MVV Energie, BayWa, Glen Dimplex and GreenCom Networks found a joint venture for decentralised energy management

With a range of innovative services and products for intelligent, decentralised energy management, the Mannheim-based energy company MVV Energie, the Munich-based business and service group BayWa, the Irish heating and cooling system manufacturer Glen Dimplex and the Munich-based software specialist GreenCom Networks are combining forces in a unique cross-sector joint venture to drive energy transformation forwards. On Friday, the four companies announced in a joint press release following the signing of the memoranda of association that BEEGY GmbH – the brand name is derived from Better Energy – would act as a supplier for integral solutions and system integration. This would give industrial, business, commercial and private customers the opportunity for the first time to rely on a single supplier for their decentralised energy management. The service offering of BEEGY will range from planning via the final supply and installation of sustainably operating systems – such as photovoltaic collectors, thermal storage systems such as heat pumps and storage heaters or battery storage – to even as far as their energy-optimised deployment.

For MVV Energie, one of the leading energy companies in Germany, BEEGY represents the "logical choice to round off our product and service chain, which is aimed at the energy system of the future", in the words of the Executive Board Member responsible for sales, Ralf Klöpfer. The Mannheim-based energy supplier, which sets a particular focus on the development of renewable energies and the promotion of energy efficiency in its corporate strategy, is therefore contributing its energy-management experience and its general expertise along the entire value chain to the cooperation. Mr. Klöpfer continued: "The supply of energy is constantly becoming more renewable, more decentralised and more intelligent. At BEEGY, we are pooling together our competencies from a range of different sectors and using them to develop joint offerings for a sustainable energy supply on all levels."

For Matthias Taft, Chairman of the BayWa r.e. Management Board, this alliance under one roof is also the key to the success of the joint venture: "As a subsidiary of BayWa AG and a leading provider in the field of renewable energies, BayWa r.e. brings together a broad spectrum of energy services. We are delighted to provide our specialist knowledge in the areas of technical consultation, system planning and in the selection of products. BEEGY is served by our logistics platform and the systems will be built and maintained by our qualified network of installers."

We can only profit from the development of renewable energies and their decentralised management, however, when the right system solutions are provided. "In the future, anyone who previously was just a consumer of energy will also be involved in energy production: both for themselves and for others. They will become a 'prosumer'," says Sean O’Driscoll, Chairman of the Glen Dimplex Group, which is based in Dublin and present throughout Europe. "For this, innovative system solutions are required which can either intelligently store or consume volatile power supply. As Glen Dimplex we are pleased to introduce our solutions to BEEGY, not only to the benefit for the individual consumers but also to the entire market by aggregating small scale distributed energy systems." Glen Dimplex is a leading manufacturer of electrical heating and cooling systems worldwide: The company offers exactly the right product range for future BEEGY-customers in the form of its innovative and intelligent thermal storage solutions, such as heat pumps and storage heaters, as well as air ventilation units – which can all be connected and are "Smart Grid ready". Whenever available, green electricity will be stored and/or used in a decentralised way as green, CO₂- free heating, whether the electricity comes from your own PV plant or the grid.

According to Dr. Christian Feißt, CEO of the Munich-based software specialists GreenCom Networks, the interplay of IT technology, efficient energy know how, software intelligence and logistics expertise, makes the crucial difference in the new decentralised energy markets. "We are turning the traditional business model upside down, as we are placing the focus on the customers: Our added value is derived from savings and the intelligent use of energy, which our customers produce themselves."

The newly established company BEEGY has its headquarter in Mannheim, Germany. MVV Energy has 34.8% of the shares, BayWa r.e. and Glen Dimplex 25.1% each and GreenCom Networks 15%. At the helm of the Executive Board will be GreenCom CEO Christian Feißt, who was previously Managing Director of Cisco Systems in the area of smart grids and obtained a doctorate from the University of Hohenheim in business management, and Marco Demuth, an experienced energy manager, who has gained extensive experience carrying out leading functions at the international logistics company DHL, and also as a founding Managing Director of Yello Strom.

In an initial stage, BEEGY will concentrate on the area of commercial customers and chains. In a second stage, the company will then also focus on private households, as these are often energy producers themselves. Our joint venture bundles together the most important competences, which are of central importance for the future energy market", explains BEEGY Managing Director Marco Demuth. "The focus of our individual partners will be placed on their own respective core business and a joint as well as structured sales strategy, so that we are able to react to the immense challenges of the market in a rapid manner and with the necessary technological edge.

MVV Energy
With annual sales of around Euro 4 billion, the publicly listed MVV Energy Group is one of Germany’s leading energy companies. With around 5,400 employees, the group of companies with local and regional roots covers all major stages of the value chain in offering a reliable supply of electricity, heating energy, gas and water – from energy generation via energy trading, energy distribution via proprietary grids through to sales and energy-related services. Furthermore, MVV Energy is also one of Germany’s largest operators of energy from waste and biomass plants. The corporate strategy focuses on generating profitable medium and long-term growth. In this, MVV Energy is building on regionalism, efficiency and sustainability.

BayWa r.e. renewable energy
BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of BayWa AG and pools the group's activities in the field of renewable energies. BayWa r.e. was founded in 2009 and is based in Munich; it acts as a holding for several companies in the business areas of solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy and geothermal energy. BayWa r.e.'s business activities range from the development and realisation of projects, to PV trade, right up to consulting services. In terms of service, BayWa r.e. covers the entire range of requirements involved in maintaining a professional, technical system, including maintenance; it also takes on the commercial management. The range of services also encompasses the direct marketing of electricity from renewable energy sources, the trade in biomethane, as well as the sale of green electricity and green gas to private and commercial clients. The internationally-orientated company operates in the core markets of Europe and the USA.
BayWa AG, Munich, is a commercial enterprise that is listed on the stock exchange and is internationally active. Its core business comprises the segments of agriculture, energy and construction.

Glen Dimplex Group
The Glen Dimplex Group is an international group of companies, based in Dublin, Ireland. As one of the largest manufacturers of electric heating systems in the world their turnover is around 2 billion Euros per year with 10.000 employees worldwide. Since more than 40 years, innovative technologies and products for heating, cooling and ventilation have been developed and produced by the German subsidiary, Glen Dimplex Deutschland GmbH. Herewith; the Glen Dimplex Group is an essential shareholder of the newly founded BEEGY GmbH.

GreenCom Networks AG
GreenCom Networks AG was formed in 2011 and now employs approx. 30 employees, who are working on developing an innovative, highly scalable IT platform for decentralised energy management. The core feature of the IT platform is the networking of all controllable consumables, generating and storage components, which can be bidirectionally controlled with the help of sophisticated technology and integrated into a virtual power plant. This technology represents a crucial cornerstone in the business model of BEEGY GmbH, since as a result, the operation can be controlled and optimised to meaningful economic effect and the resulting added value harnessed.