illwerke vkw AG

illwerke vkw AG is an Austrian energy supply and services company headquartered in Bregenz, Vorarlberg. It was created in 2019 through the merger of two regional utilities, Vorarlberger Kraftwerke AG (VKW, founded 1901) and Vorarlberger Illwerke AG (founded 1924), both of which had been majority-owned by the State of Vorarlberg. The merged company is 95.5% directly owned by the State of Vorarlberg and 4.5% indirectly through WEG Wertpapiererwerbsgesellschaft, a state subsidiary. It is therefore a state-owned enterprise, not a listed company. The company operates large hydropower plants across Vorarlberg, with its most powerful pumped-storage facilities located in the Silvretta area and the Montafon and Bregenzerwald valleys. Its business fields include energy generation, energy products, energy networks, tourism, and telecommunications. It supplies electricity to Vorarlberg and the Westallgäu region in Germany, and its subsidiary Vorarlberger Energienetze GmbH operates and maintains the electricity and gas grids in Vorarlberg. The company also invests in fiber-optic expansion in Vorarlberg and operates tourism infrastructure around its reservoirs, such as Golm, Silvretta and Lünersee. In recent years illwerke vkw has expanded into wind and battery storage, acquired the Völkersen wind farm in Lower Saxony, Germany, and announced plans for the Lünerseewerk II pumped-storage plant, which is intended to become Austria's largest pumped-storage facility. In March 2024 the company announced plans to invest around nine billion euros by 2040 in security of supply, renewable energy expansion, and the fiber-optic network in Vorarlberg. The company is led by a three-member executive board and supervised by a 17-member supervisory board.

The history of illwerke vkw AG is rooted in two separate regional energy companies: Vorarlberger Kraftwerke AG (VKW) and Vorarlberger Illwerke AG. VKW traces its origins to 1901, when the Elektrizitätswerke Jenny & Schindler began supplying electricity to the municipalities of Rieden-Vorkloster and Kennelbach. Earlier, in 1890, the Rieden power plant had gone into operation to supply the Jenny & Schindler textile works in Kennelbach, and in 1899 the Ebensand run-of-river plant began operating on the Dornbirnerach. In 1908 the Andelsbuch power plant was commissioned, at the time the most powerful hydropower plant in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Vorarlberger Illwerke AG was founded in 1924. Until November 1995, the Illwerke were jointly majority-owned by the Republic of Austria (70.1618%) and the State of Vorarlberg (25.3382%). In 1995 the State of Vorarlberg bought the federal government's share package, becoming the sole major shareholder. On 8 November 2000, the Illwerke acquired the State of Vorarlberg's stake in VKW, becoming VKW's new main shareholder. From 2001, the two stock corporations were placed under common personnel and organizational management while remaining legally independent companies. In 2013 VKW withdrew from the stock exchange. By 2017, more than 160,000 VKW shares (1.8% of the total) were still in free float held by private individuals and municipalities. VKW offered these minority shareholders a buyback at 96.60 euros per share. After the remaining minority shareholders were compulsorily compensated under § 192 AktG, about 40 of them lodged complaints with the Financial Market Authority over what they considered an inadequate settlement. A court proceeding at the Regional Court of Feldkirch to determine the appropriate compensation ended in November 2021 with a ruling that illwerke vkw AG had to pay the former VKW minority shareholders 162.64 euros per share plus accrued default interest. On 13 June 2019, the shareholders' meetings of Vorarlberger Kraftwerke AG and Vorarlberger Illwerke AG resolved to merge the two companies into the new illwerke vkw AG. The merger became legally effective upon entry in the commercial register on 2 July 2019. In 2021, illwerke vkw participated in Doma Solartechnik GmbH in Satteins, a subsidiary of Ernst Schweizer AG; this joint venture operates as doma vkw Energietechnik GmbH (doma vkw) offering photovoltaic services. With the purchase of the Völkersen wind farm in Lower Saxony at the end of 2021 and its commissioning in early 2023, the company entered wind energy. In 2022, plans for the Lünerseewerk II pumped-storage plant in the municipality of Bürs were made public; it is to be built by 2036 at a cost of around 2.65 billion euros and become Austria's largest pumped-storage plant, with electricity to be delivered to EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg as part of cooperation on storage and balancing energy. In March 2024, illwerke vkw AG announced plans to invest around nine billion euros by 2040 in security of supply, expansion of renewable energy sources, and the fiber-optic network in Vorarlberg, involving primarily regional partners to keep the invested funds within Vorarlberg. The company is 95.5% owned by the State of Vorarlberg and 4.5% by WEG Wertpapiererwerbsgesellschaft, a subsidiary of the state. Both shareholders receive dividends; the dividend for the 2023 financial year was 75 million euros. The executive board consists of three members and the supervisory board of 17 members (as of 2025). Besides the administrative headquarters in Bregenz, illwerke vkw has another location in Vandans in the Montafon, where many of its power plants, especially the large pumped-storage plants and reservoirs, are located. The administrative building in Vandans, completed in 2014, was the largest wooden building in Austria at the time. The building known as LCT TWO extends a quarter of the way into a storage basin. Apprentices are trained in various professions in both Bregenz and Vandans. The company holds various participations in Austria and Germany. A key Austrian subsidiary is Vorarlberger Energienetze GmbH, responsible for operating and maintaining the electricity and gas grid in Vorarlberg. The central German subsidiary is illwerke vkw Deutschland GmbH, based in Lindenberg in the Allgäu.

