Highlights 2020
In what areas was EnBW particularly active in the last year and what demands were placed on the company? Here is a summary of ten highlights from 2020.
E-mobility
Welcome to the EnBW HyperNetwork
E-mobility
“Welcome to the EnBW HyperNetwork” was the name of corporate campaign in summer 2020. The slogan says it all: We operate the largest charging network in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the largest quick-charging network in Germany. This also impressed the renowned testing magazine Connect: In their charging network test, they named EnBW mobility+ as the best electromobility provider in Germany.
Thanks to the further development of the charging infrastructure, in some cases with our national and international cooperation partners, we are continuously expanding in the area of electromobility. We have thus invested around €10 million in the realization of the “Urban Quick-Charging Parks in Baden-Württemberg” (USP-BW) project, for which the State of Baden-Württemberg is providing around 30% of the funding. The first of 16 urban quick-charging parks in the state was already opened in Stuttgart city center in September.
To also bring the mobility transition to rural areas, “twist,” a startup from EnBW and Bridgemaker, is offering car sharing services with e-cars to local authorities. The pilot city for the e-sharing service will be Ehningen, located to the southwest of Ulm.
Electromobility is gaining momentum across Europe
We are also making an impression internationally on the electromobility market. For example, we are founding the company SMATRICS mobility+ GmbH together with the Austrian company SMATRICS to operate the largest charging network across Austria and push forward the expansion of the existing SMATRICS ultra-fast charging network in Austria. After connecting up France, Italy and the Netherlands, the EnBW HyperNetwork now has a total of more than 150,000 charging points in Europe. To ensure that we can act even more quickly and flexibly, we are bundling our operational and strategic activities in the area of electromobility within one independent company – EnBW mobility+ AG & Co. KG – from 2021.
Corporate strategy
Resolute alignment towards sustainability
Corporate strategy
We began to resolutely align our business model towards sustainability criteria back in 2013 and have taken a leading role in reshaping the energy sector. The main focus has been the rigorous transformation of our portfolio towards renewable energies and the associated expansion of the transmission and distribution grids, as well as sustainable mobility concepts and smart infrastructure solutions. We are now continuing on this course with 25 additional measures that were defined in 2020 to create a comprehensive sustainable corporate strategy.
Climate neutrality by 2035
Half of the EnBW generation portfolio will be comprised of renewable energies by 2025. We aim to become climate neutral with respect to our own emissions across the entire company by no later than 2035 – an ambitious goal that will be achieved in tandem with the associated phasing out of coal power. Certain areas of our company will already become climate neutral much sooner – such as Energiedienst, Gasversorgung Südwest (GVS) and Netze BW. The sustainable corporate strategy is also reflected in the latest climate protection rankings from the sustainability ranking agency CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). We improved our ranking in all categories and thus made the jump to the “Climate Change A-List” of the most sustainable companies worldwide.
EnBW customers have also been experiencing our paradigm shift: New customers can online now only conclude green electricity contracts for their household electricity. Since the middle of February 2020, the EnBW subsidiary Yello has also been only offering new electricity and gas tariffs that make a contribution to climate protection.
We are exploring new approaches for the extraction of lithium in Oberrheingraben. In the UnLimited research project, in which we are a lead partner together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the partners BESTEC, HYDROSION and the University of Göttingen, this highly prized raw material is being extracted from deep geothermal waters in Bruchsal. Germany has so far met all of its lithium needs with imports, but demand is rising steadily as lithium-ion batteries are also in high demand for mobile and portable applications.
Coronavirus pandemic
Facing the pandemic together
Coronavirus pandemic
The economy and society were dominated by one issue over all others in 2020 – the coronavirus pandemic. We responded to the outbreak at an early stage and had already formed a task force at the beginning of February, which has since remained in close contact with ministries and health authorities. Appropriate countermeasures were defined and implemented in cooperation with the Board of Management. We have only seen a moderate economic impact on earnings in 2020.
Since the beginning of March 2020, the majority of our employees have been working from home. Measures were also introduced for the teams who are responsible for ensuring the security of the energy supply on site. For its comprehensive range of services for the prevention of mental health issues, EnBW was awarded “Excellence status” at this year’s Corporate Health Awards and also received an award in the special category of “Mental Health.”
Protecting the health of our employees has always been our number one priority and also remains so today.
