We’re working on the right technologies

You've talked to a lot of customers in your first 100 days. What do you think is important to them?

I see us as having five key tasks ahead of us: Firstly: Our customers expect us to be able to advise them objectively and competently as they move towards sustainable solutions. They want to see that we are working on the right technologies for the future.

Secondly: Long-standing customers appreciate our great service, and we're also often able to convince new customers with our good service network. But our customers also expect us to continue proactively to develop and provide good service products, including digitalization solutions with real added value.

Thirdly, and with a view to our integration and systems expertise: We are independent and understand complex systems. This is a great opportunity and makes us very attractive to our customers when it comes to the best solutions.

Point four concerns competitive prices: Good technology is one thing, but we need good solutions to lower our product costs and our total cost of ownership so that we don't open the door for competitors.

Point five is about current demand: Our customers currently have a great need for solutions to drive their products or supply energy – across all applications. Our job is to make our customers successful, and that's where our products come in. If we don't serve our customers now, someone else will.

Where will Mobile power solutions be in five years time?

In Services, we're going to be even stronger five years from now. We're already providing great service, but we'll certainly have more opportunities if we think of service more as a business. That would be a win-win for the customer and for the company.

Apart from that, we want to win flagship sustainability projects in all applications this year. Initially, the main focus is on hybridization, i.e. combining diesel engines with batteries, as in the mtu Hybrid PowerPack, which has been in service on a UK rail line since February. The first hybridization projects are also underway in the Marine sector. If we win orders here, then five years down the line we'll have the relevant field experience and will certainly have sold the initial large quantities of new-tech systems. In Mining or in Agriculture, we may then have extra solutions for full electrification.

There's a lot of discussion about methanol engines at the moment, and hydrogen is also on the table in all its possible forms. We have the know-how to define the most intelligent combinations of applications and new technologies. My goal is that we integrate the most suitable solution into the different applications.

One thing I would like to emphasize: Our outstanding expertise in combustion engine construction has made us successful. We will need this for many years to come in some applications and in intelligent combination with new solutions. There is also still a great deal of potential in combustion engines, especially in their use with sustainable fuels, and in some applications, they simply cannot be replaced.

How great is the desire among customers to focus on sustainability, i.e. on combustion engines with e-fuels, hybrid solutions, or even entirely new products?

Customers are at very different stages with their strategies and product developments. Some partners have already embedded sustainability at the heart of what they do, while others have shown only limited interest to date – mainly because their local markets don't demand it. But here too, we have the opportunity to develop these markets in conjunction with our partners and lead the way. Ultimately, there's no escaping the issue for anyone, so it's just a matter of time. We have some customers who are pioneers and are already using new technologies in specific projects. The move toward e-fuels is still relatively easy here. It gets exciting when we start talking about hybrid solutions, hydrogen burners, etc.

Most customers are currently trying to figure out what the right technologies are going to be for them in the future, which means they're still buying current technology while working that out.

And that's exactly where we come in right now. Rolls-Royce Power Systems started examining a lot of new solutions many years ago. We've now accumulated a vast amount of expertise and know the possibilities and limits, opportunities and risks of the new technologies. We're able to deliver the very consulting expertise our customers need right now, and we can also benefit from these in-depth discussions as we get an even better understanding of their requirements.

And by the way, my 14-year-old daughter regularly challenges me about cutting waste, avoiding garbage and reducing carbon emissions. She demands that we adults have an obligation to do our best here – just as she and her friends adopt sustainable behaviours in their everyday lives consistently and naturally.

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