Solarplaza Summit | Energy Storage Germany

Niklaas Heckmann is the Senior Sales Manager DACH for Central Europe at Fluence. He is responsible for sales efforts and business growth in Central Europe. Niklaas has been working in the energy sector his whole career, spending more than six years in the field of battery-based energy storage. Starting his career as a Sales Engineer, Niklaas stepped up to the senior managerial role when he joined Fluence in 2020. Niklaas holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Engineering and Renewable Energy from Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany. This, in combination with his in-depth experience as a mechatronics engineer, provides him with the basis to link the theoretical with the practical aspects.

Christian Barba is the Director of Energy Storage Unit for Europe and LatAm in EDP Renewables and International Business Development for solar projects in Europe. He is also member of the Executive Board of the European Association for Storage of Energy and collaborates in the Solar Power Europe as Vice-Chair of the Grids and Flexibility Work Group. Since 2022, Christian is also a visiting professor in the Sustainable Technology course in Data Science postgraduate programs in IE University. Before joining EDP Renewables in March 2020, Christian was the Business Development Director for Europe and Africa in Grupo Cobra, where he joined in 2016. With 18 years of experience, Christian has worked extensively in Energy and Environment fields since the beginning of his career. MsC Infrastructures Engineer, Christian holds an International Executive MBA from IE Business School and a Master in Artificial Intelligence in the same institution. Since 2022, Christian is also a visiting professor in the Sustainable Technology course in Data Science postgraduate programs in IE University. Before joining EDP Renewables in March 2020, Christian was the Business Development Director for Europe and Africa in Grupo Cobra, where he joined in 2016. With 18 years of experience, Christian has worked extensively in Energy and Environment fields since the beginning of his career. MsC Infrastructures Engineer, Christian holds an International Executive MBA from IE Business School and a Master in Artificial Intelligence in the same institution.

Jan-Phillip is part of Encavis AG’s investment team and based in Hamburg, Germany. Since joining the German IPP in 2020 he has lead PV transactions in Germany, The Netherlands and Spain where he was responsible for contract negotiations (SPA, EPC, Project Financing, etc.), due diligence process and financial valuation. Jan-Phillip is particularly interested in creating client-driven, subsidy-free business cases for renewables.

Mr. Jan Figgener holds a M.Sc. in electrical engineering and economics, received from RWTH Aachen University after studying in Aachen and Istanbul. Since 2021, Jan has been Head of Grid Integration and Storage System Analysis leading a research group of around 15 employees and a focus on stationary storage systems, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, sector coupling, and battery aging. Besides his work at RWTH Aachen University, he is a Senior Battery Expert at ACCURE Battery Intelligence working on battery state estimates based on field data. Within his work, Jan works closely together with national and international companies, ministries, and agencies on the topic of battery storage.

Dr.-Ing. Matthias Vetter is an accomplished Electrical Engineer with 25 years of experience at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. His expertise lies in modeling and developing control strategies for fuel cell systems. Over the years, he has held various leadership positions, including heading the "Off-Grid Power Supply" group and the "PV Off-Grid Solutions and Battery System Technology" department. Since 2017, he has been the Head of the "Electrical Energy Storage" department and coordinates the Business Unit "Electrical Energy Storage." Dr.-Ing. Matthias Vetter is actively involved in multiple esteemed organizations related to energy storage, serving as the Spokesman of the R&D Advisory Board of the German Energy Storage Systems Association (BVES) and participating in the Batteries European Partnership Association / Batteries Europe. He is also part of the Conference Committee for ees Europe and a Jury Member for the ees Award. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Vetter has been an influential educator, lecturing on "Energy Storage" and "Electromobility" at the University of Freiburg. In 2020, he received the Global Excellence Award from the Energy and Environment Foundation for his outstanding contributions to the field. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Vetter continues to be a driving force in advancing electrical energy systems and sustainable technology.

