Frankfurt, 26 September 2018 – In the VDMA Press Club which took place today at the Global Wind Summit in Hamburg, representatives of the manufacturing and supply industry discussed the question of how Europe can maintain its leading position in the wind industry.
“Wind energy has become a competitive form of power generation and thus an energy supplier for the transport and heating sectors of the future. The industry has achieved considerable cost-cutting measures while at the same time maintaining a high pace of innovation. This is a major effort that hardly takes place elsewhere”, said Dr. Markus Tacke, CEO Siemens Gamesa and Chairman VDMA Power Systems, at the event. “The manufacturers of wind turbines are currently seeing slight capacity growth in the world market, although this will probably not compensate for the cost reductions. So, the industry is experiencing lower revenues while the installed capacity continues to grow. In the field of offshore wind, the outlook is also more positive outside Europe,” Dr. Tacke, evaluated the current developments.
With regards to the course of the summit, Matthias Zelinger, Managing Director VDMA Power Systems, said: “The strong debut of the Global Wind Summit, the leading international trade fair for the onshore and offshore wind industry with an extensive conference program, sends a positive and strong signal for the role of the wind industry in the world. An ambitious and dynamic domestic market is a prerequisite for the European wind industry to maintain its leading position in the world market.” Zelinger made also clear that industry needed a consistent political framework as companies are exposed to market risk and cannot take on any regulatory risk. “What is important is a coherent overall concept that considers the development of new capacities as well as grid expansion and storage solutions”, said Zelinger.
One topic of the VDMA Press Club was digitization: “The supplier industry is taking part in the globalization strategy on both the purchasing and sales sides, as it does in other areas of mechanical and plant engineering. It must offer innovative solutions and thus be an attractive partner for plant manufacturers. This includes the fact that digitization is seen as an opportunity. Digitization is the technical key to more transparency, networking, overall data acquisition and evaluation and enables cost reduction with simultaneous quality optimization,” explained Bernhard Zangerl, Managing Director of Bachmann electronic GmbH and member of the Board of VDMA Power Systems.
With a view to leadership in innovation, Bernhard Zangerl said in his function as Chairman of the VDMA Wind Energy Working Group: “Innovation is the central flagship of the European wind industry. An efficient research environment and pre-competitive cooperation are crucial for European manufacturers and suppliers to maintain their leading global position, optimize quality and at the same time drive cost reductions.”
Link to the press release on our website.
About VDMA Power Systems
VDMA Power Systems is an association of the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA). It represents the interests of manufacturers of wind energy and hydroelectric plants, fuel cells, gas/steam turbines and systems and engine systems in Germany and abroad. For all of these manufacturers, VDMA Power Systems serves as an information and communication platform for all topics within the industry, such as energy policy, legislation, market analyses, trade fairs, standardization, and press and public relations.
About VDMA
VDMA represents more than 3,200 mostly medium-sized companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector. With over 1.35 million employees and sales of around 226 billion euros (2017), the sector is the largest industrial employer in Germany and one of the leading German industrial sectors.
