Great interest in the first investor conference of KfW in cooperation with Deutsche Bank: More than 180 high-ranking representatives of institutional investors from the national and international financial and energy industry as well as politics came together in Frankfurt am Main on July 9, 2024 to discuss investment opportunities in the energy sector in Germany. The aim of the first Capital Markets Conference on Energy Transition for Germany under the patronage of Federal Minister of Economics Dr. Robert Habeck was to initiate a dialog between institutional investors, the financial sector, energy companies and politicians. The one-day conference focused on the question of what opportunities a climate-neutral energy supply in Germany can offer domestic and foreign investors.
"Germany wants to be climate-neutral by 2045 and increase the proportion of electricity from renewable energies to 80% by 2030. With renewables covering more than half of the electricity supply in Germany for the first time in 2023, these binding climate targets are within reach. The next major milestone in the energy transition is the expansion of energy infrastructure. We have already noticeably accelerated the expansion of the grid and the construction of the hydrogen core grid is starting. We are pursuing long-term goals and have embarked on robust paths that offer a reliable, long-term and rewarding investment field for investors. This conference brings together relevant players from the world of finance, the energy industry and politics, enabling valuable discussions on financing paths for the German energy transition."
"The German energy transition is highly attractive for international investors if the framework conditions are reliable. The strong interest in today's conference proves this. In order to exploit the opportunities of the 'investment case Germany', we need a strong capital market, which will play an even more important role in financing the transformation in the future. To this end, we are promoting dialog between the financial industry, the real economy and politics and advocating for investment-friendly framework conditions."
"The restructuring of the energy supply is one of the top priorities for ensuring the competitiveness of the German economy. It is also a great opportunity: investments in affordable, reliable and sustainable energy sources can contribute to the economic growth that we urgently need in Germany. But this requires considerable investment - and a strong capital market to finance it. As a global bank with access to the international capital markets, we want to help improve the capital market structures in Germany and Europe and expand our dialog with investors."
The expansion of renewable energies required for the transformation requires suitable and flexible transmission and distribution grids and therefore requires high levels of investment. According to a Prognos study commissioned by KfW, additional investments of around EUR 300 billion will be required for the grid infrastructure alone by the middle of the century. The funds for this cannot come from the public sector alone, but must be mobilized for the most part from private investors or via the capital market. Interesting investment opportunities will also arise in the coming years in the area of hydrogen networks and storage infrastructure.
The participating companies included international infrastructure funds, pension funds and insurance companies, asset management companies, banks and companies from the energy industry.
Source: KfW, July 09, 2024
Image source: KfW-Bildarchiv / Alex Habermehl, July 2024