New EnBW boss comes from Rolls-Royce Power Systems
Created: 04/05/2022Updated: 04/05/2022 15:34
Andreas Schell, CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, during a press conference.
© Felix Kästle/dpa/archive image
Away from nuclear power towards more green energy: That was the mission of the previous EnBW boss Mastiaux.
In ten years he has set a lot in motion, but the newcomer now has to accelerate the transformation.
Karlsruhe - The Karlsruhe energy group EnBW will soon be managed by Andreas Schell, the previous boss of the large engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
The German press agency learned this on Tuesday from circles of the EnBW supervisory board.
The 52-year-old manager succeeds Frank Mastiaux, who, as already announced, will leave the third-largest utility in Germany at the end of September after ten years.
Last year, EnBW achieved sales of almost 32.15 billion euros and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of 2.96 billion euros.
The company has a good 26,000 employees and 5.5 million customers.
In the search committee of the supervisory board, the two major shareholders, the state of Baden-Württemberg and the municipal association Oberschwaebische Elektrizitätswerke (OEW), have already agreed on Schell, the dpa learned.
On Thursday, the supervisory board should officially decide on the personnel, which is considered a formality.
EnBW supervisory board chairman Lutz Feldmann and Rolls-Royce Power Systems did not want to comment on the personnel on request.
The previous EnBW boss Frank Mastiaux has restructured the former nuclear company and significantly increased the proportion of renewable energies.
Due to the Russian war in the Ukraine, the entire industry, and soon Schell as well, is facing a major challenge: the industry must become independent of Russian gas.
This will be difficult because after the nuclear phase-out at the end of 2022, the intention was to bridge the transition to sufficient renewable energies with the help of gas-fired power plants.
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Schell has been head of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, a specialist for drive systems and large engines with headquarters in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, for five years.
In January, his contract was extended early until 2025.
The mechanical engineer worked for what was then DaimlerChrysler in the 2000s and was supposed to restructure the US automaker.
After Chrysler went bankrupt in 2009, Schell moved to the former American aviation group UTC, where he was responsible for the digital strategy.
At Rolls-Royce Power Systems he is the boss of around 9,000 employees.
Under the mtu brand, the company sells engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land and rail vehicles, military vehicles and for the oil and gas industry.
Since a structural reform in April 2021, one division has been dealing exclusively with climate-friendly products such as hydrogen drives.
Schell is an endurance athlete: the 52-year-old describes himself as a passionate triathlete.
At EnBW he has to constantly deal with the influence of politics.
The company has been largely publicly owned since 2011.
The state of Baden-Württemberg holds almost 47 percent of the group and the OEW merger of nine Upper Swabian districts also owns almost 47 percent.
The districts of Alb-Donau, Biberach, Lake Constance, Freudenstadt, Ravensburg, Reutlingen, Rottweil, Sigmaringen and Zollernalb are represented in the association.
Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster a good eleven years ago, EnBW has undergone a strict change of course under Mastiaux.
Conventional power plant blocks have been shut down and CO2-intensive generation has been reduced.
The last EnBW nuclear power plant, Block II in Neckarwestheim (Heilbronn district), is scheduled to go offline at the end of this year.
EnBW develops wind and solar parks and expands the fast charging infrastructure for e-mobility in Germany.
Renewable energies now have a share of 40 percent.
Since 2012, the installed capacity of wind power alone has increased more than ninefold from 218 to 2000 megawatts.
And the new goals have already been set: by 2050, renewables should make up more than three quarters of the portfolio.
Last year, their share was just over 50 percent.
In 2035, the people of Karlsruhe only want to produce electricity from gas-fired power plants, renewables and storage.
By then, the Karlsruhe group also wants to achieve climate neutrality.
The third-largest German electricity company, after Uniper and Eon, still purchases a “not inconsiderable part” of hard coal and gas from Russia for its customers.
For coal, Mastiaux sees the situation as manageable - even if Russian deliveries fail to materialize.
When it comes to gas, however, there is no short-term replacement.
dpa
