HEUNISCH Managing Director Christiane Heunisch-Grotz spoke at the vbw Political Dialogue in Brussels

21.02.2024. "A reliable and secure electricity supply at competitive prices" was the central demand of our Managing Partner, Dr. Christiane Heunisch-Grotz, at an event of the Bavarian Industry Association (vbw) in the premises of the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union in Brussels.

"Secure and affordable energy supply in the EU" was the theme of the evening. Christine Banken, Policy Officer at the Directorate-General for Energy, gave a keynote speech after the welcoming addresses, outlining the challenges, the European energy policy is facing. The aim is to further reduce dependence in particular on Russian gas, and to make sure that the energy system is more resilient and secure. Dr. Almut Kirchner from Prognos AG emphasized in her scientific impulse that the production of the energy-intensive industry had only recovered briefly after Corona and has since gone downhill, as she bluntly put it. She cited the expansion of the grid infrastructure and the development of an industrial strategy as urgent tasks ahead on the way to transforming the European energy system.

Energy-intensive industries generate 15 percent of value added in Germany

A demand that Christiane Heunisch-Grotz emphatically repeated on the podium. She not only spoke in her capacity as co-owner of a foundry group, but also as a representative of the energy-intensive industry, which has gradually left Germany more or less unnoticed for years. Politicians need to ask themselves the fundamental question: "Is it actually right to allow this and say, well, the energy-intensive industries should just go somewhere else? Are we aware of the dependencies this creates?"

In the coronavirus era, we have seen what happens when supply chains are disrupted. People need to be made aware of how important the energy-intensive industries are. They account for around 15 percent of value creation in Germany and provide two million jobs.

Competition benefits from significantly lower energy prices

"The foundry industry wants to develop further. It wants to decarbonize, it has always been small but mighty. To achieve this, we need a reliable and secure power supply at competitive prices. The competition is not so much in Europe, but in China, the USA, Asia, and Turkey, and they are far below our prices," the HEUNISCH General Manager continues, "Our products are necessary for the energy transition, without them nothing works."

Her final appeal to politicians concerned the "insane bureaucracy". An electric furnace for a new melting unit alone would cost around 25 million euros. An additional power line, which would be necessary for operation, would take 8 to 9 years. "Either we want to become CO₂-neutral or we carry on as usual. And this regulatory frenzy is not going to speed things up," the HEUNISCH General Manager said at the end of her speech.

There was little time for a real discussion on the podium. However, numerous constructive discussions took place at the subsequent get-together. "We won't give up on clearly communicating our concerns," promised Christiane Heunisch-Grotz on her return. Moving away is not a real option for the long-established Franconian company, which employs 1,200 people in Germany and the Czech Republic.

Copyright: vbw