A platform for international expansion
The Energy Division offers technical consulting and advisory services for the energy sector. Operations cover large parts of the world and the division is a market leader in the Nordic region and Central and Eastern Europe, among other areas.
What we offer – consulting for the entire investment cycle
The Energy Division offers technical and management-oriented consulting services for the energy sector, including advice on different energy markets and on investments relating to the construction of new power plants. The division possesses specialist expertise in power generation and energy market issues, and seeks in all its technical assignments to ensure that client investments are carefully managed to achieve the desired results.
The division is a leader in selected markets and has grown rapidly in Russia and Central Europe in recent years. Towards the end of 2010, Energy acquired the Spanish-based consulting company Mercados, which was subsequently integrated into the ÅF Group in 2011. This acquisition has not only broadened the division’s offer in energy market consulting services but also leveraged ÅF into a key position in a number of Asian markets, including India and Turkey.
Success factors
ÅF’s Energy Division is the world’s sixth largest international consulting company in its field. It is the market leader or among the top three in all the markets in which it operates.
Energy wins its principals’ confidence thanks to its well-established local presence and its excellent insights into client needs. Other important success factors include in-depth knowledge of local energy markets, the capacity to manage projects from initial idea to implementation, and very high levels of service.
A few examples of services
The Energy Division offers a broad spectrum of services in technology, financing, management and energy consulting. Even when the economic climate is healthy, any client embarking on a major investment project needs answers to a host of questions. And whatever the economic climate, clients always need help with improving the efficiency and capacity of existing plant or with environmental and safety investigations, for example.
Energy’s consultants offer support throughout the entire life cycle of a project: market analyses and feasibility studies in the initial stages, pre-engineering and engineering once the investment decision has been made, and project management during implementation. This involves services such as project steering, the basic design of process solutions, procurement negotiations, manufacturing, design and installation inspections and functionality testing. Once the plant is fully operational, consultants can also provide a wide range of other services, from troubleshooting to maintenance planning.
Clients – close cooperation and a broad client base
Energy’s clients are international energy companies, banks, financial institutions, energy-intensive industries and public authorities whose investments tend to be extensive and run over many years. This frequently leads to long-term client relationships characterised by a sense of partnership. As the division has a well-established presence in many different locations, geographical proximity to clients is good.
- The division currently has over 1,000 active clients.
- A large proportion of clients – including the very largest – generate repeat business.
- The ten largest clients account for approximately 41 percent of the division’s sales and the 20 largest for just over half.
- Clients include major international companies such as ENDESA (Spain), Fortum (Finland) and the World Bank, as well as many national power companies worldwide.
Market and trends – Japan and the eurozone crisis unsettle the markets
At the start of 2011 expectations were high that the strong recovery after the global financial crisis would be sustained. However, the earthquake off Japan and the subsequent destruction of the Fukushima nuclear power plant had a negative impact on energy investments worldwide. Decisions were put on ice as national authorities were forced to reconsider current regulations, and the market for many of the Energy Division’s services ground almost to a halt. The situation deteriorated further towards the end of the year as the eurozone crisis cast its long shadow over the general economic situation and threatened to plunge the investment climate back into gloom.
Despite these setbacks in Europe, Energy succeeded in maintaining satisfactory levels of capacity utilisation during the year. This was due in no small part to full order books and ongoing projects, particularly in the hydropower sector. Moreover, the uncertainty in the market had less of an impact on demand for services related to the energy sector and its regulatory regimes, while strong growth in South-East Asia helped offset the negative effects of the economic instability across Europe.
One very noticeable market trend is the impact of efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions: attention now focuses on how energy is consumed rather than on how it is produced. Making more efficient use of energy produces results more quickly and often without any state subsidies, in marked contrast to the costs and timeframe associated with major investments in new power plants for renewable energy.
Notwithstanding the downturn in the global economy, the world still has an immense need for energy. Existing facilities must become more efficient, supplying more energy yet also improving their environmental performance. Issues relating to the sustainable use of energy are increasingly important in more and more markets, so the Energy Division expects the energy sector to remain a growth area with considerable potential for a long time to come.