Susan is a senior research analyst with the Commodity Insights team at S&P Global providing research coverage on energy storage markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa with a particular interest in emerging technologies and cross-sector integration. Prior to joining S&P Global, she worked as an analyst supporting the policy team at the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) based in Brussels. She holds a Doctorate degree from ETH Zurich in the field of electrochemistry, with her thesis focused on flow battery development in collaboration with IBM Zurich.

Franz has a background in Mathematics and is Energy Data Scientist at ECO STOR based in Munich, Germany. As part of the ECO STOR Team he developed software to control large scale storage systems and commissioned numerous storage projects. Passionate about accelerating the energy transition, he specializes in assessing how storage can optimize the integration of renewable power into the grid and determining the best storage dimensioning. Through ECO STOR, Franz unveils market opportunities for investors in current and future storage solutions.

Florian Mayr, partner at Apricum, is an expert on strategy, business development and transaction advisory in the global renewable energy markets, including energy storage. Florian leads Apricum’s energy storage, green hydrogen and digital energy activities. In particular, he supports Apricum’s clients in successfully accessing new markets and seizing attractive business opportunities. He is also active in advising cleantech companies on corporate and project financing, including M&A, fund raising and due diligence. In addition, he is a regular contributor to external publications and a frequently booked speaker on the topic of energy storage. Prior to Apricum, Florian spent a decade in senior positions at McKinsey & Company and RWE, where he was mainly involved in strategy development projects both in the conventional and renewable energy sectors. Florian holds a master’s degree in engineering from the Technical University of Berlin, and an MBA from the Technical University of Berlin and the University of Mannheim.

Laurent Talbot is Head of Energy Storage Germany at Statkraft, based in Düsseldorf. He led the feasibility study for Statkraft’s first co-located PV-BESS project in Germany, which was awarded a CfD at the Bundesnetzagentur “Innovation Auction”. Laurent joined Statkraft in 2017 to set up the market access and PPA business for French PV & Wind project developers. Prior to Statkraft, he held business development, sales and origination roles in market access, PV modules manufacturing and sustainability strategy, in Germany, the UK and Spain. He is passionate about accelerating the energy transition through innovation, and is a member of the Steering Committee of the German-French Office for the Energy Transition (DFBEW/OFATE). Laurent studied international business in France and in the US, and holds an MBA from the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin.

Claudia is a Senior Associate at Aurora and heads the analysis for the German, Austrian and Swiss power market. Her expertise is the economics of renewables, battery optimization & carbon markets. She has an extensive track record of acting as a market advisor on several strategic studies for developers, investors, utilities, grid operators and policy makers on the national and EU level. Prior to joining Aurora, Claudia worked in the renewables industry and renowned research institutes. Claudia holds an MSC degree in Economics and Management Science from HU Berlin, with a major in Quantitative Methods.

As Team Leader for Flexibility Services, Harald Ott is responsible at VERBUND Energy4Business GmbH for the marketing of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as battery storage systems or small and medium size industrial flexibilities over VERBUND’s virtual power system, the VERBUND Power Pool on all short-term energy markets. The products range from the optimization of stand-alone and collocated battery storage systems to the optimization of power flexibility from consumption-sides, switched electrical loads, and/or decentralised generation units. Before working as Product Manager, Harald was working as Controller in VERBUND’s power trading subsidiary and at VERBUND Hydro Power.

Corentin graduated in engineering at an engineering school in Paris (Ponts et Chaussées) and studied his master in sustainable energies at the Imperial College in London. Corentin has joined Clean Horizon in 2016 and is now partner, he is heading market analysis activities. As such, he acts as project manager on key market analysis projects as well as price forecasts efforts of the company. Additionally, Corentin is the commercial director of Clean Horizon.

Anoucheh Bellefleur is a key figure at ABO Energy, where she serves as Team Manager Finance and Sales for Energy Storage and Infrastructure projects. She leads a multidisciplinary team focused conducting portfolio transactions, financial structuring, and due diligence, including the modeling of revenue scenarios and negotiation of investment terms. With extensive experience in renewable project development and market strategy, she shares insights on building bankable business cases for storage and structuring hybrid and standalone project transactions. She is a regular speaker on renewable energy developments in Europe and has a strong academic background, with a master's degree from the London School of Economics and Sciences Po Paris.

