Security of supply

Uniper’s priority is to provide a secure and reliable supply of power, gas, and heat to its customers, while simultaneously making this energy progressively climate-friendlier.

Generating secure and reliable energy

We own and operate roughly 22.5 GW of generating capacity. Two thirds of it is zero-carbon (hydro, nuclear) or low-carbon (gas). Our power plants are highly efficient, flexible, and reliable. Many of them are crucial for grid stability because they can balance out the fluctuations in wind and solar power.

Securing and diversifying Europe’s gas supply

Uniper’s long-term import contracts are an integral part of the gas supply in Europe, especially in Germany. It is our mission to supply people in Germany and Europe with reliable energy, especially in such difficult times. Uniper strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gas from Russia has for a long time played an important role to keep supplies secure and the German economy running. However, these supplies are no longer reliable. We are therefore focusing on making our gas supply more diverse in the short, medium, and long term - for example, by expanding our LNG business. And: we won’t enter into any new long-term gas supply contracts with Russian suppliers.

Expanding our LNG business

Uniper is growing its LNG business. Our LNG import terminal in Wilhelmshaven in northwest Germany—the country’s first— was commissioned in December 2022 and commenced regular operations in March 2023. The terminal celebrated its first anniversary on December 17, 2023. Since commissioning, the terminal has operated almost without interruption. Through to December 2023, 42 LNG tankers delivered a total of roughly 7 million cubic meters of LNG. The LNG was converted into around 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas and piped into Germany’s gas system. Our terminal met about 6% of the country’s gas needs in 2023 and will be fully utilized in 2024 as well.

Gas storage supports supply security

As a leading European gas storage company, Uniper operates underground gas storage facilities in Germany, Britain, and Austria. They help balance fluctuations between summer and winter gas consumption as well as short-term changes in demand, particularly in winter. Like gas, hydrogen can also be stored underground. We’re exploring how to make our storage facilities hydrogen-ready.

With even more ambitious targets for our green transformation, sustainability remains a clear driver of our new strategy.

Since 2005, we have successfully achieved 71% reduction in direct CO₂ emissions across Europe. However, this accomplishment is merely the starting point. To become greener faster, we have set ourselves ambitious climate targets. We want to be carbon-neutral by 2040 - 10 years earlier than previously planned. By 2035, we plan to be Group-wide carbon-neutral for Scope 1 & 2 emissions. By 2030, we want to have already achieved a significant part of this journey and have reduced over 55% of carbon emissions in the generation portfolio compared to 2019. To achieve this, we will phase out coal-fired power generation by 2029 - eight years earlier than previously planned. To accelerate the green transformation, we will have invested approximately 8 billion euros by 2030. This is more than triple the average growth investment of the last three years.

Michael Lewis, Uniper's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)