Solarplaza Summit | Asset Management Europe

Thomas Luypaert is a Principal at Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), based in London. He has 15 years of investing experience in the energy and renewables sectors across Europe and the Middle East. Prior to GIP, Thomas spent five years at Goldman Sachs in the Commodities division. Thomas holds Masters of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and from École Centrale Paris.

Gerard Reid is a Co-founder and Partner at Alexa Capital, an independent financial services business committed to mobilizing capital towards achieving net-zero. He is also a Fellow at the Institute of the Environment at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Global Future Council on Advanced Energy Technologies at the World Economic Forum. Gerard has developed a strong reputation as a leading global expert in the energy and mobility space. A trusted authority on the energy transition, he is a published author and avid blogger, with a following of more than 200k across several platforms. He is also the co-host of “REDEFINING ENERGY” podcast, the leading energy podcast in Europe. He is focused on empowering and accelerating change by advising organizations, industry leaders and global decision-makers (business, finance and government) on the transition towards net-zero carbon emissions. His breadth of experience stems from 20 years working in the finance industry (equity research, fund management and corporate finance) with a focus on both the energy transition and the digital energy revolution the sector is going through. Prior to founding Alexa Capital, he was Managing Director and Head of European Cleantech Research at Jefferies & Co. Gerard was also a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, TU Berlin and Imperial College in London.

Josefin analyzes global trends and corporate strategies across the downstream photovoltaic (PV) market. She focuses on PV demand forecasts, evaluating developer and EPC strategies alongside the structural integration of solar into the broader power generation mix. By tracking critical indicators, such as mergers and acquisitions, project costs, and emerging market adoption, she delivers actionable market intelligence to the renewable energy sector. With over a decade of experience tracking clean energy technologies, Josefin equips stakeholders with the rigorous data and strategic foresight required to navigate supply chain complexities and capitalize on the expanding solar economy.

Renewable energy professional leading in-house asset management teams and managing multi-GW portfolios across multiple countries. Within the group, Foresight Real Assets represents the core investment platform, combining financial expertise with deep sector knowledge to identify, develop, and manage investments across key areas such as renewable energy, energy transition infrastructure, and other essential real assets.

Benedikt is a seasoned executive with over two decades of leadership in the renewable energy sector, focusing deeply on developing and financing utility-scale solar PV and storage projects. He brings a wealth of strategic expertise in driving international market expansion, navigating complex project structuring, and realizing the commercial potential of new energy ventures. Prior to his current venture, he served as the Global Director for Origination & Business Development at BayWa r.e., where he scaled a multi-gigawatt global portfolio of clean energy assets. Widely recognized as a pivotal voice in the industry, Benedikt continues to shape the future of solar development.

Ugur is a Director within CIP's rapidly growing credit platform, where he focuses on structuring and executing higher-yielding debt transactions and providing capital to growing renewable energy companies. CIP’s CI Green Credit Fund II (GCF II) has reached first close, raising EUR 1.3 billion in committed capital and is targeting an overall fundraise of EUR 2 billion. This includes commitments to its closed-ended fund, related evergreen vehicle and discretionary co-investments. The predecessor fund, GCF I, was fully deployed with 12 global investments diversified across technologies and debt structures. The fund’s investment strategy is focused on providing credit solutions to renewable energy projects, energy-transition companies, and adjacent opportunities in OECD jurisdictions, particularly in Europe, North America and selective jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region.

Domenico has more than 18 years of experience in infrastructure investments, overseeing the investment process from origination and execution to value creation and exit. Domenico joined AIP in 2017 and has been instrumental in developing AIP’s investment strategy. He has played a key role in sourcing and executing various projects within AIP and has been significantly involved in several offshore investments. Before joining AIP, Domenico worked at Vestas, DONG Energy (now Ørsted), and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

Margarida leads Global Asset Management at EDP with a focus on distributed generation (DG) solar portfolio, currently overseeing more than 400MW under management. She is responsible for driving operational performance, including monitoring, alarm management, and optimization of asset availability, with a strong emphasis on minimizing downtime and maximizing portfolio value. She brings over 12 years of experience in corporate finance and M&A, complemented by a solid track record in product development, where she led the design of new offerings and operational processes. Combining financial expertise with deep operational insight, Margarida plays a key role in ensuring the performance, resilience, and long-term value creation of renewable energy assets, supporting the scale-up of distributed solar across multiple markets.

