Today the energy market is global, fast moving and facing increasingly complex challenges. One of its biggest challenges is to balance the need for cleaner energy to slow down climate change, while at the same time satisfy the demand for affordable energy from emerging markets. To achieve this balance requires an increasingly complex and technologically advanced energy system as well as more efficient, cleaner power generation.

Climate Protection

Environmental challenges have to be met with innovative technologies.

The fight against climate change is a global battle. Public awareness of the challenges of climate change varies noticeably from region to region, and the topic is still not at the top of all policy agendas, but there is universal recognition that a reduction in CO2 emissions is needed.

The electrical system can play a central role in reducing emissions, since some 40 percent of global CO2emissions today stems from converting fossil fuels into electricity. Higher-efficiency power plant technology and grid structures already enable a significant reduction in harmful emissions.

Meanwhile, the importance of renewable energy sources is constantly growing. But the use of renewable energy sources in an energy system becomes feasible only after the energy is converted to electricity: In many parts of the world, energy from wind, water, and the sun can replace a substantial percentage of fossil fuel energy. Many countries already have an energy system fed primarily by renewable energy sources, and others seek to achieve this goal in the foreseeable future. Power generated from renewable sources also comes at zero cost, which is why renewable energy production is on the rise nearly everywhere in the world.

Resource Efficiency

Natural resources are getting scarce. We make sure solutions aren’t.
Using fossil fuels as efficiently as possible is one of the most important steps on the path toward a sustainable energy system. Electrical energy has a critical role to play in the future: As an energy source, electricity is much more efficient than either coal, gas, or oil – and converting fossil fuels to electrical energy nearly always yields a huge efficiency gain.For this reason, electricity is taking on an increasingly pivotal role in energy systems, both as a form of energy and as a secondary energy source.

Many industrialized nations have no oil or gas reserves of their own but have relatively high energy needs due to their high level of industrialization. Such countries – including Germany, Japan, and South Korea – have a strong incentive to use the commodities that they import at such great cost as efficiently as possible to ensure their energy supply is cost-effective and reliable.

Meanwhile, the oil- and gas-exporting countries located primarily in the Middle East have recognized that they can protect their oil and gas reserves by increasing the efficiency of their own fossil fuel power plants. The resources this saves can then be sold for a profit.

Reliable Power Supply

We protect industries from one of the most dangerous threats: brief blackouts
A country’s industrial power and economic output depend in large part on a reliable energy supply. This is an absolute must for industrialized nations in particular. Even brief interruptions of power or fluctuations in the quality of power can have grave economic consequences in highly industrialized nations, because modern electronic equipment and production processes in industries such as steel, aluminum, or pharmaceuticals are very sensitive to irregularities.

This makes a reliable power supply a key factor in a country’s economic stability. Smart systems can ensure an ongoing balance between production capacity and energy demand. Setting aside appropriate capacities to offset peak loads – combined cycle power plants that can come online quickly, for example – is basic to creating an overall system that is reliable.

A reliable energy supply is crucial in growth regions as well: The more reliable the energy supply, the more the economy can flourish and compete internationally – which ultimately translates to greater prosperity. That’s why special attention is given to a reliable energy supply in boom economies such as in the BRICS states, where demand for energy is soaring due to rapid industrialization and the growing prosperity of the population. The development of power generation capacity and grid infrastructure must keep pace with industrial and economic development – or ideally, stay a step ahead.

Economic Efficiency

Affordability is a social and economic necessity.

Electricity must be and remain affordable – for businesses and individuals alike. An affordable source of electricity is a critical competitive factor in every national economy today.

Increasingly, electricity is supplanting other sources of energy in the system such as oil and coal and becoming a key commodity in our time. Modern industrial processes are unthinkable without electricity, of course – but private households, transportation, modern communications, and even medical care also depend upon a reliable electrical grid.

That’s why higher electricity prices make themselves directly felt in all areas of modern life: in higher costs for products and services and, at a certain point, in the long-term loss of jobs. So the cost of electricity has a direct and tangible effect on the trajectory of the gross domestic product.

Since both individuals and businesses contribute to the economic bottom line of a country, economic reasons alone necessitate ensuring an energy supply that is equally affordable for both groups. All the elements of an energy system – from electrical production to distribution to consumption – can be optimized to help keep electricity affordable.