Benjamin Henecka is CEO and founder of NALA Energy, the official distribution partner of NASDAQ-listed Eos Energy Enterprises for German-speaking Europe. The Eos Z3 aqueous zinc-bromide battery technology was designed to overcome the limitations of conventional lithium-ion technology. Safe, scalable, efficient, sustainable, and manufactured at scale in the U.S. It's the core of the innovative systems that today provide utility, industrial, and commercial customers with a proven, reliable energy storage alternative for 4 to 12 hour applications. Eos was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. The annual production capacity of the manufacturing plant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) is currently being expanded to 8 GWh. NALA offers the zinc-powered Eos battery storage technology as a turnkey solution including system & site engineering, installation, and long-term service for large-scale renewable assets, grid infrastructure, and industrial clients. Benjamin studied Economics and Geography at the University of Mannheim and has over 20 years of management experience in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Africa where he invested in and built several cleantech startups in the food-water-energy nexus.

André has been active in the energy sector since 2005, when he joined Delta Energy as a quantitative analyst on the trade floor. He also headed the analysis department and was instrumental in setting up optimization strategies for PZEM’s assets. After a period of a year at DNWG, the network operations company of Delta, where he optimized resource planning, he returned to the trade floor to manage the Asset Optimization team and later became manager of Trading and Asset Optimization. André has represented PZEM in various roles for PZEM's assets, including a nuclear power plant, CCGT, CHP, biomass power plant and an offshore wind farm. In his different roles, André built up a wealth of knowledge on trading, portfolio management, and energy operations, as well as Remit, market rules and best practices.

Erica is an engineer with the Energy Storage team of DNV and is based in Dresden, Germany. Her focus lies on the topics of renewable energy expansion and integration, energy storage challenges, battery safety and second-life batteries. At DNV, she supports customers in making technical decisions about battery storage projects right from the tendering phase through to analyzing the technical design and safety of an existing system. She is often involved in projects related to second-life batteries in stationary applications and performing risk checks for utility and commercial scale battery projects. She holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Power Systems from the University of Applied Sciences - Darmstadt, Germany

Lucas Koltermann is a professional with a diverse educational background and extensive experience in the field of electrical engineering. He started his academic journey by pursuing a dual study program within he completed an apprenticeship as an electrician for automation technology while concurrently earning a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from RFH – University of Applied Science, Cologne. Following his undergraduate studies, Lucas continued to excel academically by pursuing a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology with a specialization in power engineering at TU Munich. Since 2020, Lucas Koltermann has been making significant contributions to the field as a Scientist (research associate) at the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University. In his current role, Lucas is part of the Department for "Battery Grid Integration and Storage System Analysis," where he has honed his expertise in large-scale battery storage systems. Furthermore, Lucas has taken on the role of project lead for the M5BAT project, showcasing his leadership and dedication to advancing the field of electrochemical energy storage. With a strong academic foundation and a track record of impactful research, Lucas Koltermann continues to play a vital role in the development and analysis of cutting-edge energy storage technologies.

Kilian Leykam is leading Aquila Capital’s battery storage investments in the EMEA region. Prior to that he was responsible for setting up the power markets and hedging activities at Aquila’s Merchant Market Desk. He has worked in the renewable energy sector since 2009. Before joining Aquila Capital in 2020, Kilian held various positions at Vattenfall Energy Trading, most recently he was heading the business development in the trading division, where he was responsible for strategy development, partnership management and corporate PPAs. Kilian holds a bachelor's degree in international affairs and a master's degree in economics from the University of St. Gallen.

Heiner Breuer is Head of Technical Innovation at Obton, leading efforts to design and implement future-proof PV and BESS plants. As electrical engineer with deep entrepreneurial roots, Heiner co-founded abakus solar AG and built it into an acknowledged EPC and O&M provider. With over two decades of experience, he has held senior roles, including CTO at ENcome Energy Performance and Technical Director at Edify Energy, specializing in utility-scale solar plus storage plants. Heiner's expertise blends hands-on engineering, asset management, and innovation strategy to maximize the performance and reliability of large-scale PV and Battery assets.

