EnBW strengthens smart grid portfolio with enersis acquisition

In a move to strengthen its tech and digital competencies in-house, particularly in the area of smart grids, German energy company EnBW has acquired enersis, a provider of digital twins in the energy sector with operations in Germany and Switzerland.

enersis offers digital twins for clients in the energy sector as a SaaS solution. With these twins, says EnBW, it is possible to create a digital image of distribution networks that is fed with various energy data in real time.

enersis’ technology is known as the gaia platform, which has been developing solutions based on a digital energy transition twin.

These solutions, says enersis, are currently in use in more than 1,900 municipalities in Germany and Switzerland and include modelling for CO2 accounting, the expansion of renewable energies, network planning and municipal heat planning.

EnBW in a release cites the ‘pioneering role’ enersis has had in digital twin technology, citing an existing collaboration with EnBW-owned operator Netze BW, which uses the KommunalPlatform, a municipal platform developed jointly with enersis as a central, digital interface for cooperation with concession municipalities.

Commenting in a release was Petra Schweizer, head of Concessions at Netze BW who is responsible for the KommunalPlatform: “The successfully completed transaction brings us even closer together with enersis and allows us to jointly develop further innovative solutions for our customers.

“This will enable us to provide customers with even better digital support in managing their tasks and thus increasingly develop into an ‘all-round carefree provider’.”

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Added Jürgen Stein, head of Innovation at EnBW, who is responsible for the development of new business areas: “We identified smart grids early on as an innovation field that is of strategic importance to us.”

“Such an application helps us to expand and operate our infrastructure more intelligently.”

For enersis, the acquisition will enable them to develop and improve their product portfolio. According to enersis, the areas of network planning, concession management and municipal heat planning are particularly important.

Said Thomas Koller, managing director of enersis: “For our customers, the new partnership offers the security of being able to obtain market-leading solutions in the long term. This is crucial in an innovative and dynamic environment.

“Thanks to EnBW’s knowledge and experience, we can align our solution offerings even better to customer requirements.”

With the acquisition, the employees of enersis will be taken on in full and the locations in Berlin, Germany, and Bern, Switzerland, will remain.

enersis will continue to operate independently as a 100% subsidiary of EnBW and under its name. EnBW Innovation is implementing the transaction.

The EnBW and enersis teams will work together over the next few months to ensure a successful integration. The purchase price has not been disclosed.