Germany's electrical and digital industry is calling for a faster expansion of the German power grid. The infrastructure is not designed to meet the requirements of the energy transition, said Wolfgang Weber, Chairman of the Management Board of the ZVEI trade association, in Frankfurt on Wednesday (January 18).

Industry experts expect annual electricity demand to at least double from 550 terawatt hours today to up to 1,200 terawatt hours by 2045. Among other things, the association expects 15 million charging points for electric cars and six million heat pumps. The generation capacity of renewable energies would have to be increased 4.5-fold to achieve this. "There will be no climate neutrality without a strong electricity grid. The future electricity grid must be converted into a climate-neutral grid," said Weber.

In addition to the physical expansion of the grid, the ZVEI is also calling for more intelligence in the system. Consistent electrification and digitalization could reduce primary energy consumption by up to 65 percent. In order to achieve the climate targets set, the electricity market must also be restructured so that consumers can benefit from the attractive prices for electricity from renewable energies via dynamic tariffs.

The industry is currently benefiting from the trends towards electrification and digitalization. Last year, according to the association, price-adjusted production climbed by 3.7% compared to 2021. Combined with price increases, nominal turnover reached a record high of 224 billion euros with growth of 12%.

Exports, including re-exports, also reached a peak value of 246 billion euros. More than half (126 billion euros) went to the European Single Market, which, according to ZVEI President Gunther Kegel, must be further developed. In the current year, a "black zero" is expected for production and thus consolidation at a very high level.