Germany
CEZ Group has been operating in Germany since 2001. The main objective of CEZ Deutschland GmbH was trading in electricity in Germany. Due to market liberalization and simplified licensing conditions in Germany, only part of the electricity is traded through CEZ Deutschland GmbH. The remaining part is traded directly by the Group mother company ČEZ, a. s.
CEZ Deutschland GmbH also acts on the German market to support potential M&A activities in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Electricity production
The expansion of renewable energy sources is one of the main pillars of the German energy transition to low-carbon and sustainable energy, the so-called Energiewende. It is also based in particular on energy savings and renewable sources. The share of renewable sources in German electricity production has been steadily increasing.
In December 2016, after having examined many acquisition opportunities, CEZ Group made its first acquisition of an operational onshore wind farm on the German market.
Today, CEZ Group owns 53 turbines in onshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of 133.5 MW in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2019, their production reached 285 million kWh, covering the consumption of 90,000 German households.
In cooperation with local developers, in 2018 CEZ Group acquired onshore wind projects with a potential total installed capacity of up to 190 MW. The projects aim to compete in the German renewable energy auctions in the years 2020–2022. The total installed capacity of these power plants will depend on the outcome of the auctions.
More information is available at www.cezdeutschland.de.
Energy start ups
CEZ has also invested into German new-tech companies through its venture capital fund Inven Capital.
Sunfire develops and manufactures systems for renewable industrial gas and fuel production. These substitutes for mineral oil and natural gas, known as e-Gas, e-Fuel or e-Chemicals, replace fossil fuels in existing infrastructures. The solid oxide cells (SOCs) used for the conversion process are also used as generators to provide electricity and heat.
By investing in tado°, CEZ has embarked into the field of developing new smart technologies, products and services for heating and cooling.
Another investment represents a share in Cloud & Heat Technologies, a company with innovative products and patented technology that meet the rapidly growing demand for digitalisation and at the same time combat the challenges of energy transition and climate change. It delivers a unique solution that uses server heat from data centers for heating and hot water in offices.
In 2019, Inven Capital acquired a minority stake in the German innovative company Zolar, which provides a digital solution for installing roof photovoltaic systems and combining photovoltaics with batteries. In the same year, Inven Capital made a succesful exit out of sonnen, the world leader in the production of smart battery systems for home energy storage.
For more information visit https://www.invencapital.cz/.
Modern energy services - ESCO
CEZ entered the German market of modern energy services in 2017. Today, through Elevion Group B. V., it is one of the major players not only in Germany, but also in other European countries.
- 2017: CEZ enters Elevion Group, a leading provider of complex technical solutions and a well-established brand on the German ESCO market
- 2018: entry of ČEZ into the Kofler Energies group that specializes in supply and installation work for industry and office buildings
- 2019: completing acquisitions of other companies from the ESCO segment: amon other for example HERMOS, En.plus GmbH, GBM Gesellschaft für Büromanagement mbH and H&R Elektromontagen GmbH.