The manager headed the energy company EnBW for ten years.
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf After ten years of coal, natural gas and renewable energies, former EnBW boss Frank Mastiaux is now turning his attention to the topic of hydrogen. On Thursday, the manager was elected the new chairman of the advisory board of the Dresden specialist Sunfire.
Until mid-November, the 58-year-old was CEO of the Baden-Württemberg utility EnBW, one of Germany’s largest energy companies. In the end, he did not want to extend his contract again.
Instead, Mastiaux is now focusing on green hydrogen, which is produced using electricity from renewable sources. Sunfire builds the necessary electrolysers. Thanks to the massive increase in demand for the climate-neutral gas, business has grown significantly in recent years.
It was already announced at the beginning of November that he would also support the hydrogen start-up Eternal Power as a consultant. In the future, the Hamburg-based company wants to cover the entire value chain for the production of the sustainable molecule and hopes to benefit from the experience of the chemist.
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After various positions in the oil industry, including at the BP Group, Mastiaux has increasingly turned to renewable energies since 2007. For three years he built up the business for Eon.
After moving to EnBW as CEO in 2012, the energy group made the transition from nuclear power and coal to natural gas, wind and sun under his leadership. The natural gas business is now the most profitable business area for EnBW, contributing half of the total profits. 40 percent comes from renewable energies. Above all, Mastiaux massively expanded the wind business.
Now Sunfire also hopes to benefit from the manager’s experience and network. “The need for green hydrogen and electrolysis technologies is enormous to transform large industries towards carbon neutrality. I look forward to helping Sunfire grow and advance the industrial electrolysis business,” said Mastiaux. His experience could also be useful for the company in view of its potential IPO.
Heavy competition on the hydrogen market
Green hydrogen is an important building block for the success of the energy transition. Electrolysis capacities in the European Union are expected to multiply from the current 1,000 megawatts to 40,000 megawatts by 2030. As of now, however, there are only pilot projects, and young companies like Sunfire have serious competition.
Industry giants such as Siemens Energy, Linde or Air Liquide have now recognized the coming billion-euro market and are massively expanding their electrolyser production. Thyssen-Krupp is pushing ahead with the IPO of its hydrogen subsidiary Nucera.
The former EnBW boss Frank Mastiaux should now also help Sunfire to survive alongside the established competitors. His predecessor as Chairman of the Advisory Board, founder Carl Berninghausen, had managed the business himself as the main investor at Sunfire until two years ago. Since 2020, his co-founders Nils Aldag and Christian von Olshausen have taken over this role.
More: Tendering for hydrogen imports has begun – the federal government is providing 4.4 billion euros
