Together, 50Hertz and the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE) held a series of roundtable discussions with representatives from politics and business which culminated in a big event at the company’s headquarters. Stefan Kapferer, the CEO of 50Hertz, and IG BCE head Michael Vassiliadis invited several key figures to these discussions, including minister presidents, state secretaries and the ministers and senators responsible for energy across the company’s grid area. Guests included Dr. Reiner Haseloff (the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt), Bodo Ramelow (the Minister President of Thuringia) and Michael Kretschmer (the Minister President of Saxony), as well as the Federal Government’s Commissioner for Eastern Germany Marco Wanderwitz. Additional guests included the heads of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) and Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI). The series of roundtables therefore included guests from energy-intensive industries from the chemical, steel, copper, glass, paper and cement sectors in the 50Hertz control area, but also new companies that are interested in sustainable investment, such as companies from the automotive industry, battery suppliers or the owners of large data centres. Renewable producers, scientific institutes, think tanks and other associations also took part in the discussions. In a joint summary, 50Hertz and IG BCE recorded the goals and demands that were raised during the roundtable discussions. 50Hertz CEO Stefan Kapferer summarised what politics and business will tackle together in future, and agreed on the following points: electricity must become cheaper; the expansion of renewables and the needed grid infrastructure must be accelerated; and climate protection should be prioritised in the granting of permits.