On 22 September, Aspen Institute Romania organized the 6th edition of the Aspen Energy Summit 2025 at the Palace of the Parliament, under the theme Facing the Trilemma: Access, Security, Sustainability. The conference gathered over 150 participants, policymakers, CEOs, innovators, and strategic investors, for high-level dialogue at the nexus of energy security, economic growth, technological innovation, sustainability, and the circular economy.

Since 2017, the Summit has become a landmark platform in the regional and European energy landscape.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS
The question guiding this year’s conference was: how can we simultaneously ensure energy security, access, and sustainability for an energy system fit for 2025? Therefore, the main proposals that emerged from the Aspen Energy Summit 2025 focused on low carbon emissions, a robust baseload, along with faster networks and cross-border interconnections, as well as continuous cyber protection so that reliability is maintained when renewable energy production is low.

Because energy weaponisation exposed structural gaps, the response combines diversification of fuels and critical inputs including rare earths with streamlined permitting for transmission storage and hydrogen-ready links, while nuclear alongside modern gas anchors stability and enables renewable integration.

Romania was positioned as a multi-regional energy and data hub since Neptun Deep can anchor Black Sea supply from 2027 and since North–South corridors can knit the region into EU markets, while OECD accession and a capital-market upgrade unlock deeper financing.

Consequently, authorities together with TSOs and DSOs should lift multi-year grid capex paths and digitalise operations, while they create a one-stop shop for connections and they redesign the ATR with objective filters and guarantees so that megawatts reach sockets. In parallel market design should center the consumer through dynamic tariffs prosumer participation and clear billing while avoiding cross-subsidies.

Security requires full NIS2 implementation across the chain and a standing public–private cyber cell with 24-7 monitoring red-teaming and incident response, together with protection of Black Sea assets and submarine cables.

Financing should remain straightforward through senior debt corporate PPAs green bonds syndicated loans and equity listings, while a blended public–private vehicle crowds in private capital. In addition, EU leaders should fold energy into Readiness 2030 and extend the SAFE loan instrument to energy projects so that funds flow to firm capacity networks and cyber-resilience and so that bankable projects reach timely close.