Heating manufacturers on the energy transition and the Ukraine war

And now business in Ukraine continues?
As good as it gets. Some women and children left Ukraine and were taken in by staff in Poland. Those who stayed keep the business going – out of vocation, out of loyalty and to have a purpose.

So heaters are still being sold in Ukraine at the moment?
Yes, like many other companies, we continue to sell products to ensure critical infrastructure can function.

And you continue to pay the salaries of all employees in Ukraine – even though business has largely collapsed. How long can you keep it up financially?
I’m not asking myself that question now. We are currently just wondering how we can help. We also try to support our Ukrainian employees who live in the EU and whose families are in Ukraine.

You went to Poland’s eastern border yourself to help. What did you do there?
Shortly after the war broke out, we left for Poland, packed with winter clothing, food and parcels as well as other relief supplies, and helped on the spot.

And do you pay for the aid from cash flow?
Partly. We also set up the Viessmann Foundation a few years ago, which is now donating one million euros to support Ukrainians with food, medicine and transport. We also want to help with the integration and training of refugees in the long term.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Viessmann announced that it would stop all business with Russia immediately. Other companies took longer to make the decision.
It quickly became clear to us that we would no longer do business with Russia. But we don’t want to hit the Russian people either. Because it’s not the Russians’ war, it’s Putin’s war against a brother nation. We therefore continue to pay our employees in Russia, they also maintain existing systems.

One of the big debates is whether Germany should impose an embargo on Russian energy supplies. Would you be for it?
We should only take the step when it is absolutely clear that we are not doing any more harm to ourselves.

Saving energy: Employees ‘urged to lower the temperature in their homes’

So have you already turned your heating down by three degrees? Some politicians see this as a way to become independent of Russian gas more quickly.
This is the right way. Energy efficiency has been underestimated for years. That would be a huge lever. We have asked our family members – that is, our employees – to lower the temperature in their homes. We all know that we don’t freeze at a room temperature of 20 degrees.

And you personally are going ahead with three degrees less?
More like two and a half degrees. But the whole debate should be long-term. And we should understand how much technology can help with that. Digital technologies, for example, can make a huge contribution. For example, you can document movement patterns of residents and only turn on the heating when someone is actually at home.

What does that look like to you?
My heater has a “connectivity box” that communicates with my smartphone app. It measures whether I’m home or not. When I leave a certain radius of my home, the temperature is automatically turned down. As soon as I approach the house, the heating comes on again. This is a simple but great climate policy lever to save energy and thus make a contribution to the energy transition.

And a small advertising block for Viessmann.
That is not the point. Other manufacturers also have such technologies in their range. The fact is that they have been slow to gain acceptance in recent years. That needs to change. In this way, up to 15 percent of energy can easily be saved in a household.

Climate efficiency has been talked about for years. Politicians have set themselves ambitious goals, but nothing has happened for years. Is the federal government too naive?
I believe that in the past three years in particular, people have outdone themselves with ambitious goals without understanding whether the prerequisites are in place.

“Heat pumps are essential for the conversion of the energy system”

What does it mean exactly?
Energy management concepts and automation mechanisms for office buildings and factories have been around for a long time, and they are used far too little. In addition, there has been a lot of talk in recent years about the potential of photovoltaics for power generation. However, the opportunities of solar thermal energy, which can make heating systems more efficient, were overlooked. One could also have talked about heat pumps much earlier – they are essential for the conversion of the energy system.

Many homeowners feel this need to catch up and are thinking about how they can make themselves less dependent on gas and oil. Is Viessmann a winner of the crisis?
Crisis winner is a big word. In comparison to the previous year, however, our sales have in fact once again grown strongly. This is because, due to the war in Ukraine and dependence on Russian energy, people demanded our heat pumps more than before the crisis.

>> Also listen: Handelsblatt Disrupt with Max Viessmann

Are the federal government’s plans for the green conversion of the economy still realistic in view of the new situation? Actually, gas power plants should serve as a bridging technology. Now the gas is tight.
I have my doubts. The energy transition suffers from too many ideological discussions. For example, we are ignoring some important levers of the energy transition.

In fact?
Hydrogen. For a long time, hydrogen was only intended for the basic industry. In my view this is a mistake. Because this makes the energy source attractive for only a few investors. And the demand remains too low.

Isn’t the opposite correct? Will the demand not soon be so great that it is still completely unclear how large consumers such as steelworks and the chemical industry can be supplied with sufficient hydrogen in the next few years??
I do not think so. The greater the demand, the faster the supply will increase. I am convinced that we can only quickly decarbonize in the building sector, but especially in process heat, with the help of hydrogen.

Does this mean that hydrogen should be fed into the gas grid?
Exactly. The ever-discussed scarcity is quickly overcome. There is infinite potential worldwide for the production of green hydrogen. However, investments will only be made in the large plants if demand is secured and investors realize that the hydrogen will also be purchased.

Viessmann boss since January 2022: “My learning curve was and remains steep”

You have been the sole boss of Viessmann since January and took office in a difficult situation. Do you sometimes wish you had an experienced manager by your side?
I believe that the last three years have left few challenges unfulfilled. The corona crisis cost us almost 40 percent of our sales in one month, and the next year we grew in double digits. Then there were the delivery problems caused by distortions in the global logistics chains – my learning curve was and remains steep. But what’s also true: I didn’t really want to join our company so early. I always wanted to avoid it appearing that I was held responsible simply because of my last name.

But you didn’t resist either?
I saw the responsibility and wanted to face it. If I had had the opportunity to study outside the company in peace, I would have done so. But at some point it also became clear that the transformation in our company couldn’t wait. That’s why I joined Viessmann six years ago as Chief Digital Officer.

After all, her father is still the chairman of the board of directors of the company. Can you actually decide autonomously? Or does he still have the last word?
My father and I agree on the direction of the company, not the power imbalance that sometimes arises with other generational changes. We exchange ideas every week for about five hours, discuss the content, mostly agree, there really isn’t a single page that fits in between. We make sure that we have the same level of knowledge. If we don’t agree, we’ll have a glass of wine together – and find a solution.

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