Press releases pg. 1

CEZ Group production continues becoming greener. Last year, the company reduced direct greenhouse gas emissions by 12% year on year, which corresponds to a saving of approximately 2.2 million tonnes of CO2. CEZ is on a good track to achieve its goal of climate neutrality by 2040. Simultaneously, the biggest Czech utility increased investments in taxonomy-aligned activities: last year, they accounted for over two-thirds of all investments, up by CZK 4.7 billion year on year. Recent ESG statistics are presented in the new CEZ Group Sustainability Report 2023. It presents close to 300 diverse environmental, social, and governance indicators.

*Ember runs pro-customer intercity electric bus service in Scotland and is building its own charging network connected primarily to renewable sources
*Their unique technological platform effectively optimizes routing, recharging, maintenance, and customer service
*Ember started in 2020 with 2 electric buses between Edinburgh and Dundee, now they service over 20 towns with 24 vehicles
*CEZ Group will strengthen its expertise in low-carbon public transportation
*Transport produces approx. 20% of the world's CO2 emissions, almost half of which is passenger transport by road
CEZ Group's investment fund Inven Capital is expanding its portfolio of investments with the British start-up Ember, that takes a complex approach to ensuring emission-free intercity transport service. They combine ecological vehicles, on the development of which they actively cooperate with manufacturers, with their own charging infrastructure powered primarily by renewable resources, and unique tech platform, which optimizes routes, charging and vehicle utilization. Ember is not only looking to grow the fleet of all-electric buses connecting the cities of Edinburgh, Perth, Glasgow and Dundee, but is also considering expanding to other areas. In the investment round co-led by Inven Capital, Ember raised 11 million GBP from investors for further development.

* The Hodonín power plant stabilises year-round supply of electricity and heat
* This will be enabled by a new water-cooling method, using air in ventilator towers
* The currently employed flow-through cooling, using water from the river, had limited capacity, particularly in summer
* Biomass burning, which commenced in 2009, is now the main fuel
* The cross-border supply of heat to Holíč, Slovakia is unique European terms

After several months of testing, the brand-new cooling system at the Hodonín power plant has been transitioned into a one-year trial run. The advanced Israeli cooling-tower technology will cut cooling-water consumption by 97%, from 59 million cubic metres to less than 2 million per year. The ventilator cooling tower is broken up into 4 cells, each up to only 12.5 metres high, so that the facility does not disrupt the skyline. The Hodonín power plant is a low-emission ČEZ source that started to burn biomass in 2009.

CEZ Group has improved its ESG rating with CDP, one of the world's leading organisations focused on assessing public administration and companies from a sustainability perspective. In the key area of tackling climate change, CEZ has scored a B, an improvement of two ranks since 2021. CDP rates companies in terms of climate change, water security and preventing deforestation for around 750 investors from around the world.