The conversion of the nationalized energy company Uniper in the direction of climate neutrality should progress much faster than before. “Uniper intends to be CO2-neutral by 2040, ten years earlier than originally planned,” the company announced in Düsseldorf on Tuesday. As early as 2030, Uniper wants to use more than 80 percent of its installed power plant capacity for CO2-free electricity production. Uniper will no longer produce electricity from coal by 2029 at the latest, assuming that the Datteln IV hard coal-fired power plant will have been sold by then.
Uniper will support the necessary restructuring of the energy industry with flexible forms of energy generation, the company emphasized. To do this, the company is transforming its own power plants and facilities and investing in flexible and secure power generation facilities. “This also includes investments in solar and wind power plants, where significant growth is targeted.”
Eight billion euros for green transformation
Uniper is Germany’s largest natural gas trader. The existing gas business should be gradually decarbonized through the use of green gases such as hydrogen, it said. By 2030, the aim is to have a five to ten percent share of green gases in the portfolio. Uniper also wants to promote the conversion of natural gas storage facilities to hydrogen storage facilities. “Uniper will invest more than eight billion euros by 2030 for the green transformation alone.”
Almost eight months after the rescue of the energy company through extensive nationalization, the company feels financially recovered. For the current year, Uniper expects adjusted net income “in the mid-single-digit billion range”. In 2022, Uniper had closed with a loss of 7.4 billion euros. The main reason for the improved situation is the sharp fall in procurement prices in gas wholesale.