Dr. Thomas Hillig is the founder and managing director of THEnergy, a boutique consultancy he established in 2013 to drive innovation across the energy sector—from microgrids and energy storage to hydrogen, energy management, and e-mobility. He advises industrial companies, investors, and energy players on identifying and capturing cleantech opportunities in fast-evolving markets, combining strategic insight with hands-on expertise. His work also includes targeted market research and tailored market entry support for Germany and other key European markets. In addition, Dr. Hillig dedicates around 10% of his time to collaborating as a LinkedIn influencer with leading global energy brands.

Carmen Izquierdo Serrano is the CEO and co-founder of nTeaser, Europe's largest digital marketplace for renewable energy and digital infrastructure transactions. With a background in industrial engineering and corporate finance, she co-founded nTeaser to digitize and scale deal flow across European renewables. In just three years, nTeaser has become the benchmark platform for renewable energy transactions: 20GW under commercialization, 3,000+ registered investor companies, and a growing presence across Spain, Italy, Poland, Germany, the UK, and Romania — covering equity transactions, debt financing, and TopCo-level investments across the full asset lifecycle.

Claus leads the development, construction, and operation of utility-scale solar and battery projects. He brings a highly entrepreneurial background to the corporate energy sector, having founded two independent companies, built a digital platform business, and worked in M&A consulting before shifting his focus to large-scale renewables. Within Vattenfall, Claus focuses on scaling hybrid energy solutions and deploying the critical storage infrastructure required to balance a modern grid and integrate renewables.

Felix Hübner is an independent industry expert who advises clients on asset management and business development. Recent assignments included among others the reconstruction of PV plants that were hit by forest fires or turn-around strategies for distressed assets. Previously he had worked in operations & maintenance at Juwi and as an advisor at GIZ in India. He studied social sciences at the University of Mannheim and Sciences Po Paris and holds an MBA from Grenoble Ecole de Management.

Cosima's work focuses on supporting investors and developers in making investment decisions and optimising business cases across European grid-scale storage markets. Modo Energy provides revenue forecasts, benchmarks and research to help deploy capital into battery assets. Their advisory work focuses on commercial due diligence, market assessments and performance benchmarking.

Paweł has over 20 years of experience in renewable energy M&A, financing, and investments. As a Director within JLL’s Energy & Infrastructure Advisory team, he has successfully advised on 17 M&A renewable energy transactions across Poland and the CEE region, covering solar PV, onshore wind and BESS projects. Prior to joining JLL, Paweł held senior roles within banking, private equity and M&A advisory. Combining deep sector expertise with strong transaction execution capabilities, he supports developers and investors in securing capital and delivering complex energy projects.

Kibby is the CEO of Enurgen. He leverages his background in power system and inverter dynamics alongside product focused engineering to deliver AI-augmented physics-based models, solving critical challenges in power plant design, commissioning, and long-term operations. He is passionate about revolutionizing the energy industry through innovative software solutions to accelerate humanity’s transition to a renewable & sustainable energy generation future.

Starting his career at the National Dispatch for the Portuguese Electric System in 1990, Berto has spent over three decades navigating the complexities of the Iberian electricity market. He played a foundational role during the region's energy liberalization, helping to build the initial trading and energy management frameworks from the ground up. Today, he leads a team responsible for the real-time optimization of a massive renewable generation portfolio across Europe. His daily focus revolves around short-term planning, outage coordination, and crafting precise bidding strategies for both energy and ancillary services. With a deep understanding of grid operations and market dynamics, Berto ensures that large-scale clean energy assets operate efficiently and profitably alongside national transmission operators.

