Energy

Portrait of Julia Klose

The energy industry will continue to be characterized by a variety of complex challenges. I look forward to working with our clients to develop sustainable solutions.

Julia Klose

Julia Klose

Managing Director

A complex industry in constant change

Whether energy supplier, grid operator, energy producer, project developer or component manufacturer – the energy industry unites a multitude of market participants with different business models. Together, they pursue the goal of ensuring security of supply and the realization of political climate targets while operating their business profitably on a sustainable basis. In doing so, they face a variety of challenges.

Current situation in the industry

01

Manage the high influence of government regulation and geopolitical developments

The rules of the game for corporate action are subject to regular change – whether it's decisions to phase out nuclear power and coal, reforms to the promotion of renewable energies, or the adjustment of energy import strategies in the wake of the Ukraine war. These regular changes in the framework conditions usually have a fundamental impact on market participants. These challenges have to be dealt with in the best possible way – fast, agile and partly anticipatory management is of high importance.

Through comprehensive analyses of market, regulation and existing contracts, we create the necessary transparency to assess the operational and financial development of the company while maintaining a high level of efficiency. What is the implication of reduced feed-in tariffs on demand, yield and liquidity of the project developer for renewable energy plants? How do price increases for coal and gas affect the profitability of energy suppliers against the background of existing contract modalities? The next step is to derive and implement measures that avert or mitigate the negative external implications – e.g. operationally through cost, liquidity and receivables management as well as through appropriate strategic measures.

Karsten Schulze

Karsten Schulze

Senior Partner & Member of the Board
02

Digitization is unavoidable – and offers extensive opportunities

As a result of the energy transition, energy supply is becoming significantly more decentralized. The efficient and economical management of the plants as well as the energy transmission will only be possible through digital technologies. Detailed knowledge of the network and utilization is also central to bringing energy to customers more efficiently and profitably. Manufacturers of relevant components have a high pressure to innovate, which is associated with investments in research and development. The cost pressure that constantly accompanies network operators can also be successfully addressed through digitization and automation. For all market participants, process mining, for example, offers high potential for optimizing all processes. The data collected also provides extensive transparency about consumer behaviour – the basis for developing customized services and thus new innovative business models.

After a brief recording of the status quo with regard to existing data structures as well as technologies already in use, we analyse and prioritize which economic potentials can be achieved through further digitization– e.g., by using the data from the existing structures such as sales growth, efficient cash management or optimization of the production process. For us, the focus is on ensuring that the digitization step adds value to the company's success.

Marco Herhoffer

Marco Herhoffer

Senior Director
03

Always one step ahead of the competition

For almost all market participants in the energy industry, a long-term time horizon is key to the far-reaching infrastructure as well as the associated investments. Companies need to ask themselves: How will demand – and the associated investments – develop in the long term? What are the future requirements of customers, which innovations should the company develop today? What technological solutions will plant manufacturers have to create in order to meet increasing demands in the future? Which solution will prevail for the provision of storage capacities for renewable energies? How to position best for an expected boom in the photovoltaic sector – which international markets should be entered, based on which strategy? What are the strategic options?

Through well-founded market analyses, the derivation of market potentials as well as the evaluation of internal performance-related strengths and potentials combined with our many years of industry expertise, we evaluate strategic options and derive quantitatively evaluated recommendations for action. These analyses can be, for example, early detection of whether a gap is left open for energy start-ups in the company's own market development and positioning, or whether this gap can be filled proactively through the expansion of the company's own services or products.

Julia Klose

Julia Klose

Managing Director

Success Stories

  • Energy

    Powerful financing

    FTI-Andersch assisted with a validation of the company's planning and the necessary financing requirements for the development of new growth markets.

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  • Recycling

    I very much appreciated the restructuring team’s professionalism, its ability to deliver, the responsiveness and the hands-on approach. The team of FTI-Andersch had a thorough understanding of the situation and was able to deliver reliable financial forecasts and multi scenario-simulations under extreme pressure.

    Ingo Schäfer

    Ingo Schäfer

    Former CFO, Recylex, Provider for recycling solutions

  • The FTI-Andersch team took a solution-oriented, efficient approach, backed by their exceptional market expertise. By adopting the pragmatic strategy as developed by FTI-Andersch, we were able to secure the necessary refinancing package within a very short time period. This has given our company long-term stability.

    Dagmar Rehm

    Dagmar Rehm

    Former CFO, juwi AG, Project development for renewable energy
Challenges & Solutions

A look at the details – how we support our clients

Expert Interview

What challenges will the energy sector have to face in the future, Karsten Schulze?

Which market participants in the industry do you currently see as having a particularly high need for action?

Plant manufacturers in the wind and solar sectors have been under increasing pressure on margins for around two years due to rising raw material and freight costs as well as disruptions in global supply chains.
In addition, wind energy is currently undergoing a development similar to that of the solar industry around ten years ago: Production facilities in Germany are increasingly being closed, with only a few remaining in Europe. This increases vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. Furthermore, potential adverse currency developments against the US dollar will have a greater impact on profitability in the future.

What can these companies currently do to manage these challenges?

Long-standing industry developments and modalities cannot be changed fundamentally, and especially not by single market participants – accordingly, it is a matter of managing the circumstances as best as possible, at least temporarily. The basic prerequisite is the creation of transparency in order to be able to correctly assess and quantify existing risks and derive suitable countermeasures. Due to the current high level of uncertainty, we also recommend the preparation of scenario analyses. Specific contingency plans should be developed for these in order to remain able to act. In addition, this enables the derivation of financial effects and the associated possible financing requirements – these can thus be secured at an early stage. In principle, we recommend that companies manage their business with less risk than companies in other sectors and build up a certain liquidity cushion and, associated with this, reliable financing partners. In addition, it is also very important to be able to secure investments in tomorrow's technologies. This is only possible if a reliable liquidity plan has been drawn up.

What opportunities do you see for market participants in the field of renewable energies in the near future?

The expectations of the industry are high: Political goals ranging from climate neutrality to independence from Russian energy imports are driving the need to expand renewable energy and putting pressure on politicians to develop suitable framework conditions. The goal must be to allow economically active market participants to be sustainably profitable. This is important against the backdrop of current developments such as raw material price increases. Well-intentioned mechanisms such as the tendering process introduced in 2017 have resulted in unintended negative effects. Regardless of the mechanisms, it is central to expand the supply of suitable land and, above all, to speed up approval procedures. This enables project development companies to quickly fill their pipelines and thus lay the foundation for expansion.

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