Klaus Schäfer has been a member of the Board of Management of E.ON SE since 2013. He is responsible for generation, global commodities, engineering and the build-up of Uniper, the new company he will lead once it will be spun off by E.ON.
He became Head of Corporate Strategy in 2000 and subsequently held various senior executive positions at Thüga, E.ON Sales & Trading and E.ON Italia, before serving as CEO of E.ON Ruhrgas from 2010 to 2013, and CEO of E.ON Global Commodities from 2011 to 2013.
Schäfer obtained his master degree in management from the ESCP Europe School of Management in Paris, Oxford and Berlin.
1. How will E.ON develop in the future?
As you probably know, E.ON will undergo a fundamental change of its company structure within 2016. E.ON will concentrate upon renewable energies, energy grids and customer solutions. The broad range of conventional electricity generation as well as the global energy commodities business will be spun off in a new listed company called Uniper.
We have done this because E.ON’s previous broad-based business model is no longer up to the new challenges. Two energy worlds have developed – one which is oriented towards individual customer expectations asking for smart and sustainable solutions and one which is oriented more towards system-, wholesale- and trading-markets requiring stable and secure supply and global access to commodities. As a consequence, we are now creating two separate, competitive companies each with a clear profile. The strategy forward is “Empowering Customers. Shaping Markets.” To elaborate further:
Empowering Customers: In future, E.ON wants to be the preferred partner for high-value energy offerings for municipal, public, commercial and private customers. New-E.ON will also focus on modern, intelligent distribution networks as the basis for innovative energy products that make our customers’ lives easier.
Already today, E.ON has an advantage over many competitors as project developers and implementers in the field of renewable energies.
Shaping Markets: With its widespread portfolio of conventional electricity generation, midstream gas and energy trading, Uniper will be in the business of providing security of supply and connecting global energy markets for a broad range of energy products.
2. What is the significance of LNG to Uniper’s overall strategy?
LNG supply and trading will play a vital role in Uniper’s future strategy. Today, we source, transport and market LNG on a global scale, which enables us to diversify our own gas supply, while offering a wide range of products and services to meet the needs of our partners.
We are also backed by an extensive portfolio of assets offering direct access to markets throughout Europe via on- and off-shore pipelines, underground storage facilities, and regasification terminals. In addition to having one of the most diverse European gas portfolios, E.ON (and in the future, Uniper) also has one of the top gas trading teams. We are therefore uniquely placed to offer market access either physically or for risk-management purposes.
3. Conventional power generation remains key to meeting Asia’s growing energy demands but the region faces an infrastructure challenge. What can private and public sector companies do to address this?
The basis for any kind of investment is a transparent as well as a reliable political and regulatory framework. On that basis, private and public sector companies can bring in their experience and know-how in supporting the build-up of necessary power generation infrastructure. This can be achieved both through direct investments and partnerships/ joint ventures. Third-party services can be a very important additional element to that.
E.ON (and in the future, Uniper) is an energy company with a long-standing experience in the power-generation sector. We are able to provide tailored services to customers with an owners´ perspective. Our engineers have the latest technological know-how and the first-hand experience required to build and operate efficient and clean power-plants.
4. What is your mid-to-long term outlook for conventional power generation in Asia, given the increasing global pressure to shift towards lower carbon fuels?
Global energy demand is growing. Asia is a strong driver for that development and it shows a remarkable need for further investments in power generation. Conventional power generation, including both gas- and coal-fired plants, is part of it.
The sun is not always shining and the wind is not always blowing. Renewable energies therefore need a reliable and flexible partner who can secure a stable provision of electricity.
In particular, the demand for gas-fired power generation is growing and is likely to further increase in the future. Gas is the cleanest fossil fuel and can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions, and is therefore a reliable and flexible partner to complement renewable energy sources. But we also anticipate that coal will remain a vital part of the overall energy mix. As a responsible and prudent operator we must ensure that we use the cleanest and most efficient technology suitable for the specific markets.
Both coal and gas-fired power generation require adequate supply strategies. And E.ON (in the future, Uniper) is able to provide those.
5. What role do you see Asia playing in a global energy landscape that is currently in flux?
Asia is playing a key role in the global energy landscape right now. And this will likely remain so for a long time to come. This has a lot to do with the enormous market-volumes and with how far the demand centres are from the big producing regions.
Within Asia energy demand will also be influenced by national strategies, especially in the power sector. We currently see a significant growth in gas fired power generation in Asia and LNG will be the fuel of choice.
Based on the strong energy demand particularly in Asia, coal will also continue to play an important role in the global energy landscape and related trading activities for quite some time to come.
Overall new LNG demand will be mainly driven by China, India, Indonesia and Middle Eastern countries, to name a few. Japan will be a swing factor, in terms of how quickly its nuclear reactors are brought back online.
Asia is the market that will determine LNG’s long-term future, but Europe is expected to be the backstop for the next several years as the wave of Australian and US projects come on stream. Australian volumes may not necessarily reach Europe but they may displace Qatari volume in Asia which has acted as swing supplier.