Jan specializes in portfolio management and asset optimization of large-scale Solar energy investments. He leverages deep expertise in the European energy market to maximize the financial performance and technical efficiency of utility-scale solar projects. By overseeing complex spare parts, O&M as well revamping and repowering strategies, and aligning strategic capital deployment with on-the-ground operations, he ensures resilient long-term returns. His work centers on mitigating market risks and scaling clean energy infrastructure to accelerate the transition to a decarbonized grid.

Niek specializes in the engineering and innovation of high-accuracy solar radiation and heat flux sensor technologies. As a Physics Engineer at Hukx Sensor Technology, he focuses on developing advanced measurement instruments, including Class A pyranometers, which are critical for utility-scale PV system performance monitoring. By prioritizing precision in sensor design, he enables stakeholders to conduct accurate solar energy resource assessments and rigorous meteorological evaluations. His technical expertise directly supports the global energy transition by equipping developers and operators with the reliable performance data needed to optimize the efficiency and operational success of solar energy assets.

Driving the origination and structuring of renewable energy and infrastructure transactions at Berenberg, Leoni focuses on debt solutions for onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Germany and across Europe. Her expertise lies in complex and tailored transaction structures, with particular attention to risk allocation, revenue stack and project bankability. Having previously worked on the equity side of renewable energy investments, she brings both the investor’s and the lender’s perspective to the table. Working closely with developers and investors throughout the transaction process, she helps turn ambitious projects into financeable investments. By connecting private capital with clean energy developments, she contributes to accelerating the European energy transition.

Pierre Lebon has more than 20 years of experience implementing and delivering valuation, risk management and quantitative analysis solutions for the commodity market players. He has managed implementation of portfolios ranging from pure financial trading firms to physical heavy power or fuel producers. He currently leads (is the head of) analytics for cQuant's European operations. He holds a financial engineering degree from ESILV's Paris school and was an exchange student at the Quantitative Master of Finance at UTS, Sydney.

Sophie Horak specialises in digital solutions for asset and performance management in the renewable energy sector, with more than 8 years of experience working across international solar and storage markets. She advises IPPs, asset managers, and O&M providers on the use of cloud‑based software to support both technical operations and commercial asset management throughout the operational phase of photovoltaic and battery energy storage projects. Her work focuses on the interaction between technical performance, availability, and financial outcomes, including KPI‑driven asset management, revenue transparency, and the use of operational data to support commercial decision‑making. Sophie actively contributes to discussions on how digitalisation can support investment performance, risk management, and long‑term value creation in renewable energy portfolios, and is deeply committed to advancing professional asset management practices across the energy transition.

Jan Fousek is CEO of the Association for Energy Storage AKU-BAT CZ, which supports the development of energy storage, production of hydrogen, flexibility aggregation, building of infrastructure for e-mobility and overall modernization of the Czech energy and industry sector. Jan Fousek acts also as the Chairman of the Board in Solar Association and as the Member of the Board in Modern Energy Union (Svaz moderni energetiky). He has been active in the energy markets since 2007. In the years 2011-2016, he was co-owner and managing director of one of the largest European trading houses with emission allowances and electricity, Virtuse Energy.

Jan Krcmar is the Executive director of the Czech Solar Association and a renewable energy consultant. Before taking over the management of the solar association in 2022 he was the chairman of the board for three years, overseeing topics such as new large-scale PV projects, subsidies and investment protection. Before that he was the communications director for Photon Energy NV, an international PV IPP.

Gavin Cornall is the Global Segment Manager for Nuclear, Hydrogen and Energy Storage at Roxtec, where he now leads the global strategy across these market segments. He began his engineering career in aerospace manufacturing, gaining experience in system implementation, modular engineering and process standardisation before moving into technical development with a leading closed-cell insulation manufacturer. During his 19 years at Roxtec, he has supported major projects across some of the world's most safety-critical industries. Gavin specialises in applying smart engineering for modular cable and pipe sealing solutions to improve safety, simplify installation and enhance long-term asset performance. His focus is on standardising engineering while maintaining the flexibility needed throughout an asset's operating life, helping customers reduce lifecycle costs and meet the evolving challenges of the nuclear, hydrogen and energy storage sectors.

