Interview Benjamin Merle, CPO of Enpal

MERLE We have been following a master plan for years: We started with solar systems as a basic product or minimal viable product (MVP). Today, however, we are a fully integrated renewable energy company, where solar energy is just part of the ecosystem. We also offer flexible financing solutions, heat pumps, and intelligent energy management from a single source. We developed all of this inhouse step by step in speed boats. 

Our philosophy is that the company must become more dynamic and innovative as it grows larger. And it works: We managed to achieve market leadership for heat pumps just two years after starting our heat pump business, purely through organic growth and without acquisitions. It took us twice as long for solar. 

MERLE Growth is an important KPI. Equally, we discuss our KPIs on customer satisfaction and quality in every meeting. This is, by the way, the basis for future growth. Due to the justifiably high demands of our financing partners, we are also forced to document the quality of the systems very meticulously and to meet very high standards. Therefore, we pay close attention to quality. 

MERLE The solar market is rightly considered a "solarcoaster": it is characterized by sometimes severe fluctuations. This year, the market has collapsed by about a third. Therefore, you must position yourself to be resilient, or better, antifragile. We have done this proactively; it was already included in the strategy of our master plan. One example: Our multi-product strategy, which also heavily focuses on heat pumps, has paid off. 

MERLE Sustainability is the core of our business model. But we convince our customers with different advantages: They save on energy costs and can even earn money by selling their electricity on the electricity exchange. And they make themselves independent from fossil fuels; they become their own producers. This independence is very important to people. Climate protection is also close to people's hearts, but most are convinced because they save money and become independent. 

MERLE The energy transition can’t be realized without AI. Hundreds of thousands of decentralized generators, storages, and consumers (like electric cars and heat pumps) must be interconnected and controlled. Moreover, solar and wind provide fluctuating electricity production. One solution is virtual power plants that use AI to network all systems and balance production with consumption. 

With Enpal.One, we are creating the largest virtual power plant in Europe. Enpal networks the storage units, electric cars, and solar systems of private households with the electricity exchange. If there is too much solar and wind power in the network, the virtual power plant absorbs the electricity and charges electric cars, storage units, and heat pumps – increasingly even at negative electricity prices. Conversely, if electricity is scarce because the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing, the virtual power plant pauses the charging process and feeds the electricity from the storage units (and soon from the electric cars) back into the network, earning money for households. 

This is a win-win-win situation: Households save and earn money, the network expansion becomes cheaper, and the decentralized energy transition is made possible in the first place.