We are acutely aware of our responsibility for ensuring the reliable supply of electricity, water and gas and the provision of waste disposal services to all citizens at all times. EnBW’s provision of these services was not at risk at any time. In addition, we restored any electricity and gas connections that had been cut off in order to support our customers during this difficult time. We also assumed our social responsibility in other ways by, for example, initiating numerous local and regional aid and donation campaigns and donating face masks to medical facilities.
Renewable Energies
New impetus for the Energiewende
Renewable Energies
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One of the key pillars of the sustainable corporate strategy is the expansion of renewable energies. We were thus involved in numerous projects to harness the power of the sun and wind in 2020. The starting point was the completion of the EnBW Albatros offshore wind farm in January. We are also bringing new impetus to the offshore sector in cooperation with the engineering company aerodyn in the Nezzy² research project. The prototype with two wind turbines on a floating platform was tested for the first time in Germany and proved itself even under the extreme weather conditions in the Baltic Sea.
Our wind power portfolio is also expanding onshore. Existing turbines with a capacity of almost 90 MW have been acquired in Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. To reinvigorate the stagnating expansion of wind power in Germany, we have joined the #windforfuture initiative. Among other things, the initiative has issued recommendations on the availability of sites and the handling of regulations relating to the protection of nature.
We also remain active outside of Germany and are pushing forward the expansion of onshore wind power in France and Sweden. Our Danish subsidiary Connected Wind Services (CWS) received two major contracts for the maintenance of onshore wind turbines in Denmark and France.
Sunny times for the expansion of solar energy
Although the German government has ended its funding as part of the Renewable Energies Act (EEG), we were able to set new benchmarks for major photovoltaic projects in 2020. We constructed the first solar park without state funding in Germany to the north of the City of Werneuchen in Brandenburg and already fed the first kilowatt hour of electricity into the grid in November. The 465,000 solar modules are being gradually placed into operation and will have a total output of 187 MW.
It marks a milestone for photovoltaics in Germany and demonstrates that this technology has achieved market maturity.
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At the same time, we have already taken a decision to invest in the next two major projects, both of which are also in Brandenburg. Work is set to begin on the “Gottesgabe” and “Alttrebin” solar parks at the start of 2021. The three major photovoltaic projects that make up the solar cluster will save around 325,000 tonnes of CO₂.
Dismantling of nuclear power plants
A showcase for the Energiewende
Dismantling of nuclear power plants
The Philippsburg nuclear power plant site (KKP) has become a showcase for the Energiewende. This was plain to see on 14 May when the two cooling towers were demolished. The demolition went according to plan with one tower after the other falling in on itself, initiated by the detonation of several charges in the lower sections of the towers. To avoid spectators gathering to watch the event in light of government regulations with respect to the coronavirus pandemic, we did not reveal the precise date of the explosive demolition in advance. To ensure that as many people as possible could view this visible embodiment of the phasing out of nuclear power, we made a comprehensive range of photos and videos available to the public.
We received the second and final approval for the dismantling of Block 1 of the Philippsburg nuclear power plant on 31 July. KKP 1 is thus the fourth of five nuclear power plants in Baden-Württemberg to have all aspects of its dismantling program approved in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Atomic Power Act. TransnetBW is now constructing a direct current substation (also known as a converter) on the former site of the cooling towers. This converter will act as an important hub in the transmission grid for utilizing renewable energies in the south of Germany that will be transferred from the north.
In December, the waste storage facilities at the Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant were the last facilities to be transferred to the state-owned company responsible for the intermediate storage (BGZ) in accordance with the “German Act on Reorganization of Responsibility for Nuclear Disposal.” The waste storage facilities in Neckarwestheim, Philippsburg and Obrigheim that had already been transferred are all intended for the temporary storage of low and medium-level radioactive waste from the operation and dismantling of the EnBW nuclear power plants.
Broadband
Combined expertise for fast Internet
Broadband
We are continuing our growth initiatives from 2019 in the area of broadband. The bundling of our telecommunications activities in EnBW Telekommunikation GmbH with its subsidiaries NetCom BW and Plusnet has paid off. It has thus been possible to secure a number of contracts in invitations to tender for the expansion of broadband due to the combined efforts of both companies. For example, NetCom BW will be cooperating with Plusnet to connect nine transmitter stations in Baden-Württemberg operated by the regional station Antenne 1 with its studio in Stuttgart.
