The non-cash write-down relates to its 33% share in the 726MW Wilhelmshaven power plant and will drag the firm’s reported 2025 EBIT to CHF 540–560m ($680.3–705.5m), from a previously guided CHF 650–750m ($818.9–944.8m).

Instead, it will look to reallocate capital to acquire up to 40% of a hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plant under development in Hamm.

The Hamm project is being advanced by municipal utility firm Trianel, which operates an existing 850MW gas-fired combined-cycle power plant, made up of two units.

The firm has previously announced plans for an additional 500MW hydrogen-ready gas unit at the Hamm site, which would initially run on natural gas but be capable of running on hydrogen at a later stage.

Trianel has not disclosed a final investment decision, construction timetable, or target operation date. However, it comes just days after Germany and the European Commission agreed on plans to tender for 12GW of new gas-fired power plants that would have to switch to hydrogen by 2045.

BKW said the planned investment forms part of its strategy to switch away from coal power plants.

“The accelerated phase-out of coal and the massive expansion of renewable energies make hydrogen-capable power plants indispensable for ensuring security of supply in Europe,” said BKW CEO Robert Itschner.

Berlin plans to launch tenders under its new power plant strategy this year, a framework that could shape projects such as the planned hydrogen-capable unit at Hamm.

All projects selected under the scheme will have to enter operation in 2031 before switching to run on hydrogen by 2045, although the government said it would incentivise early fuel swaps.

While the newly agreed strategy could make it easier for projects to line up offtake, progress in building production capacity has remained slow, with Germany’s early-stage project pipeline thinning, raising questions about supply for the new generation capacity.