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.

In June 2009, the Stuttgart region is named a model region for e-mobility by the Federal Ministry of Transport. EnBW is on board this two-year project as a partner, providing 500 e-bikes for test riders while planning to install and operate 500 private, 100 municipal and 100 public charging stations. The aim is to work with partners to gain experience that can be used to further expand the charging infrastructure and find alternative mobility solutions.

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 April 2011, the EnBW Baltic 1 wind farm in the Baltic Sea, Germany’s first commercial offshore wind farm, is connected to the grid. 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, traveling there daily with a crew boat to carry out repairs and maintenance.

EnBW presents its 2020 strategy under the motto “Energiewende. Safe. Hands on.” In it, it commits to the energy transition and expresses its desire to be “close to the customer.” The main focus areas include the increased expansion of renewable energies and the continuous development of the grid infrastructure. The aim is to improve the integration of renewable power generation and e-mobility into the energy system. An Innovation Campus is created in Karlsruhe to develop new business ideas.

Following a construction period lasting several years, a new hard coal block is commissioned on the site of the Rheinhafen steam power plant in Karlsruhe – or RDK for short. On 3 August 2013, RDK 8 is synchronized with the power grid for the first time and feeds electricity into the extra-high-voltage grid. Featuring a range of technical innovations, the new plant achieves a net efficiency rate of 46 percent, significantly reducing the amount of fuel used compared to older blocks.

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 acquires Verbundnetz Gas AG (VNG). The Leipzig-based company supplies natural gas to around 400 municipal utilities, regional suppliers and industrial companies in Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic. The acquisition of VNG makes EnBW the third-largest gas supplier in Germany.

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.

With an installed output of around 187 megawatts peak, Germany's largest solar park at the time – built in Werneuchen, Brandenburg – feeds the first kilowatt-hour of solar energy into the power grid. The plant produces around 180 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, enough to supply the equivalent of around 50,000 households. The special thing about this solar park is that it is the first project on this scale to be built without EEG funding.

In December 2021, EnBW opens its largest fast-charging station to date near the Kamener Kreuz interchange (in North Rhine-Westphalia). This is located at one of Germany’s busiest transport hubs. A total of 52 vehicles can be simultaneously charged with up to 300 kilowatts of power, which means that enough power for a range of up to 100 kilometers can be charged in just five minutes, depending on the vehicle. EnBW has since opened around 50 large fast-charging stations.

The Low German “He Dreiht” means “it spins” – and is an apt name for EnBW’s new offshore wind farm. In March, the decision is made to take on this major project without state funding. Upon completion, 64 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 960 megawatts will double EnBW’s offshore portfolio at a stroke and supply the equivalent of 1.1 million households with renewable energy. “He Dreiht” is being built 90 kilometers northwest of the island of Borkum and 110 kilometers west of Helgoland.

The groundbreaking ceremony at the beginning of March 2024 marks the start of construction work on Langenenslingen-Wilflingen solar park, the first major photovoltaic project in Baden-Württemberg. From mid-2025, the plant with an installed output of 80 megawatts will be able to supply the equivalent of around 30,000 households with solar power. The “Dialogforum Energiewende und Naturschutz” – an information and support service set up by environmental groups – helps to design the solar park with environmental considerations in mind. For instance, the solar park’s fields are left to develop naturally rather than fertilized. Compensatory measures include developing grassland for a large number of different species, planting trees, hedges and shrubs and creating stepping stone biotopes.

In April, EnBW celebrates the official commissioning of one of Germany’s first hydrogen-ready gas turbine power plants in Stuttgart-Münster, replacing the site’s coal-fired generation. The flexible gas power plant complements renewable energy sources while also helping to maintain grid stability in southern Germany. The plant can one day be converted to run on hydrogen – as soon as decarbonized hydrogen is available in sufficient quantities.