Annual Report 2024

How We See Ourselves

Our world seems to be going off the rails. Climate change is having a significant impact, while conflicts in crisis regions are escalating and competition for scarce resources is intensifying. What’s more, the economic recession is worsening living conditions and shifting priorities. The political responses are varied, ranging from denial of the problems through to consistent transformation strategies. This is leading to global upheaval, particularly in relation to energy and water infrastructure. In these critical times, sound consulting and reliable engineering are in demand.

Fichtner is aware of its responsibility and puts its consulting and engineering expertise at the service of the global, sustainable transformation of energy and water infrastructure – convinced that we can achieve the goal of sustainability with alternative approaches and a mix of different technologies.

Confronting the Political Turmoil with a Holistic Consulting Approach and Innovative Engineering

The energy sector is in the midst of a fundamental transformation process that is causing severe turbulence despite the predictable effects on the economy and society. Whilst some see economic prosperity and environmental protection as being contradictory, others are banking on climate protection technologies to drive the economy. These differing positions manifest themselves, for example, in the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, while the European Union and much of the world continue to pursue the goal of net-zero emissions by the middle of this century. In Germany, the goal of climate neutrality by 2045 has even been incorporated into the constitution. Regardless of the targets set, climate change is scientifically beyond doubt. The question is how the transformation of infrastructure can best be achieved, taking into account all energies and all sectors. The energy transition in heating, for example, cannot be achieved simply by replacing fossil fuel-fired plants with heat pumps. Economical and sustainable solutions can only be achieved with an overall strategy that considers heating and cooling supply in the context of a system together with electrical energy and hydrogen.

The Climate Targets Have Been Set on a Political Level – Now It’s Time to Define the Framework for Action

Several megatrends are challenging the global energy industry and forcing it to invest billions: the rapid market penetration of renewable energies, digitization at all levels, the increasing importance of energy efficiency, and geopolitical dependencies on resources, technologies, and know-how. Added to this is uncertainty caused by country-specific steering policies. The newly elected government in Germany, for instance, is having to swiftly clarify a number of framework conditions, such as reforming market design, reducing bureaucracy and speeding up planning, deciding on reform of the Building Energy Act, amending the Power Plant Security Act, and implementing the announced measures to reduce electricity prices, to name just a few examples. Germany is not alone in facing this immense need for decision-making, as similar issues exist worldwide.

As an independent consultant, Fichtner develops robust, techno-economically feasible end-to-end solutions that take into account the wide range of requirements.

Gaining New Perspectives and Expanding System Boundaries

The mass production of standardized generation and storage modules in the renewable energy business is leading to drastic price reductions and significant efficiency improvements. This is evident, for example, with solar cells and storage modules. However, combining the individual components to create a sustainable energy supply is significantly more complex than integrating individual large-scale generation plants. It requires the precise combination of innovative components, an extensive infrastructure, and intelligent control. To ensure a secure energy supply of comparable quality, the second half of the energy transition transformation process will require comprehensive flexibility down to the component level and digitization of all grid levels.

Expanding the Energy Policy Triangle into a Polygon – by Adding Sovereignty and Resilience

The energy policy triangle defines three objectives for energy policy: energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability. In light of geopolitical conflicts and restricted access to critical resources and technologies, “sovereignty” and “resilience” are expanding the triangle of objectives into a polygon. Energy and technology sovereignty reduce dependence on imports and strengthen domestic production. Cellular and therefore robust energy structures help to strengthen resilience, also in the event of incidents such as attacks, extreme weather events, or other disruptions.

Fichtner stands for innovative engineering that ensures a balanced level of energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability, as well as sovereignty and resilience.

Developing Structured Financing Concepts

The transformation of infrastructure requires structured financing concepts with a mix of private and public capital. Investors have also long since decided that there will be no more money for climate-damaging investments and that investments that do not meet sustainability criteria will no longer be insurable. In this uncertain environment, comprehensive consulting services and engineering reliability are more sought-after than ever, ultimately because technically functioning solutions are needed to ensure that modern industrial society can rely on a secure and resilient energy supply.

Understanding the Energy Transition as an Infrastructure Transition

The goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to a maximum of 2 °C and, if possible, to 1.5 °C. The energy sector contributes significantly to achieving this goal, but the whole of infrastructure needs to be involved. It is essential to both reduce emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change as much as possible. Water supply is particularly affected by climate and structural change. Water shortages and extreme precipitation threaten the livelihoods of humans and nature. Water infrastructure is a multifaceted area that faces a wide range of challenges, from water supply & sanitation and flood protection to hydraulic engineering.

Fichtner is aware of how closely infrastructure components in the water and energy sectors are interlinked and combines its expertise in both areas to help develop resilient structures.

In 2024, the Fichtner Group once again supported a wealth of pioneering projects worldwide in its Energy, Renewable Energies & Environment, Water & Infrastructure, and Consulting & IT business sectors, thereby playing a key role in advancing the transformation of infrastructures. We invite you to learn more about some of these initiatives and offer you a detailed blog article on each project.