November 24 (Renewables Now) - German energy company E.ON SE (ETR:EOAN) is planning to spend EUR 22 billion (USD 24.77bn) through 2026 on the expansion of its electricity grid and invest about EUR 2 billion to advance digitalisation in an investment offensive meant to support the energy transition.

Investments in energy networks will be raised by EUR 1 billion annually in the next five years to prepare for the expansion of green electricity as the company's networks are expected to integrate 35 GW to 40 GW of additional renewables capacity in this period, E.ON said on Tuesday.

Another key issue in the company's five-year strategy is digitalisation and about EUR 2 billion will be injected in digitalising network planning, monitoring, and control in an effort to reach full digital control of its network infrastructure at all voltage levels.

Green hydrogen is also part of E.ON's growth plan and the company will take advantage of its existing gas distribution network to expand its business in the area and provide industrial small and mid-size enterprises with access to the green fuel.

In addition, some 5,000 charging points will be built by 2026 to expand E.ON's EV charging infrastructure while between EUR 500 million and EUR 600 million per year will be invested in climate-friendly distributed energy infrastructure solutions.

To finance the investment push, E.ON plans to raise between EUR 2 billion and EUR 4 billion in proceeds from the sale of businesses that do not meet the company's growth, sustainability and digitalisation criteria.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.126)

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