• 2024

  Announcement of plans to invest around nine billion euros by 2040 in security of supply, renewables and fiber-optic network.

• 2023

  Völkersen wind farm commissioned.

• 2022

  Plans for Lünerseewerk II pumped-storage plant made public.

• 2021

  Participation in Doma Solartechnik GmbH (doma vkw joint venture); acquisition of Völkersen wind farm in Lower Saxony.

• 2021

  Court ruling orders illwerke vkw to pay former VKW minority shareholders 162.64 euros per share plus default interest.

• 2019

  Merger of Vorarlberger Kraftwerke AG and Vorarlberger Illwerke AG into illwerke vkw AG, effective 2 July 2019.

• 2013

  VKW withdraws from the stock exchange.

• 2001

  The two companies are placed under common management while remaining legally independent.

• 2000

  Illwerke acquires the State of Vorarlberg's stake in VKW, becoming VKW's main shareholder.

• 1995

  State of Vorarlberg buys the federal government's majority stake in Illwerke, becoming sole major shareholder.

• 1924

  Vorarlberger Illwerke AG is founded.

• 1908

  Andelsbuch power plant commissioned, the most powerful hydropower plant in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy at the time.

• 1901

  Elektrizitätswerke Jenny & Schindler begins electricity supply to Rieden-Vorkloster and Kennelbach; VKW's founding year.

• 1899

  Ebensand run-of-river power plant begins operation on the Dornbirnerach.

• 1890

  Rieden power plant goes into operation, supplying the Jenny & Schindler textile works in Kennelbach.

Regional, state-owned energy provider focused on hydropower, security of supply, renewable expansion and regional value creation.

• Electricity supply

  Reliable electricity supply to Vorarlberg and the Westallgäu region.

• Hydropower generation

  Large hydropower plants across Vorarlberg, especially pumped-storage plants in the Silvretta area, Montafon and Bregenzerwald.

• Grid operation

  Operation and maintenance of electricity and gas grids in Vorarlberg through Vorarlberger Energienetze GmbH.

• Fiber-optic internet

  Investment in fiber-optic expansion in Vorarlberg.

• Tourism

  Year-round mountain experiences around existing power plants, including Golm, Silvretta and Lünersee.

• Wind and battery storage

  Wind power and battery storage as part of the renewable energy mix.

1. 1Energie für Generationen | illwerkevkw.atillwerkevkw.at
2. 2Unternehmensgeschichte & Zukunftsprogrammillwerkevkw.at
3. 3Managementillwerkevkw.at
4. 4illwerke vkw - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5Illwerke vkw - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org