The European energy sector is currently in the most capital-intensive phase of its history. Grids must be strengthened, generation capacity must be upgraded, and storage facilities and charging infrastructure must be built from the ground up. At the same time, demand for electricity is rising due to electric vehicles, heat pumps, and data centers. For companies, this means that growth is less a question of market opportunities than of the ability to execute. And in practice, the ability to execute boils down to one thing above all else: personnel. Anyone who wants to understand the industry should therefore look not only at revenue rankings but also at investment volumes, business models, and labor market bottlenecks.
The German market is dominated by four major players that follow very different business models.
E.ON is Europe’s largest energy grid operator and has consistently focused on distribution networks and customer solutions. In fiscal year 2025, the Essen-based group generated adjusted EBITDA of 9.8 billion euros and adjusted net income of 3.0 billion euros. This placed it at the upper end of its own forecast for both metrics. Capital expenditures rose to approximately 8.5 billion euros.
RWE focuses on power generation: wind, solar, battery storage, and flexible gas-fired power plants. In 2025, adjusted EBITDA was 5.1 billion euros and adjusted net income was 1.8 billion euros. By 2031, the company plans to make net investments of 35 billion euros and aims to expand its generation portfolio to around 65 gigawatts. Among other things, capacity in the U.S. is set to increase from 13 to 22 gigawatts.
EnBW is Germany’s only fully integrated energy company that focuses on power generation, grid operations, and retail business. In 2025, adjusted EBITDA reached 5.1 billion euros, while record investments of 7.6 billion euros were made. The share of renewable energy in the company’s own generation capacity rose to 66 percent. Investments of approximately 50 billion euros are planned through 2030.
Uniper, which is more than 99 percent owned by the federal government, is a prime example of the return to normalcy following the crisis years: In 2025, adjusted EBITDA fell to 1.1 billion euros, and adjusted net income fell to 544 million euros.
A methodological note: In this industry, revenue-only rankings can be misleading. Trading-intensive companies such as Uniper occasionally report figures in the tens of billions. However, these primarily reflect trading volumes and say little about profitability or staffing requirements. EBITDA, the investment budget, and the regulated asset base are more meaningful indicators.
Furthermore, the municipal level should not be underestimated. Municipal utilities such as those in Munich or Cologne generate revenue of around ten billion euros, and holding structures such as the Thüga Group consolidate stakes in approximately 100 municipal companies. Collectively, these utilities rank among the industry’s largest employers.
Depending on the metric used, the rankings at the European level shift. In terms of revenue, the integrated oil and gas companies Shell, TotalEnergies, BP, and Eni dominate. In the electricity sector, however, Spain’s Iberdrola leads in terms of market capitalization and earnings quality. The company increased its reported net income by 12 percent to 6.29 billion euros in 2025, invested 14.46 billion euros, and expanded its regulated asset base to 51 billion euros. By 2028, an additional 58 billion euros is expected to be invested in transmission and distribution networks, primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Italy’s Enel is pursuing a similar strategy, focusing on grid modernization and contractually secured renewable energy. Other market participants include EDF and Engie from France, Vattenfall from Sweden, and Ørsted from Denmark. They round out the field with very diverse profiles, ranging from nuclear power to district heating to offshore wind.
Noteworthy is the expansion of the oil majors into the electricity market: TotalEnergies, for example, increased its net electricity generation by 17 percent in 2025 to 48.1 terawatt-hours, with an adjusted net income of $15.6 billion. Competition for talent is thus increasingly taking place across industries.
The same pattern is evident across all countries. Today, earnings quality stems from regulated or long-term contracted revenues, such as those in the grid business, capacity mechanisms, or electricity supply contracts with terms of ten years or more. For example, E.ON’s earnings growth stems primarily from the grid segment; for Iberdrola, from regulated grids in the United Kingdom and the United States; and for EnBW, from higher grid usage revenues resulting from significant investments.
This has concrete implications for personnel strategy. The primary demand is no longer for traditional power plant profiles, but rather for expertise in grid planning, asset management, regulatory management, project development, permitting, energy trading, and IT and OT security. The industry is thus evolving into an environment where engineering, law, finance, and digitalization are equally in demand.
The investment programs have been approved and funded. The bottleneck lies elsewhere. According to the International Energy Agency’s “World Energy Employment Report,” approximately 76 million people worldwide were employed in the energy sector in 2024, a good five million more than in 2019. Nevertheless, more than half of the 700 energy companies surveyed report critical bottlenecks in recruiting staff.
In Germany, figures from the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Workers (KOFA) at the German Economic Institute illustrate just how dire the situation is: On an annual average in 2024, more than 18,000 open positions in building electrical systems remained unfilled, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all job openings advertised in this field. The BDEW reports that just under half of the companies in the energy and water sectors are having difficulty filling positions, and around 85 percent expect delays in the energy transition if the skilled labor shortage persists. According to a Deloitte analysis, a vacancy in the energy sector remains unfilled for an average of about 195 days.
Practical approaches that have proven effective:
The outlook for skilled professionals and managers is favorable. Demand is driven by structural factors rather than economic cycles, as investment programs are designed to span periods of five to ten years. In addition, the acute labor shortages primarily affect the areas of construction, operations, and service, which are activities that can hardly be automated in the short term.
However, a nuanced perspective is realistic. Those coming from the conventional power generation sector should assess to what extent their own profile is applicable to grid, storage, or trading issues. Currently, skills such as an understanding of regulatory frameworks, project management under approval pressures, and experience with partnership models are particularly in demand. Opportunities are also emerging internationally, as German and European corporations are making a growing portion of their investments outside their home markets.
Germany’s and Europe’s largest energy companies have long since ceased to be mere producers; they are now capital-intensive infrastructure companies with regulated revenue models. Revenue rankings say little about this, but investment budgets speak volumes: RWE, EnBW, and Iberdrola alone have announced investment programs in the hundreds of billions.
In the coming years, it will not be capital but personnel that becomes the limiting factor. Companies that closely align their workforce planning with their project pipeline, professionally support career changers, and streamline selection processes will be more likely to achieve their expansion goals than competitors with the same budget. For candidates, the industry remains one of the most stable employment sectors in the technology-driven environment, provided they actively align their own profiles with the new priorities of grid infrastructure, flexibility, and digitalization.
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How many people work in the German energy sector?
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Which qualifications are currently in high demand?
Is it worth switching careers to the energy industry?
How long does it take to fill a position in this industry?
Does artificial intelligence affect staffing needs?
What role do international markets play?
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