A strong team for the energy transition

Two become one: On August 20, 1997, Badenwerk AG and Energie-Versorgung Schwaben (EVS), two major players in the regional electricity market, merge. The aims of the newly founded Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW): To assert itself in international competition, utilize synergies, expand the range of products and services. The Federal Cartel Office had already approved the merger of the two energy companies four years earlier. The company head office will be in the new administration building in Durlacher Allee in Karlsruhe, which Badenwerk had already moved into in June.

In 1998, the Federal Ministry of Economics implements a new EU energy directive and thus liberalizes the German electricity market. A key component: The separation of energy generation, trading and sales, on the one hand, and grid operation, on the other. EnBW is adapts to this and is one of the first energy companies to offer a range of electricity products. In 1999, it establishes Yello Strom GmbH and causes a nationwide sensation with an eye-catching advertising campaign. Yello is the first electricity brand in the newly emerging competition.

To strengthen its position in the liberalized energy market, EnBW merges with Neckarwerke Stuttgart AG (NWS) in 2003. In addition to its generation and grid infrastructure, NWS also contributes its gas and water divisions and its customer base to the Group. For its part, NWS was formed in 1997 from the Esslingen utility Neckarwerke Elektrizitätsversorgungs-AG and Technische Werke der Stadt Stuttgart AG (TWS).

The Obrigheim nuclear power plant (KWO) ceases operating at 7:58 a.m. on May 11, 2005. This had been agreed by EnBW and the Federal Environment Ministry in 2002 in the “nuclear consensus”. The KWO, located directly on the river Neckar between Heidelberg and Heilbronn, was commercially connected to the grid in 1969 as the largest pressurized water reactor in Europe at the time. In its 36 years of operation, the power plant generated more than 90 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. Dismantling began in 2008 and is now regarded as a model for other dismantling sites.

EnBW is looking for 500 pioneers for electric scooters and is thus getting venturing into the expansion of electromobility. In June, the Stuttgart region was named a model region for electromobility by the Federal Ministry of Transport. EnBW is on board as a partner in the two-year project. It is providing 500 e-bikes for test riders and is also planning the installation and operation of 500 private, 100 municipal and 100 public charging stations. EnBW thereby aims to actively promote the topic of electromobility and develop it further for the future.

In 2011, following the reactor accident in Fukushima, the German government decides to phase out nuclear power by 2022. In the same year, EnBW Kernkraft GmbH (EnKK) adopts its strategy for decommissioning EnBW’s five nuclear power plants; Neckarwestheim 1 and Philippsburg 1 cease operation. EnKK opts for the direct dismantling of all units – following the example of the Obrigheim nuclear power plant, which EnBW had already taken off the grid in 2005. The Neckarwestheim 1 and Philippsburg 1 units have been in the process of being dismantled since 2017, Philippsburg 2 since 2020 and Neckarwestheim 2 since May 2023.

In parallel with phasing out nuclear power, EnBW heralds the start of the energy transition: In April 2011, the EnBW Baltic 1 wind farm in the Baltic Sea, Germany's first commercial offshore wind farm, is connected to the grid. The consistent expansion of renewable energies gains momentum. Baltic 1 is located 16 kilometers north of the Darss/Zingst peninsula and is operated from the port of Barhöft, 18 kilometers from Stralsund. Eight service technicians work for the wind farm. They travel daily with a crew boat to EnBW Baltic 1 and carry out repairs and maintenance there.

EnBW presents its 2020 strategy. It is committed to the energy transition and wants to be “close to the customer”. It transforms its generation fleet and grids into the “engine room of the energy transition” by expanding renewable energies in particular. EnBW’s grid subsidiaries are responsible for integrating renewable energies and electromobility into the energy system and ultimately for ensuring a secure supply. An InnovationCampus is created in Karlsruhe to develop new business ideas.

At the site of the Rheinhafen steam power plant (RDK for short), a new hard coal-fired unit goes into operation after many years of construction. On 3 August,the RDK 8 is synchronized with the power grid for the first time and feeds electricity into the extra-high voltage grid. The construction of new power plants is an essential component of an environmentally friendly energy supply. With a large number of technical innovations, RDK 8 sets a new global standard for efficient and therefore environmentally friendly generation of electricity and district heating from hard coal. 46 percent net efficiency is a world record for hard coal-fired power plants and represents a quantum leap in terms of efficiency.

