Solarplaza Summit | Energy Storage The Netherlands

Tugay Akbulut is a policy officer at the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth. He focuses on the topics grid congestion, energy storage and energy innovation for our current and future energy systems. Tugay is particularly interested in the coordinated integration of chains of different energy carriers and end-use sectors into one sustainable, reliable, affordable, and safe energy system. Prior to joining the Ministry, Tugay worked for the Authority Consumers and Markets in the Energy Department with a focus on district heating and regional grid management.

With a career in solar spanning nearly two decades, Martin has accumulated broad international experience across business development and market expansion. Having held leadership roles across EPC, trading and consultancy companies in Europe and Latin America, he now leads sales and business development efforts for meteocontrol in the DACH region.

Jeroen Zanders is the Head of Macquarie Capital’s Infrastructure & Energy Capital (IEC) business for Benelux and Germany. With over 18 years of experience, he specializes in the development and financing of Energy Transition, Digital, and Social Infrastructure. Jeroen has led landmark transactions totaling billions in value, including the 1400MWh Mufasa BESS and the €1.2bn Blankenburg Tunnel. He serves on several Macquarie boards and holds an MSc in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Jakoba van der Mei works as an Investment Director at StartGreen Capital. StartGreen Capital has over €600 million in assets under management and provides both entrepreneurs and project owners financing for the energy transition and the circular economy. Her personal focus is on wind energy, solar, battery storage systems and energy infrastructure. Previously she held roles within investment banking in London and projectfinance at SMBC where she financed 1.9 GW of offshore and onshore wind. Jakoba is responsible for the acquisition, deal execution, and portfolio management of the ASN Energie & Innovation Fund.

Wilko is a lawyer and has ample experience in regulated markets and competition law. His main focus is the energy sector. He works in cases relating to the energy transition, grid congestion, and tariff regulation. Prior to joining the ACM, he worked as an attorney in Stek’s regulatory team. Wilko holds LLM’s in both European law and law & economics.

Lotti Klasen is Project Finance Manager at GIGA Storage, where she focuses on financing large-scale battery storage projects across various jurisdictions including the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. She is currently leading the financing of 1 GW of battery energy storage systems, driving tangible impact in the energy transition. Before joining GIGA, she held roles at Rabobank in both Europe and North America, structuring deals across a wide range of renewable energy and infrastructure sectors, from BESS, and geothermal energy to interconnectors and battery manufacturing. Lotti thrives where sustainability meets finance, leveraging her global perspective and deep sector knowledge to finance the technologies that will define the energy systems of the future.

Anders Hove is a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, focusing on China’s role in the global energy transition. He brings over two decades of experience across energy policy, finance, and technology, including nine years on Wall Street and twelve years in Beijing. Before joining OIES, Anders directed the Sino-German Energy Transition project at GIZ and was a non-resident fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. With expertise in storage, solar, and smart grids, he offers a rare global perspective on the evolving energy landscape.

Valérie van Hagen works as an Innovation Advisor at the Dutch grid operator Stedin, where she is focused on innovations that ensure storage will become an integral part of the electricity grid and energy system. Previously, she led Statkraft's business and project development team for BESS, hydrogen and long-duration storage (LDES) in the Netherlands where she spent over six years accelerating the renewable energy landscape. Her drive is focused around translating the future system-level energy needs and challenges into scalable innovations that meet current system challenges as well. Her cross-sector expertise and continuous focus on innovation in the energy sector make her a challenging voice in any discussion around integrating flexbility and storage innovatively into today's and tomorrow's grid.

Tom Kuiper is Business Development Manager at Rolls-Royce Solutions, responsible for utility-scale BESS across the Benelux. With a background in engineering and international business, Tom brings over a decade of experience in renewable energy, spanning solar, microgrids, and energy storage across Europe and Asia-Pacific. His career has evolved from solar and off-grid systems in Australia to leading commercial growth strategies for advanced BESS solutions in mature European energy markets. Combining technical understanding with commercial strategy, Tom works closely with utilities, developers, and investors to structure bankable, high-performance storage projects that address grid stability, flexibility, and long-term asset optimization. Outside of his professional work, Tom is an active beekeeper, reflecting his broader commitment to sustainability, environmental stewardship, and resilient ecosystems — principles that also underpin his approach to energy transition and energy storage development.