Shovon Goutam is a battery energy storage expert whose work bridges deep-tech battery research and commercial BESS deployment. He is currently a senior scientist at 3E, where he leads the development of advanced BESS analytics and asset management solutions. He holds a PhD in Engineering focused on battery modeling and characterization, and brings over a decade of experience spanning battery R&D, technology and market strategy, and BESS product development. Previously, he held senior roles at Umicore, a Belgian leading battery materials producer.

Jan Willem has over 20 years of experience in the energy market and worked for some of the larger utilities. Early 2020, Jan Willem sold his previous companies Greenspread and Greencrowd to private equity concern NPM Capital. Since his departure in October 2020, Jan Willem works as an independent consultant at Stratergy. Stratergy advises funds, banks, utilities, and large consumers and producers of energy and specializes in maximizing asset value and minimizing financial risk.

Mikkel joined Our New Energy as a Partner in 2019, and heads up the Nordic and UK markets. He came from a position as Head of Origination at Danske Commodities, where he was responsible for their +6GW renewables PPA portfolio. Our New Energy is the leading European PPA advisor having closed +2.5 GW of long term PPAs for unsubsidised assets across Europe. Mikkel Kring is a strong believer of hybrid projects (wind+solar), and predicts a rapid expansion of solar in particularly in Sweden and Denmark.

Having experienced firsthand the structural bottlenecks and disconnected software that slow down asset management, John-Henry set out to build a more resilient operational infrastructure for the industry. He leads the development of an AI-native platform designed to unify and automate complex workflows for renewable energy operators. By replacing fragmented spreadsheets and siloed systems with intelligent automation, John-Henry focuses on giving asset managers the reliable tools they need to scale their portfolios efficiently and keep clean energy sites performing at their peak.

Focusing on the commercial and operational health of utility-scale solar projects, Vicki manages a diverse portfolio of renewable energy assets across the UK. Her daily responsibilities revolve around maximizing project revenues & minimizing downtime while navigating complex grid constraints and mitigating the financial impacts of network curtailment. To keep large-scale solar assets performing at their peak, she collaborates closely with their key stakeholders to unlock data-driven efficiencies.

Matt built his expertise through his work in demanding operational environments and critical utility infrastructure which required agility and resilience in equal measure, allowing him to develop a deep understanding of operational performance that transferred directly into the renewable energy sector. Today, he leads teams responsible for maximizing the daily performance, maintenance, and long-term reliability of major solar assets across Europe and international markets.

An electrical engineer by training, Paolo has been a fixture in the European photovoltaics sector since the early 1990s. In 2001, he founded Enerpoint, scaling the business into a prominent player across project development, distribution, and EPC services. In 2015, he founded ITALIA SOLARE, the Italian association dedicated to the photovoltaic sector, and has served as its President ever since. Since 2026, he has also been a member of the Board of SolarPower Europe, further strengthening his involvement in the development of the solar sector at European level. Today, alongside managing his firm’s portfolio of solar assets, he serves as a strategic consultant for major international energy companies. With over three decades of hands-on technical and commercial experience, Paolo remains deeply involved in shaping energy policy and supporting the strategic development of solar energy and renewable energy infrastructure across Italy and Europe.

Björn brings a comprehensive perspective to energy infrastructure, based on his deep experience across major European utilities and specialized renewable developers. His foundation in the energy sector is rooted in corporate strategy, finance, and M&A. Today, Björn focuses on expanding large-scale project pipelines and advancing strategic growth initiatives, applying his extensive commercial background to scale renewable energy deployment.

Based in Milan, Tatjana directs the operational strategy and portfolio optimization for a diverse fleet of European solar and storage projects. Her day-to-day focus centers on maximizing the technical and financial performance of large-scale renewable assets while navigating complex regional energy markets. Holding an MBA from Luiss Business School, she combines sharp commercial acumen with hands-on operational oversight. Tatjana works closely with regional stakeholders and technical teams to ensure that clean energy infrastructure operates efficiently, reliably, and profitably throughout its entire lifecycle.

