How does E.ON Croatia plan to achieve business growth and development in 2024?

The Energy Transition as a Growth Model - In order to reach the EU’s and German climate targets the transformation of the energy system is inevitable. As this poses a challenge to society as a whole, decisive and proactive political action is essential. This requires decision-makers at the national and European level to be equipped with reliable information. As Europe’s leading utility, E.ON acknowledges its societal responsibility and aspires to get ahead of the debate by providing its market expertise. However, the energy transition not only poses a challenge, but also creates enormous opportunities in particular for E.ON. The expected massive development of electrification and our comprehensive know-how makes us a highly requested provider for future energy solutions. This gives us confidence regarding the business outlook, but also offers opportunities for new business models to meet customer needs. To accelerate the energy transition, we also need to create a favourable ecosystem in which strengths of all players would be leveraged through strategic partnerships as the challenge is so big that we need the contribution of everyone to succeed.

How E.ON Croatia intends to strengthen its market position through innovation and a commitment to the green agenda?

The necessary technologies to achieve energy transition are already present – the key challenge is scaling the implementation of these technologies across the whole economy. E.ON aims to accelerate energy transition by doing more and doing it faster – we are increasing our investment in sustainable energy solutions. In the last two years, we invested 50m EUR into the Croatian and Slovenian markets, but we understand that, on top of this very financial step, we have to increase our pacing even faster, therefore we aim to invest an additional 100m EUR over the next three years – primarily in EU Taxonomy-aligned activities. All these investments have to be backed by strong energy grids that are capable of accepting numerous renewable energy projects across Croatia. We aim to support grid digitalization and deployment of smart grid solutions to create the prerequisite for renewables adoption. This rapid energy transition will ensure Europe’s economic competitiveness and energy independence.

To foster innovation, E.ON Hrvatska has been identified within the E.ON Group as a leading place for PV solutions development and therefore we will establish a PV Hub – an innovation hub for continuous improvement and PV knowledge sharing across the whole E.ON Group. Innovation shouldn’t be isolated in only certain part of the organisation. Therefore E.ON will focus employee education on innovation and sustainability in order to maximise and fully capture our innovation potential while creating the right mindset for sustainable development.

How does the company plan to attract and retain top talents?

The company is attracting and retaining top talents by offering competitive compensation and benefits packages, ensuring that employees are rewarded for their skills and contributions. Emphasis is placed on continuous learning and professional development opportunities, fostering an environment that encourages personal and career growth. The implementation of flexible work arrangements is under preparation, demonstrating the company's commitment to work-life balance and accommodating various needs. The promotion of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace culture is a priority, creating an environment where every employee feels valued and included, ultimately contributing to the attraction and retention of top talent. On top of this, we are strongly focused on building employer brand on the market and collaborating with universities and associations.

How is E.ON Croatia considering and implementing ESG strategies to ensure sustainability and social responsibility?

Sustainability is one of three key pillars of E.ON’s strategy. E.ON sees sustainability as a core element of our business and has a proactive sustainability strategy and clear commitments in place. E.ON as whole has committed to become a net-zero company by 2040. In Croatia and Slovenia, we enable the energy transition of individuals, companies and municipalities through our renewable energy sources portfolio and energy efficiency solutions. We are also transparent about how we do business. Just last year E.ON Hrvatska published its first 2022 Sustainability Report aligned with the GRI standards where we reported on all aspects of our footprint with full transparency – including the areas we aim to be become better at. E.ON has also adopted strong HSE policies prioritising employee well-being and safety. We also extend these policies to our subcontractors working on E.ON sites.

What are your insights on market predictions and analysis for the energy sector in 2024?

Energy world in Europe in 2024 will be marked with acceleration of existing trends. Phasing out fossil fuels, deployment of new renewable generation capacity. All these developments will further strain the grids, especially the ones that aren’t ready to support the energy transition. We can also expect a growing demand for flexibility services and energy storage as intermediate means to balance the grid and deploy more renewables. We expect to see further update and integration of digital technologies and smart solutions both in grid technology, but also in demand-side management with the consumers. With the growing appetite for clean energy solutions, structural changes will also accelerate, such as electrification of transportation and heating which will both increase electricity demand and at the same time reduce demand for fossil fuels.