German Vice Chancellor Habeck visited Flender’s booth at Hannover Messe, 2023

Home
Articles
German Vice Chancellor Habeck visited Flender’s booth at Hannover Messe, 2023

German Vice Chancellor Habeck visited Flender’s booth at Hannover Messe, 2023

Articles
Apr 19,23

Good to see that much of the industrial production in the field of renewables stays in Germany,” said Dr Robert Habeck, Vice Chanceller of Germany when visited Flender. He also discussed challenges and requirements for energy transition in Europe with CEO of Flender, Andreas Evertz.

German Vice Chancellor Habeck visited Flender’s booth at Hannover Messe, 2023

Doris Bush and Flender CEO Andreas Evertz presented Minister Habeck (right) with a miniature model of the HybridDrive - a drivetrain for wind turbines that reduces the need for raw materials such as copper and rare earths

On Tuesday, April 18, The German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Dr Robert Habeck visited drive specialist Flender at the international industry expo Hannover Messe. Flender was part of the Minister’s official tour of the expo and Habeck took the opportunity to talk with Andreas Evertz, CEO, Flender about the energy transition goals for Germany and Europe, Flender’s role as one of the core suppliers for the wind energy industry, and also the importance of an energy-efficient industry on the way to reach global climate goals.

Habeck said, “Discussing about the expansion of renewable energies, we usually talk about the electrical output, the production. But here at Hannover Messe, we see also the other side of the coin. A lot of the industrial production is here in Germany, or at least with German companies. And when you say the market is now swinging in and growing, that's good news.”

The minister was also positive about Flender's innovations and further developments for even more powerful wind turbines that use significantly less valuable raw materials such as copper and rare earths. "This technology shows the opportunities we have. It is challenging to bring electricity production out of renewables to 80 per cent of the demand by 2030, but it is possible," Habeck said.

Andreas Evertz agreed to which and said, “Flender is a major driver of the energy transition. And this starts with any kind of materials. In drive technology, Flender not only manufactures wind gearboxes, but industrial gearboxes that are involved in the production of raw materials for wind turbines. Flender is part of nearly every supply chain.”

Minister Habeck was impressed by the 350 gigawatts drive capacity for wind energy that Flender has already delivered today. Evertz said, “That is more than anyone else in the wind business. But we also need our industries to make the energy transition happen. And the wish that I would like to address is: The requirements for competitive production in Germany and Europe are energy costs and prices for raw materials that are affordable, starting with steel. It is good to know that we agree on this.”

Some days prior to the show in Hanover another high-ranking German politician visited Flender. Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock took a tour through the Flender plant in Tianjin on her China trip. She was warmly welcomed by Dr Jian Hui Gou, Managing Director of China, Flender and presented the highlights of Flender’s production hub for the ASEAN region.