Dr. Jan-Philipp Mai is a pioneer in the field of solar energy, emphasizing sustainable and economical solutions. His work shows a deep commitment to reducing the carbon footprint through innovative technologies. At the core of his achievements is the founding of JPM Silicon GmbH in 2010, based on a foundational patent for efficient silicon production, which is a critical component in solar cells. Additionally, Dr. Mai co-founded Solar Materials GmbH in 2021, a leading photovoltaic module recycler that addresses the solar industry's crucial need for sustainable end-of-life management of solar panels. His ventures contribute significantly to the circular economy, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in renewable energy and resource recovery.

Erman Terciyanlı is the CEO and co-founder of Inavitas, bringing over 20 years of experience in the energy sector. He was among the pioneers involved in Türkiye’s early wind power monitoring projects, helping lay the groundwork for the digitalization of renewable energy. Building on this experience, he went on to co-found Inavitas, a smart energy monitoring and management company that enables renewable energy producers and utilities to monitor, manage, and optimize their assets through advanced digital technologies. Erman focuses on renewable energy integration, grid digitalization, and energy intelligence, championing the role of data-driven technologies in building smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable power systems.

Ana oversees the development of climate-risk intelligence solutions that help infrastructure owners, lenders, and investors quantify physical threats to their portfolios. She leads EarthScan™ Energy, Mitiga Solutions’ product for renewable and storage assets, turning climate hazard data (hail, extreme heat, precipitation, wind) into asset-level insights that can be acted on across a project’s lifetime, from due diligence to operations. Her focus is linking physical climate risk to what shows up in the numbers: lost yield, downtime, and bankability, helping build long-term resilience into renewable portfolios.

Steven Xuereb is a renewable energy professional who has over twenty-five years of experience both in the renewable energy industry. Currently he is an Executive Director of Kiwa PI Berlin, leading the sales and project delivery departments, focusing on delivering independent engineering services for large scale solar and storage plants and equipment. Before joining Kiwa PI Berlin, Steven spent eight years procuring and developing solar and wind projects in North America, Chile and South Africa. His experience in the industry includes greenfield development, acquisitions, contracts management, research and development, certification and service operations. He is a mechanical engineer with a Master’s degree in renewable energy from the Universities of Oldenburg and Kassel.

Chad specializes in structuring complex project and corporate financing for utility-scale clean energy assets. With over 25 years of experience across the European banking and energy sectors, he held key leadership roles, including serving as head of corporate and project finance at DTEK Renewables International and directing project finance at Finance in Motion. Today, he advises developers and investors on critical M&A and capital raising strategies, with a recent focus on unlocking non-recourse financing for large-scale battery storage. Combining his deep knowledge of debt markets with practical transaction experience, Chad ensures renewable energy developers secure the robust funding necessary to move their portfolios from the planning phase into commercial operation.

Felix Stephan is Director of Origination at Entrix, where he develops strategic partnerships with offtakers to bring a joint offering to asset owners, combining Entrix's trading performance with the offtaker's balance sheet to deliver bankable, secured revenues. Before joining Entrix, he spent eight years in capital markets, most recently in Structured Interest Rates Sales & Trading at Barclays Investment Bank. Felix holds a Master's degree in Finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

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Victor is a Program and Event Manager at Solarplaza. With long-standing experience in public speaking and in organizing B2B events, he enjoys bringing together industry leaders to share insights and drive the energy transition. Victor is dedicated to creating dynamic platforms that foster knowledge sharing, networking, and productive discussions among peers.

Edwin founded Solarplaza company in 2004. He is a senior PV expert and started in the photovoltaic solar energy business in 1994. He has experience as a solar energy consultant and project developer in more than 200 PV projects. Edwin holds a Master’s degree in Chemical engineering and previously worked in the Chemical industry before starting his first consultancy company in PV in 1994.