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JOURNEY · DETAIL
Siemens Energy: Transitioning from traditional power equipment to hydrogen and grid modernization
Founded: Spun off from Siemens, no specific founders · Siemens Energy
JOURNEY
Key Fields
FIELD STAMPSIndustryEnergy
RegionGlobal
ScaleGiant
ChannelB2B
Origin
Siemens Energy was spun off from Siemens AG and listed independently in 2020. The original intention behind the spinoff was to free the energy business from the multiple decision-making constraints within the parent group, allowing it to respond more flexibly to the global energy transition, particularly hydrogen, energy storage, and grid modernization. Previously, Siemens' energy segment was long constrained by traditional industrial profit targets, leading to slow investment pacing in new energy directions. Following the spinoff, it gained independent financing capabilities and the ability to bear higher risks.
Milestones
2020
Company Establishment Turning Point
Siemens Energy was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on September 28, 2020, acquiring gas turbines, grid technology, and certain wind power assets through the spinoff from Siemens AG. Its market capitalization on the first day of trading was approximately 16 billion euros, well below the parent company's expectations. This spinoff enabled management to finance directly for the energy transition, but it also exposed the reality of sluggish demand for traditional power equipment.
2021
Wind Power Business Crisis Failure
Subsidiary Siemens Gamesa suffered severe losses due to quality issues and cost overruns on its onshore wind 5.X platform, recording a net loss of 627 million euros for fiscal year 2021. Siemens Energy was forced to lower its earnings guidance multiple times, with its stock price falling over 30% during the year. This exposed the structural vulnerability of the wind turbine business under material inflation and competitive pressure.
2022
Full Acquisition of Gamesa Failure
Siemens Energy spent approximately 4.0 billion euros to buy out the remaining minority stake in Siemens Gamesa, attempting to resolve wind power quality issues through internal integration. However, Gamesa's net loss widened to approximately 940 million euros in fiscal year 2022, dragging down the group's overall earnings. The market criticized the timing of the acquisition as too late and too costly, further consuming the company's capital for grid and hydrogen directions.
2023
Government Guarantees and Strategic Pivot Turning Point
In 2023, Siemens Energy faced financing pressures due to massive losses in its wind power business, leading the company to negotiate a 15 billion euro guarantee line with the German government, Siemens AG, and multiple banks. That same year, the company announced a shift in focus from offshore wind turbines to grid technology and gas turbine services, with Grid Technologies division orders growing over 50% in fiscal year 2023 to become a new profit pillar.
2024
Surge in Grid Orders Growth
Demand driven by global AI data centers and renewable energy grid integration caused a spike in requirements for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission and transformers. Siemens Energy's grid business orders reached 18.4 billion euros in fiscal year 2024, an increase of approximately 38% year-over-year. The group's overall revenue was approximately 34.5 billion euros, with net loss narrowing to around 120 million euros. Management publicly stated that the grid business order backlog exceeds 120 billion euros, sufficient to support growth for several years.
2026
Spinoff of Transformation of Industry Turning Point
In August 2026, Siemens Energy announced the spinoff of its Transformation of Industry business, involving 17,000 employees and 5.7 billion euros in annual revenue operating independently. This business covers traditional segments such as industrial steam turbines and compressors; post-spinoff, the parent company will focus more intensely on grids, gas turbines, and hydrogen. Capital markets view this as a further step to cut low-growth assets and enhance overall valuation.
Turning Points
- Spun off from Siemens AG to list independently in 2020, granting the energy business its first independent financing capabilities and a more flexible strategic decision-making chain.
- Bought out the minority stake in Siemens Gamesa for approximately 4.0 billion euros in 2022, attempting to solve wind power quality issues through capital and integration, which instead magnified losses.
- Secured a 15 billion euro government guarantee in 2023 and pivoted strategic focus under pressure from wind turbines to grid technology and gas turbine services.
- Experienced a boom in grid business orders in 2024, with AI data centers and renewable energy grid integration becoming new growth engines that reversed the group's consecutive losses.
Failures & Pitfalls
- Quality issues with the Siemens Gamesa onshore wind 5.X platform led to a net loss of 627 million euros in fiscal year 2021, continually dragging down the group through 2023.
- Following the buyout of Gamesa's minority stake for approximately 4.0 billion euros in 2022, the group still failed to stop the expansion of wind power losses, making the acquisition and integration a total failure.
- Invested over 10 billion euros in offshore wind turbines, resulting in massive impairments due to rising raw material prices, project delays, and excessively low bidding prices.
- Commercialization of hydrogen electrolyzers was overly optimistic; hydrogen-related orders from 2021 to 2023 fell short of internal targets, with capacity utilization dropping below 30% at some plants.
关键成功要素
- Secured independent financing capabilities through the spinoff, freeing itself from group profit constraints on high-risk new energy investments.
- Established grid technology and gas turbine services as profit anchors to maintain group operations during wind power losses.
- Leleveraged a 15 billion euro German government guarantee to ease the financing crisis and avoid being dragged down by the wind business.
- Captured the window of surging power demand from AI data centers, translating HVDC and transformer orders into long-term growth.
- Proactively spun off low-growth traditional industrial businesses to focus capital and attention on grid modernization and hydrogen.
Lessons
- Large energy groups must redefine their core businesses after a spinoff; otherwise, legacy assets will still drag down the execution of new strategies.
- Technical quality risks in the wind turbine business can erode years of accumulated capital within a year, and failure to keep quality control aligned with expansion pace equals slow bleeding.
- Government guarantees can save lives but cannot cure diseases; ultimately, the business must return to a profitable structure.
- Power demand driven by AI data centers arrived faster than anticipated; early positioning in grid technology and transformers is key.
- The commercialization pace of emerging hydrogen technologies is often slower than management's public expectations, and capacity investment must track actual orders rather than promotional narratives.
Core Data
- 2024年营收：34.5B EUR (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
- 2024年净亏损：-120M EUR (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
- 员工数：99,000 (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
- 2024年电网订单额：18.4B EUR (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
- 电网业务订单储备额：120B EUR (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
- 2023年担保额：15B EUR (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
- 2021年西门子歌美飒亏损：-627M EUR (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
- 2022年收购西门子歌美飒对价：4.0B EUR (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
- 2020年上市市值：16B EUR (Company disclosed metric, as of 2026, unverified independently)
Competitors / Peers
In the gas turbine sector, Siemens Energy competes directly with GE Vernova and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. GE Vernova also bets heavily on the grid and gas power, experiencing rapid order growth in 2024 and serving as a primary pressure source for valuation benchmarking. In grid automation, ABB and Schneider Electric hold advantages in digital substations and medium-voltage distribution, whereas Siemens Energy's HVDC and transformer businesses rely more heavily on large-scale infrastructure projects. In hydrogen, Linde and Air Liquide control industrial gas networks and refuelling infrastructure, while Siemens Energy's electrolyzers and hydrogen compressors face price competition from Nel, Plug Power, and ITM Power, though it still maintains synergistic advantages on the grid connection side.
Sources
- https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A5%BF%E9%97%A8%E5%AD%90%E8%83%BD%E6%BA%90%E8%82%A1%E4%BB%BD%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8
- https://www.eepw.com.cn/article/202608/483150.htm
- https://assets.siemens-energy.com/dam/73ffe0c7-9ece-4bd4-a029-b4280046fc67/Siemens-Energy_Company-Presentation_Chinese-pptx_Original%20file.pdf
- https://www.siemens-energy.com/cn/zh/home/stories/hydroegn.html
- https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260717A04LAS00
- https://36kr.com/p/3580954370129033