E.ON Launches Network Campaign With World Record In Drone Formation Flight

E.ON broke the world record for the most motifs flown by drones with a spectacular drone show in the Berlin night sky, thus entering the Guinness Book of World Records.

The spectacle marked the start of the nationwide 'Networks of Tomorrow' campaign, which E.ON launched together with its nine German regional companies, in order to highlight the importance of energy networks for the success of the energy transition.

Importance of distribution grids 

Thomas König, E.ON Board Member and responsible for the network business, said "With our campaign, we want to raise awareness of how important distribution grids are for a sustainable energy future. Climate protection and the energy transition are a generational task in which the distribution grids play a key role."

He adds, "The more areas of life are decarbonized, the more important the distribution grids become. Most wind turbines and solar plants, every charging station for electric cars, and every heat pump will be connected to the distribution grids."

Investments in distribution grids 

Investments in the distribution grids will only remain attractive if the regulatory framework is adapted

Distribution grids must be expanded consistently, sufficiently, and at an early stage, and only if they are continuously modernized and digitalized will they be equipped for the transformation of the energy system.

According to a study by RWTH Aachen University and Frontier Economics, investments of around €111 billion are required in the German electricity distribution grids by 2050.

A delayed grid expansion would cause unnecessarily high, economic follow-up costs of up to €4.2 billion per year by 2050. However, investments in the distribution grids will only remain attractive if the regulatory framework is adapted to the changing energy world.

sustainable energy system

In the upcoming weeks and months, E.ON will be using various examples to show the contribution that distribution grids make to a sustainable energy system of tomorrow, particularly on its social media channels and on the channels of the nine German regional companies (Avacon, Bayernwerk, E.DIS, enviaM Group, HanseWerk, Lechwerke (LEW), Süwag, VSE, and Westenergie) - as part of the joint 'Networks of Tomorrow' campaign.

Incidentally, drones not only spectacularly heralded the campaign launch but also play an important role in the inspection and maintenance of E.ON's distribution grids: Trained network mechanics fly kilometers of overhead lines with drones and ensure fast and optimal fault analysis with innovative technology. By using drones, possible damage can be detected quickly and repaired promptly.