The head of Vattenfall’s wind business area, Gunnar Groebler, will leave the Swedish utility to become chief executive at German steelmaker Salzgitter.

Vattenfall said the recruitment process for his successor starts immediately, and Groebler will remain in his current rule until May 2021 at the latest to secure a smooth transition.

"After 21 exciting and rewarding years at Vattenfall, I have decided to move on. I'm looking back to a great journey, developing the Vattenfall Wind and Solar business to one of the leaders in this industry and strongly underlining Vattenfall's leading role in the energy transition," Groebler said.

Vattenfall under Groebler had greatly expanded its wind business and became one of Europe’s leading developers of offshore wind.

Groebler until last month had also been the chairman of industry group WindEurope.

"Gunnar has had a long career in Vattenfall and has played a key role in driving our development and growth within wind and solar," Vattenfall CEO Magnus Hall said.

"His strong commitment to Vattenfall’s strategy and to lead his team to new wins and successes has contributed strongly to what we are as a company today."

Groebler was the head of Vattenfall’s renewables unit, and became the head of the newly formed wind business area in 2015, a key year in the utility’s transformation towards a green power company when its offshore wind activities intensified. Little later, in 2016, the company decided to sell its vast German lignite operations.

Salzgitter is currently examining whether it can use biomethane, or green hydrogen (produced from renewable energy via electrolysis) and so-called ‘turquoise hydrogen’ (made via pyrolysis using high-temperature heating in the absence of oxygen) in steel production.

Groebler "holds a great deal of expertise and experience in important aspects of the key future topics decisive for Salzgitte" the steelmaker’s chairman Heinz-Gerhard Wente said.

Wind

Vattenfall wind chief Groebler leaving to be steelmaker's CEO