Power grid, tariffs, Siemens, SAP, DeepSeek, Schuhbeck, Bitcoin, Nemetschek - that was Monday, July 14, 2025

Wind and solar power plants now produce so much electricity that they have to be temporarily throttled back to avoid overloading the grids. How about simply storing this surplus from renewables in huge storage facilities? What sounds as logical as it is simple has sparked a storage boom in many countries. In Germany, however, expansion is proceeding with the handbrake on; there are still comparatively few large-scale storage facilities.

Although grid operators are receiving massive requests for battery storage connections, they are encountering a "legal framework stuck in the fossil fuel era," as one energy manager complains. My colleague Kirsten Bialdiga describes the arduous path investors face: from site selection to pitfalls in planning law and high costs, all the way to obtaining building permits. She explains why the new German government's power plant plans are torpedoing the business model for battery projects. Kirsten has researched the inestimable value of battery storage for the electricity industry as early as 1894. How Germany is slowing the battery boom.

• The EU states are responding to Donald Trump's (79) threat of 30 percent tariffs. They are presenting a list of possible counter-tariffs on imports from the USA .

• The European AI Act is one of the reasons "why we can't go full throttle here," complains Siemens CEO Roland Busch (60). In a double interview with the "FAZ" newspaper, SAP CEO Christian Klein (45) shares this view. Both executives are pushing for a fundamental revision of European AI laws .

• Federal Data Protection Commissioner Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider (40) is critical of the Chinese AI application DeepSeek in light of the European General Data Protection Regulation. Therefore, she wants to withdraw the app from circulation .

• Alfons Schuhbeck (76) has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison for delaying insolvency and fraud. The TV chef, who is now seriously ill, has made a confession.

• The week began with a record high for Bitcoin . The oldest and best-known cryptocurrency surpassed the $120,000 mark for the first time this morning.

• Bitcoin 's soaring popularity prompts our columnist Cyrus de la Rubia to look beyond the hype. US President Donald Trump is fueling the crypto boom out of self-interest, and more and more large-scale Bitcoin buyers are jumping on board. However, Bitcoin doesn't pay dividends, and the cryptocurrency has yet to establish itself as a means of payment. Is it all just hot air? That would be too simplistic, says our guest commentator .

• Are you sure your boss is on the wrong track, but you're afraid to say it? It doesn't have to stay that way. We've compiled a summary of how you can empower yourself and easily avoid pitfalls: How to (Tactfully) Contradict Your Boss.

• Architects, engineers, and once construction has started, the various trades – when a building is being constructed, it's teamwork. However, those involved often don't work together optimally; many companies rely on pen, paper, or Excel spreadsheets. The software solutions developed by the Munich-based Nemetschek Group address the complex interplay in construction. The magnitude of the efficiency gains when software tools ensure coordination is demonstrated by a billion-euro project in Australia for which the Munich-based company launched its software: a new urban district called Queen's Wharf in Brisbane, covering more than twelve hectares, with 50 bars, cafés, and restaurants, as well as 2,000 apartments and more than 1,000 hotel rooms. 39 trades are involved. According to analyses by Nemetschek, the use of the software alone reduced the time required to review drawings by 50 percent. Here, my colleague Hannah Steinharter introduces you to our winner of the Game Changer Award in the "Operations of the Future" category .

I wish you a pleasant evening. Yours, Claudia Witte

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