For years, 2G Energy has been warning of the growing risk of widespread power outages. The recent blackout on the Iberian Peninsula now serves as proof, even though the exact cause is still unknown. „Basically, a case like this underlines how important it is to make the energy supply more resilient and decentralised,“ says Friedrich Pehle, CFO of 2G Energy, in an interview with Börsen-Zeitung.

Pehle considers it incorrect to believe that something similar cannot happen here in Germany, especially as the unabated expansion of renewables is making the energy system more unstable overall. However, the events in Spain and Portugal are only expected to drive growth in the company's own business to a limited extent.

Instead, Pehle sees the biggest boost for decentralised energy systems in the increasing demand for electricity. In the domestic market, hopes rest with key energy policy issues. „The German market has great potential for 2G with regard to heat pumps and the Power Station Strategy,“ Pehle is convinced. The company from Heek in western Münsterland has its roots in combined heat and power plants, the classic cogeneration of heat and power (CHP). Heat pumps have also been sold for a few years now, exclusively in the professional sector.

Beyond the private customer business, the demand for heat pumps has never stopped. „The business will get a boost when the municipal heating plans for large municipalities are finalised from 2026,“ believes Pehle. At the same time, the test will be whether the capacity of the engineering firms is sufficient. „The gatekeepers in our business are the large planning offices. They will become an absolute bottleneck factor if all the larger municipalities start up at the same time,“ fears the manager. However, 2G Energy would benefit from this, as the company has built up a good reputation with combined heat and power plants, which could be transferred to heat pumps.

Pehle senses new business opportunities in connection with the Power Station Strategy. However, the strategy has not yet been finalised and the first tender for the construction of new gas-fired power plants this year is no more than a hopeful prospect. Nevertheless, the new German government has confirmed in the coalition agreement that it wants to incentivise flexible gas-fired power plants with a total output of up to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

„Only gas engines can actually be considered for the new gas-fired power plants to be built. There is no future for gas turbines,“ says Pehle. This does not necessarily have to be the case, as operators such as RWE have long since secured the necessary turbines in advance, as CEO Markus Krebber recently said at the Annual General Meeting. Nonetheless, Pehle is convinced that 2G Energy can take a slice of the power plant pie. „A wave is rolling towards the manufacturers of large gas engines,“ predicts the manager.

With Jenbacher, MTU, MWM and 2G, there are only four large gas engine manufacturers in Europe. Of these, 2G is certainly the newcomer, which only produces engines with an output of between 100 and 1,000 kilowatts (kW). However, the large electricity producers are keen to have as many competitors as possible on the market, explains Pehle. In addition, 2G Energy can score points for being „the world market leader in hydrogen-capable gas engines“. The engines are not only hydrogen-ready, but also „H2-proven“, says Pehle, pointing out that thirty 2G engines with an output of 7,5 MW are already in operation today running on hydrogen.

Of course, it remains to be seen to what extent companies such as RWE and EnBW in Germany will utilise engines from 2G Energy. But Pehle is extremely confident: „Today our customers are municipal utilities and district hospitals, tomorrow it will also be the large providers. We are already in talks.“

But it is not only in Germany that the gas engine is set to prove a growth driver. Above all in the USA, Pehle believes that the product, which is purely focussed on power generation, has great potential. Important areas of application can be found in data centres and in the oil and gas industry. In other words, wherever there is an increased local demand for electricity but the corresponding electricity infrastructure is lacking. With the new product, 2G Energy wants to penetrate the US market, where the Münster-based company has so far primarily sold CHP systems. „We have very high hopes for our new product,“ explains Pehle.

However, this is not reflected in the bare figures. Following strong growth in the US market last year – sales of new systems in the North and Central America region more than doubled to 23 million euros – incoming orders slumped by 60% in the first quarter. However, this is only a snapshot, says Pehle, pointing to pull-forward effects in connection with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), in which the subsidisation of CHP systems stopped at the end of 2024. „I assume that the USA will remain our most important foreign market,“ says the manager.

„Although this is not reflected in the order intake, we are having our most active year ever in the USA,“ enthuses Pehle. However 2G Energy cannot avoid the issue of tariffs. „We are not worried about customs duties because all motor manufacturers procure the majority of their components abroad,“ says Pehle confidently, adding: „Down to the kilowatt hour, customs duties don't make the difference.“

In the domestic market, on the other hand, the new cycle got off to a successful start: In the first quarter, incoming orders in Germany grew by 53% to 35.9 million euros. This was not least due to the legal amendments to the EEG and CHP Act, which were passed by the old German parliament at the end of January. In contrast, 2G suffered a noticeable drop in sales in Germany last year, which fell by a good fifth to 97 million euros.