Faced with the severe energy crisis, Shell has made efforts in the European distributed energy market to carry out strategic planning and deployment of energy. On February 25, 2021, Shell Overseas Investment Co., Ltd. agreed to acquire 100% of the virtual power plant operator Next Kraftwerke from its shareholder consortium. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021, but still requires regulatory approval.

Shell's strength in the European distributed energy market

Next Kraftwerke is an important participant in European VPP operators. The company can remotely connect and manage more than 10,000 distributed energy units in eight continental European countries (Germany, Belgium, Austria, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy). These units (including photovoltaic, bioenergy and hydropower) are customers of NextKraftwerke, after completing the power generation, they enter the wholesale power market for trading.

The acquisition will help Shell to achieve its goal of being a leading clean energy service provider. Shell hopes to sell about 560 TWh of electricity each year by 2030, twice the current electricity sales.

“By acquiring NextKraftwerke, adding more renewable energy assets to our portfolio will accelerate Shell’s growth strategy.” Shell’s European Energy Vice President David Wells said that the two companies are very complementary. In the future, it will also provide a wide range of hedging and risk management projects to support large-scale renewable energy projects in the public utility sector.

Hendrik Sämisch, the founder and CEO of Next Kraftwerke, said: "The combination of Shell and Next Kraftwerke will better promote the development of decarbonized energy systems, meet the rapid growth of future electricity demand, and bring a wider range of commercial transactions and Trade synergies will also create more renewable energy trade opportunities."

Fabian Ziegler, Chairman of Deutsche Shell Holding Co., Ltd. said: "With the advancement of the energy transition, German Shell is changing its business model and strongly supports Germany's ambition to achieve its net zero emissions target, and the electricity market is the key to achieving this goal. By providing renewable energy to industry partners and private households, acquiring high-tech battery storage system sonnen, and continuing to grow Shell's electric vehicle charging network, we hope to lead this technological trend and contribute to carbon neutrality in Germany and Europe. ."

The Shell Group has set itself a goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Shell hopes to establish a hydrogen transportation and distribution chain and provide charging services. Reduce the cost of green hydrogen production, transportation, and storage, and finally establish the energy industry chain. Editor/Sang Xiaomei