The ZVEI did not wait long to publish its assessment of the economic development of its more than 1600 association members in the new year. On January 18, ZVEI President Günther Kegel and Wolfgang Weber, Chairman of the Management Board, appeared before the trade and business press, which was connected online. They gave a realistic and at the same time optimistic outlook on the situation of the German 'electrical and digital industry' (formerly: electrical engineering and electronics industry).
Looking back, Kegel described 2022 as "a strong year despite all the adversities". The Ukraine war, energy crisis, inflation and strained supply chains had been at the forefront, and would continue to be so. However, the industry's price-adjusted production grew by 3.7% between January and November 2022. "That is almost a precision landing of our forecast of 4%," Kegel was pleased to report. The industry is clearly benefiting from the two major drivers of electrification and digitalization.
According to Kegel, the nominal revenue of the industries united in the ZVEI rose by 12% last year to a record high of € 224 billion, with the highest growth in electronic components (+21%), followed by information and communication technology, batteries, energy technology (all +14%) and automation (+12%). The number of employees was just under 895,000, up 2.3% on the previous year.
2022 was also a record year for exports. Exports reached € 246 billion - an increase of 9%. The most important sales market was the European Union with € 126 billion. "The single market is the EU's greatest asset," said Kegel. "We need to develop it further - in terms of business and regulation." Globalization, on the other hand, is at a crossroads: "The protectionist economic policies of China and the USA are a high risk for us." For the current year, the ZVEI is rather modest, but confident: "As things stand today, we are assuming a black zero," said Kegel. "That corresponds to consolidation at a very high level."
Focus on the energy transition
"After politicians had to turn their attention to energy security and affordability last year, the focus in 2023 should be on the energy transition," explains Wolfgang Weber. Two tasks need to be tackled: the rapid expansion of the grid infrastructure and its digitalization as well as the further development of the electricity market design.
Electricity demand currently stands at 550 TWh/a. With 15 million charging points and 6 million heat pumps, this demand will increase to over 700 TWh/a by 2030, and to 1000 to 1200 TWh/a by 2045. To achieve this, the generation capacities of renewable energies would have to increase at least 4.5-fold. "Our electricity grid is currently not designed for this, it is not ready for the energy transition," concluded Weber. "The electricity grid must be converted into a climate-neutral grid." The ZVEI is calling for more speed in the nationwide rollout of smart metering systems.
Consistent digitalization could reduce primary energy consumption by up to 65%. According to Weber, further relief from taxes, levies and charges on the price of electricity would be essential to achieve this goal: "The future electricity market design must be such that consumers benefit from attractive prices for electricity from renewable energies."
