and refinement, particularly through the incorporation of the “RASI” framework, which captures the dimensions of resilience, adaptability, sustainability, and inclusiveness.

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