As we look back on an eventful year marked by a prolonged war in Europe and weak growth in the European Union, EnBW has been able to show during this period that it is in a strong position and capable of quickly adapting to political and social change.
In 2023, we used all available production capacity at our power plant sites both on the market and to stabilize to grid. We have further expanded our renewable energy capacity, secured gas from additional sources and continued to keep supplies for our customers at the highest level. The crises of recent years have not stopped us from striving to achieve an ambitious goal: We want to become a climate-neutral company by 2035.
We had this target certified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in 2023. As far as renewable energy sources are concerned, we are already seeing positive developments: Last year, for the first time, they covered more than half of Germany’s gross electricity consumption. In June, electricity generated by photovoltaic power plants in Germany reached a new all-time record figure of 9.8 billion kWh. As EnBW, we played our part last year with considerable investment, increasing the share of renewable energy sources in our generation capacity from around 42% to just under 47%.
In addition, we have taken the decision to press ahead with a milestone project: the construction of our offshore wind farm aptly named He Dreiht – Low German for “It Spins.” With an output of 960 MW, it will be capable of supplying the equivalent of around 1.1 million households – or the residents of an entire city – with electricity. And it shouldn’t be forgotten that we will not receive any EEG funding for this project and will only generate revenue from operating the wind farm on the market, either through direct electricity sales or through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with industrial companies.
For the energy transition to succeed, we also need to invest in flexible power plant capacity that is available at all times. This will become the natural partner of renewable energy sources at times when they are unable to cover the demand due to weather conditions or when the grid needs to be stabilized. Last year, we celebrated the start of construction work on our power plant modernization projects in Altbach / Deizisau and Stuttgart-Münster, followed by Heilbronn in February of this year. Lower-emission gas power plants are being built at all three sites, which are set to be powered by climate-neutral hydrogen in the 2030s. The previous coal power plants will be decommissioned once the new plants have been commissioned.
The measures we put in place today will also benefit future generations.
These new power plants are an impressive example of the further investment that we as a company need in order to achieve our goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2035. With the power plant strategy, the German government has announced the setting of an important political course for a suitable regulatory environment for this year. Decisive steps are also set to follow in terms of the hydrogen infrastructure and support for the hydrogen market ramp-up. We will look closely at how we can prioritize our investment on this basis.
At the same time, the expansion of renewable energy sources across a wider area and the electrification of heating and mobility will continue and in all likelihood be stepped up. That is why it remains important to expand our distribution grid. Last year, we invested around 900 million euros in strengthening and constructing power lines, upgrading substations and rolling out smart meters. In addition to the distribution grid, improving the connection with the windy north by upgrading the transmission grids is essential for securing the power supply in the south. The two major projects SuedLink and ULTRANET are making good progress – and I am delighted that construction work on the SuedLink converter in Leingarten began last year.
At EnBW, however, we are not only helping to bring about the energy transition, but also the transport transition. We are investing around 200 million euros annually in e-mobility. With our quick-charging solutions, we are providing attractive conditions for e-mobility in Germany and beyond – within the EnBW HyperNetwork, our customers can now charge their vehicles at over 600,000 points in 17 different countries (as of March 2024).
In the 2023 financial year, we achieved an adjusted EBITDA of 6.4 billion euros. This is a strong result that will allow us to pursue our ambitious investment program for the energy transition. We will be investing a gross figure of around 40 billion euros until 2030 – in renewable energy sources, in grids, in available power and in digital solutions for our customers. Most of the funds are being invested in projects in Germany. We are taking on a great deal of responsibility here, because this new infrastructure is designed to last for several decades. Our work is visible, our decisions are made for the long-term. The measures we put in place today will also benefit future generations. It is clear that the energy transition holds huge potential for us at EnBW, but above all for the future viability of the place we call home. Our investment in the energy transition provides the best protection against crises. It will make us less dependent on imports, improve our cost structures and protect our climate. I wish to thank my colleagues for their efforts over the past year. With their commitment, they have taken another step toward bringing about the energy transition. We want to continue on this path. Together, doing everything in our power.
Best regards
Chairman of the Board of Management