Press releases pg. 4

• Thanks to the production of hydroelectric sources, 528,000 tonnes of coal did not have to be burned, and therefore 495,000 tonnes of CO2 did not have to be released into the air. Such are the impacts that would have resulted from the production of the same amount of energy in conventional power plants.

• Upgrades and efficiency improvements of hydroelectric plants that help save water are also ongoing.

• For the coming years, ČEZ is planning solar parks with a capacity of thousands of MWs.

Hydroelectric plants (not including pumped storage plants) operated by the ČEZ Group in the Czech Republic generated 684 GWh of electricity in the first half of this year. The year-on-year growth was driven mainly by large hydroelectric power plants. The volume of energy from these “green” sources will cover the consumption of 390,000 Czech households for six months.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and ČEZ have signed a Memorandum on the preparation of a project for a factory that makes battery cells for electric cars, known as Gigafactory. The documents set out the basic conditions for establishing the factory and form a foundation for an agreement with other potential investors in the company, in which a representative of the automotive industry and a battery manufacturer would also be involved, in addition to ČEZ. An investment in the project, which has an annual production capacity of 40 GWh, will amount to at least CZK 52 bn, and 2,300 jobs should be created.

The annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions has been a tradition at the ČEZ Group for several years now, last year being no exception. The ČEZ Group succeeded in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 15% year-on-year, meaning a reduction of one-fifth in the past three years. Alongside its progressing decarbonisation, the company increased the generation of energy from renewable sources by more than 7% and accelerated the construction of public charging points for electric cars by 50%. The current Sustainable Development Report maps out the individual steps that ČEZ has taken on the road to clean energy. The report also defines ambitious targets for the future within Vision 2030 Clean Energy for Tomorrow, which was announced this year.

CEZ Group’s venture capital fund Inven Capital has examined some 2,400 investment opportunities throughout Europe since 2015, selecting 14 for implementation, including two in the Czech Republic. Companies from their portfolio have launched many innovative projects that will contribute to the fulfilment of global decarbonisation targets, whether in the area of hydrogen technologies, solar energy, energy efficiency and savings, or e-mobility. Inven Capital has already successfully exited two companies, selling them to global players such as Microsoft and Shell. CEZ Group and the European Investment Bank have backed Inven Capital with EUR 240 million, of which approx. EUR 130 mil. have already been invested.