BDEW Chair Kerstin Andreae visits Next Kraftwerke in Cologne

As part of a tour of North Rhine-Westphalia, Kerstin Andreae, Chair of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), and Dr. Michael Koch, head of the energy law department, visited the Cologne-based company Next Kraftwerke.

Besuch Kerstin Andreae BDEW NExt Kraftwerke CEO Marc Ruehs

Kerstin Andreae in conversation with female executives

In a discussion with female executives led by CFO Katrin Jedamzik, Kerstin Andreae spoke about “female leadership.” With the motto “We grow into a diverse company that attracts the right talent,” Next Kraftwerke has anchored diversity as a central component of its corporate strategy. Currently, 30 percent of Next Kraftwerke's executives are women. “For us, diversity is not self-serving, but a key success factor. Different perspectives enrich our teams, promote innovation, and make us attractive as an employer for the best talent,” explains Kirsten Lena Kitzmann, Head of HR.

Diversity as a factor for success

Andreae emphasized: “30 percent is an important milestone. My advice: stay authentic and recognize your own strengths. Leadership requires inner clarity and the courage to set boundaries.”

During a tour of the virtual power plant, guests gained insights into 24/7 electricity trading as well as quantitative and manual energy trading. Next Kraftwerke operates one of the largest virtual power plants in Europe and connects over 14,000 decentralized generation plants in the fields of photovoltaics, wind and hydro power, and biogas. Electricity consumers and storage facilities are also part of the “Next Pool“.

Besuch BDEW Kerstin Andreae Next Kraftwerke Female Leadership

Virtual power plant: Technology and system relevance

The company controls the assets in real time using its proprietary NEMOCS (Next Monitoring Control System) control system. NEMOCS sends encrypted control commands to the remote-control units of the plants via mobile and landline data connections. In this way, Next Kraftwerke contributes to stabilizing the power grid and markets electricity volumes on exchanges in five European countries, including EEX and EPEX SPOT. Next Kraftwerke uses in-house developed algorithms to compensate for forecast deviations in intraday trading and to optimize the operation of flexible consumers and storage facilities.

Kerstin Andreae summed up: “A highly informative visit, Next Kraftwerke impressively demonstrates how innovation and system relevance go hand in hand.”

Marc Rühs, Managing Director of Next Kraftwerke, is delighted: "We appreciate the open exchange. The energy transition needs digital solutions, strong networks, and courageous leadership, which is what Next Kraftwerke stands for.