NetCom demonstrated how quickly a broadband connection can be installed if you find the right partner in its project for the garden and motor equipment manufacturer Stihl. It optimized the company’s performance capabilities in just 10 working days to enable easy access for those working at home. This type of contract normally takes around four to six weeks due to all of the required approvals and work on site.
Districts of the future
Life in the smart city
Districts of the future
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Modern districts combine living and working environments in an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable way. We are expanding our engagement in modern and digital infrastructure with our digital district platform.
A pioneering place to live
A flagship project is the “new Stöckach” in which we are planning the construction of a sustainable, modern and lively city district on one of our former sites in the east of Stuttgart. Around 60,000 m² of new living space comprising about 800 residential units will be created on the site. In a planning competition held in cooperation with the City of Stuttgart, the winner was the architect network tong+ from Frankfurt/Hanoi. As a particularly pioneering project, the “new Stöckach” will be presented at the international building exhibition 2027 StadtRegion Stuttgart (IBA’27).
Reliable and secure
You can rely on us
Reliable and secure
In various ways: Our transmission system operator TransnetBW and the company TenneT are making a fundamental contribution to the restructuring of the energy system in the SuedLink project by expanding the transmission grids to transfer electricity generated in the windy north to the south of Germany. For the two direct current transmission lines that cover more than 600 km from Schleswig-Holstein to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the Federal Network Agency has opened the planning approval process for the first northern sections. Progress is thus being made in a project that is key to the success of the Energiewende.
Work on the 340 km direct current transmission line between Osterath in North Rhine-Westphalia and Philippsburg, which is being realized by TransnetBW together with Amprion in the ULTRANET project, is being carried out at the site of the Philippsburg nuclear power plant. The laying of the foundation stone for the converter station is a major part of the power bridge.
Stable over the long term
Construction work on the gas turbine power plant at our site in Marbach has begun. The power plant will operate using light heating oil and will primarily be used to stabilize the grid so that supply reliability can also be maintained even in exceptional circumstances. EnBW and Netze BW are also preparing for the challenges of Redispatch 2.0 together with a community of distribution grid operators. The pilot phase for the DA/RE (DAta exchange/REdispatch) project to coordinate measures to stabilize the grid via a digital platform has been successfully completed.
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The interest shown by local authorities in investing in the electricity grid demonstrates that these local authorities also view us as a reliable partner. In July, Netze BW was able to report that after just one year 116 local authorities had already decided to participate in “EnBW connects.”
Cybersecurity
Protecting critical infrastructure
Cybersecurity
Cybercrime is becoming increasingly professional and international. This complicates and multiplies the tasks of those organizations charged with protecting against and investigating cybercrime. To combat crime and protect critical infrastructure, the State of Baden-Württemberg is working together with our experts. The common aim of this Public-Private-Non-Profit-Partnership (PPNPP) initiative is to improve cybersecurity for cities and local authorities, business and society, public utilities and the healthcare sector in Baden-Württemberg.
The protection of critical infrastructure is ultimately the responsibility of the operators and companies themselves. As an important operator of critical infrastructure (KRITIS) facilities, we have an outstanding level of expertise in this area.
Expansion of the gas business
2,700 kilometer transmission grid
Expansion of the gas business
The EnBW gas subsidiary VNG AG, based in Leipzig, was successful in the Europe-wide bidding process to acquire the company Gas-Union GmbH. Gas-Union has been active as a wholesaler and service provider on the natural gas market for more than 55 years. The natural gas supplier based in Frankfurt/Main has a good reputation in the sector due to its high level of customer centricity.
Most of the assets held by Gas-Union in the form of a transmission grid have now been sold, although the company will remain within the EnBW family: the regional gas transmission grid operator Gas-Union Transport GmbH has been transferred to the EnBW subsidiary terranets bw GmbH based in Stuttgart. This merger expands the gas transmission grid operated by the company by around 550 kilometers to a total length of about 2,700 kilometers. The grid operated by Gas-Union Transport will now be integrated into the transmission grid operated by terranets bw.
We were able to take advantage of a strategic growth opportunity with this acquisition. The structure and supply functions of both grids complement each other superbly and open up numerous opportunities.