The 80 large wind turbines of EnBW Baltic 2 rise high above the waves of the Baltic Sea. On September 21, 2015, EnBW's second wind farm a good 30 kilometers north of Rügen officially comes onstream – two years after the first foundations were laid. Baltic 2’s wind turbines are almost a third larger than those of Baltic 1. Spanning an area of 27 square kilometers, it is four times as large and can generate six times as much electricity. The wind turbines generate some 1.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year from the strong and steady wind, enough to supply 340,000 households.

EnBW takes over Verbundnetz Gas AG (VNG). The Leipzig-based company supplies around 400 utilities, regional suppliers and industrial companies in Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic with natural gas. The takeover of VNG makes EnBW the third-largest gas supplier in Germany. Developments such as digitalization, decentralization of the energy system and urbanization are accelerating the pace of EnBW's transition from a traditional energy company to a competent infrastructure partner beyond energy.

With the acquisition of the French project developer Valeco, EnBW strengthens its position in renewable energies. The wind and solar project developer from Montpellier is one of the top 10 systems operators in the French market. In the same year, EnBW acquires Plusnet GmbH from Cologne, a service provider in the telecommunications sector. Plusnet manages its own nationwide voice-data network and has many years of experience in operating modern broadband technologies. EnBW thus strengthens its transformation into an infrastructure partner.

Germany's largest solar park in Werneuchen, Brandenburg, feeds its first kilowatt hour of solar energy into the electricity grid. The plant produces some 180 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year and powers around 50,000 households in purely mathematical terms. This saves Werneuchen around 130,000 tons of CO₂ per year. The solar park is a milestone for the generation of renewable energies, as large-scale photovoltaic projects like this make a tangible and cost-effective contribution to the energy transition. The plant was the first project of its size to be realized without Renewable Energies Act (EEG) subsidies.

In the Irish Sea off the UK, EnBW and BP are awarded a contract for two marine areas for the development of offshore wind farms with a total capacity of three gigawatts. This corresponds to the electricity supply of around 3.4 million households. “Mona” and “Morgan” are one of the largest offshore wind farm projects in the world and the largest that EnBW had realized at this moment in time. The twin wind farm between Liverpool and the Isle of Man is scheduled for commissioning in 2028. In 2022, EnBW and bp are also awarded a contract for the 2.9 gigawatt “Morven” offshore project off the east coast of Scotland.

In December, EnBW opens its largest fast-charging station to date near the Kamener Kreuz junction in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located at one of the busiest traffic junctions in Germany. 52 vehicles can charge simultaneously with up to 300 kilowatts of power. Depending on the vehicle, up to 100 kilometers of range can be charged in just five minutes – from 100 percent green electricity. EnBW has now opened roughly 50 large fast-charging parks.

The Low German “He Dreiht” means “he turns” – and is a fitting name for the new offshore wind farm that EnBW will bring onstream in the North Sea at the end of 2025. In March, the decision is made to tackle this major project without state funding. Once completed, 64 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 960 megawatts will double EnBW’s offshore portfolio in one fell swoop and supply 1.1 million households with renewable energy in purely mathematical terms. “He Dreiht” is being built 90 kilometers northwest of the island of Borkum and 110 kilometers west of Helgoland and is currently one of the largest energy transition projects in Europe.

EnBW is also keeping at it when it comes to solar energy: The ground-breaking ceremony at the beginning of March marked the start of construction of the Langenenslingen-Wilflingen solar park, the largest photovoltaic project in Baden-Württemberg. From mid-2025, the plant with its 80 megawatts of installed capacity will be able to supply around 30,000 households with solar power. The Dialogforum Erneuerbarer Energien und Naturschutz supports the ecological design of the solar park: The newly created meadow areas of the solar park are not fertilized, but left to develop naturally. Compensatory measures include the development of species-rich grassland, tree, hedge and shrub planting as well as stepping stone biotopes.