STEAG Power GmbH

Kommunale Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (KSBG) has sold its stake in the energy company STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, to the Spanish infrastructure investor Asterion Industrial Partners. The boards of the owners have given their mutual consent to this and the contract has been signed and notarised accordingly (signing). The transaction volume amounts to approximately 2.6 bn €. This amount corresponds to the enterprise value for 100 % of the shares in STEAG. After deduction of the liabilities, the consortium will still receive a substantial amount. The net inflow to the former owners is also still dependent on STEAG’s 2023 annual result. The sales process (closing) is expected to be completed by December 2023.

STEAG comprises the two business units STEAG Power GmbH and Iqony GmbH. STEAG Power operates hard coal-fired power plants at six locations in Germany. Its share of total electricity generation in Germany is around 5 %. Iqony offers solutions for the decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation of energy supply. Iqony focuses on renewable energies and bridging technologies that can also be used in a climate-neutral way in the future. In addition to solar, wind and geothermal energy, the portfolio also includes hydrogen solutions, storage technologies, engineering services and modern gas-fired power plants that will be climate-neutral in the future through the use of hydrogen.

The municipal utility consortium KSBG initially took over 51 % of STEAG in 2011 and the remaining shares in 2014. At the time, the company was facing major economic challenges. After a successful restructuring and realignment of STEAG, however, the owners would have faced a considerable need for further investment. In view of this development, the owners had decided to sell the company in 2022. In a bidding process lasting several months, Asterion prevailed with the economically best offer. Moreover, the declared goal is to preserve STEAG as a whole. In coal-fired power generation, STEAG’s power plants continue to make an essential contribution to ensuring security of supply in the Federal Republic of Germany and Europe. Further growth is expected for the future technologies bundled in Iqony. (KSBG/Si.)

The STEAG Group, Essen/Germany, which since the beginning of the year has been divided into two separately operating companies, Iqony GmbH and STEAG Power GmbH, has presented its current Group sustainability report. In it, the energy company documents its commitment and guidelines in the areas of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). Under the keyword “ESG”, a comprehensive set of rules has emerged in recent years to classify the actions of companies according to the criteria of sustainability and good corporate management. The central message of STEAG’s new sustainability report is the target of becoming a climate-neutral company by 2040 – five years earlier than required by law.

In addition to detailed explanations of the extent to which the company follows the relevant ESG criteria in everything it does, the report also provides information on how far STEAG also complies with other guidelines and standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations. “Long before ESG criteria were established and defined, we as an employer endeavored, out of social responsibility, to guarantee good working and living conditions for all our employees in Germany and abroad. This ranges from collective wage agreements, which are an expression of the appreciation of our employees’ work, and strict and consistently monitored occupational health and safety regulations, to benefits that make it easier to reconcile family and career in all phases of life and promote involvement in the community,” explains Andreas Reichel, Chairman of the STEAG Management Board and the Group’s Labor Director.

In addition to this important topic, the new sustainability report attaches particular importance to reducing emissions: “We have used the past few months to develop perspectives across all areas of the STEAG Group for achieving climate neutrality by 2040,” says Reichel. This not only includes energy generation from hard coal in Germany, which will come to an end during this decade, but also affects all areas of activity in the Group, including the vehicle fleet and energy management in the company buildings.

“We have always stated that without the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, we would have already largely completed our own coal phase-out last fall. Contrary to our own plans, we have entered the “extra time” period with our plants because they, at the express request of government, are currently making an important contribution to ensuring security of supply in the face of a possible natural gas shortage. However, this temporary support for society does not in any way mean that we are abandoning the goal of phasing out coal as such,” emphasizes Reichel.

By setting a climate neutrality target for its own company, STEAG, in the form of its new Group member Iqony, created at the beginning of the year, is positioning itself as an active shaper and enabler of a successful energy transition in Germany and beyond. “From the engineering and energy management expertise that has grown for more than eight decades, Iqony develops individual and tailor-made solutions for the decarbonization of industry and municipalities,” says Ralf Schiele, who is responsible for the Market and Technology divisions on the STEAG Management Board and also acts as COO of Iqony. “By successfully making our own company climate neutral, we are documenting to our customers and partners in a special way our competence and ability to help them on their way to “Net Zero”,” Schiele summarizes.

“In addition,” adds STEAG’s Chief Financial Officer Ralf Schmitz, “we are also taking account of the increasing importance of ESG criteria in our business relationships with banks, insurers and investors.” (STEAG/Si.)

At its meeting on 25th January 2023, the Supervisory Board of STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, appointed Ralf Schiele (Figure 1) as a member of the Management Board of STEAG GmbH for a further three years. Schiele has been a member of the STEAG management since October 2020 and is responsible for the Market and Technology division. His appointment as Chief Operating Officer (COO) now runs until the end of September 2026. Schiele has worked for the STEAG Group for 20 years. Andreas Reichel, who is Chairman of the Management Board of STEAG GmbH and HR Director, had already been reappointed in 2022 with effect until the end of July 2026.

STEAG GmbH has been acting as the holding company of the STEAG Group since the beginning of 2023. STEAG has grouped the green growth businesses of the Essen-based energy company together in the new Iqony GmbH, which was launched on 1st January 2023. In the new setup, STEAG’s traditional coal business operates under the umbrella of STEAG Power GmbH. The three STEAG directors Reichel, Schiele and Ralf Schmitz are also directors of the subsidiaries Iqony GmbH and STEAG Power GmbH. (STEAG/Si.)