Matthias Giller is an experienced specialist in battery storage systems in the field of renewable energies as well as a comprehensive industry expert. Since 2022 he is Head of Sales at MaxSolar GmbH and therefore a member of the company´s management board. In his area of responsibility are all Sales and Marketing activities throughout the company. During his time as Sales Manager at INTILION GmbH, he was successful and significantly responsible for the expansion of the sales force. His focus was on Sales of C&I and Utility-Scale battery storage systems. Matthias Giller holds a degree in Technical Consulting and Management (M.A.) from Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences. He completed his dual studies at Hoppecke Batterien GmbH & Co. KG and worked for the company for around twelve years.

Dr. Kai-Philipp Kairies is co-founder and CEO of ACCURE Battery Intelligence, a leading provider of solutions to manage battery safety, performance, and health for electric vehicles, energy storage, and other industries. During more than 15 years working in the battery industry, Dr. Kairies co-authored some of the most-quoted analyses on the costs, benefits, and market potential of battery systems and consulted several governments on their battery adoption strategies. Before launching ACCURE in 2020, Dr. Kairies led Europe’s largest research group devoted to stationary battery systems and provided technical advice and consulting services to a variety of mobility and energy companies around the world. He has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from RWTH Aachen University.

Zaid Mansour is a member of the Energy & Infrastructure Team at Clifford Chance. He specialises in advising on infrastructure and energy projects as well as regulatory matters. A key aspect of his work is the advice with respect to M&A and project financing transactions in the energy and infrastructure sector. He has in-depth experience in drafting and negotiating project related contracts and represents clients in proceedings with public authorities and legal disputes before courts. Zaid also has a broad public law practice and advises on public law and regulatory matters with a particular focus on the energy, gambling, automotive and banking sector.

Dr. Jens Willenbockel currently holds the position of Head of Business Development at Altech Advanced Materials AG as of November 2023. He has a distinguished professional history, having served as the PDG and CEO of Stoll Group in France and Germany from 2015 to 2023, and as the Head of Business Development at Obrist Engineering in Austria from 2011 to 2014. In his earlier career, Dr. Willenbockel held key roles such as Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Sal.Oppenheim and n+1 Germany from 2005 to 2010. He also worked as a Principal at The Boston Consulting Group in Frankfurt a.M. in 2001 and commenced his career at The Boston Consulting Group in Stuttgart in 1995. His academic achievements are equally notable. He is currently a PhD holder in Business Administration, with his thesis focusing on "Decision-Making in Technology Management," which he completed at the European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, between 1992 and 1995. Before that, he pursued Graduate Studies in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration (Wirtschaftsingenieur Maschinenbau) at Technische Universität Darmstadt from 1985 to 1991. He also participated in a Graduate Exchange Program at the Engineering College, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA, in 1988-1989.

Janina Hippler-Nettlau is the Project Execution Manager at Malta Inc., where she develops international energy storage projects with Malta’s 100 MW long duration Pumped Heat Energy Storage technology. Before joining Malta, Janina Hippler-Nettlau had specialized in the concentrated solar power industry and throughout her career at Abengoa held engineering and management positions in R&D, engineering, construction supervision, and power plant operation and maintenance. Among her project experiences are the Solana Generating Station (280 MW, 6 hours of molten salt storage) in Arizona and the Mojave Solar Project (280 MW) in California. She holds a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Universität Stuttgart in Germany, where she specialized in Energy Systems and Rational Use of Energy.

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Originally from Brazil, Lorena Nieuwenhoven completed a double major degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2019. She then deep-dived into the area of renewables and sustainability, helping expand the penetration of solar energy in the Iberian markets through her work as a Project Manager for Solarplaza. Apart from her work in the Spanish and Portuguese markets, Lorena has also spearheaded topical conferences related to Green Hydrogen and Hybrid Renewables.