After finishing his master degree in business economics at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Harold started his career as commercial banker in 1996. Harold has worked at several Dutch banks, and has fulfilled rolls in relationship management, structuring management buy outs, risk management and general management. After a post-doc study Corporate Social Responsibility at Erasmus Universiteit, he joined the Triodos Renewables Energy team. Harold’s main focusses are solarprojects and heat- and coldstorage projects in the Dutch market. As Triodos is a frontrunner in renewable energy since their origination in the 1980s, Harold is very interested in financing new technologies. His main goal is to contribute to fighting the climate change.

Iulia Pisca is a Structurer at Eneco Energy Trade, where she focuses on flexible assets and renewable energy markets. With a background spanning energy policy research and market analysis, including roles at the Clingendael International Energy Programme and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, she brings deep insight into European energy dynamics. Iulia’s combined experience in market structuring and long-term policy trends makes her a valuable voice on how to integrate renewables and flexibility into evolving power markets.

Versatile experimental physicist with a passion for energy transition. My scientific background and heart for sustainability fuel my commitment to bridging research and society. As a flexibility and storage consultant, I apply expertise to model and analyze techno-economic questions on a system level. Dedicated to collaboration, I strive to connect minds and work together in shaping a sustainable energy system of the future.

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Elisabeth leads Ember’s research on European grid infrastructure for decarbonisation. With nearly a decade of experience in EU energy policy, she is an expert in power system planning and in aligning infrastructure development with Europe’s decarbonisation, competitiveness, and energy security goals. Her work explores how grids can enable renewable integration, electrification, and how digitalisation - particularly the rise of data centres and AI - is reshaping the energy system. Elisabeth is also a co-convenor of the Stakeholder Reference Group, advising the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSOs) on long-term network planning and scenario development.

Mark van Zon is Director of Project Finance at ABN AMRO, where he leads financing for large-scale energy and infrastructure projects. With over 15 years of experience, including nearly 11 years at KPMG Corporate Finance, Mark has advised on and structured complex deals across the energy transition landscape. His deep understanding of financial risk, bankability, and investor dynamics makes him a key contributor to conversations on scaling clean energy. At ABN AMRO, he helps turn innovative energy projects into bankable realities.

Willem Stitselaar is a former investment banker with over 25 years of experience in the infrastructure investment industry. He has an extensive background in financing large infrastructure development assets, with a strong focus on the Energy and Digital Transition sectors. Until recently, Willem served as Senior Managing Director at Macquarie Capital, where he spent 17 years building and leading strategic initiatives. During his tenure, he founded and scaled development platforms and businesses that played a key role in advancing the European energy transition and digitalisation efforts. He has a proven track record in capital raising, investing, and managing successful exits. Prior to joining Macquarie, Willem held positions at ABN AMRO Infrastructure Capital Europe and PricewaterhouseCoopers in London. He holds an MSc in Economics from the University of Amsterdam.

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.

Rens Savenije is the Commercial Director at Ventolines. With over 12 years of experience, he has led large projects and teams in the renewable energy sector. Rens will join a panel on regulatory and market challenges in Dutch energy storage, covering market trends, policy changes, cybersecurity risks, non-EU technology integration, spatial regulations, and financing models. Ventolines is an integrated service provider in the sustainable energy sector, supporting clients at every stage. We have achieved more than 2 GW of sustainable energy capacity for our clients and manage an asset portfolio of over 1.5 GW. We delivering solutions for wind, solar, energy storage, and system integration projects.

Andreas is a renewable energy executive with over 25 years of international project leadership experience, including more than 15 years in utility-scale solar PV and energy storage. He has delivered more than 1 GWp of large-scale projects across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia, holding senior roles in EPC execution, project development, and corporate leadership. His expertise spans CAPEX optimization, grid-connection processes, and the integration of BESS with utility-scale PV to enhance yield, reliability, and lifecycle economics. He combines hands-on construction experience with strategic program management in multi-country portfolios and complex grid environments.

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Working at Stedin DSO since 2020, I focus on the energy system of the future from a System Operations perspective. Working together with other DSO's, market parties and the Dutch TSO, I work on the design of capacity and congestion management processes, so that the grid operators can make most efficient use of the existing grids.

Dee Yon Chng (pronounced Dion) is a project manager for Solarplaza spearheading the following events in chronological order: Agri-PV 2023, Floating-PV 2023, Energy Storage Spain 2023, Romania 2024, France 2024. Prior to Solarplaza she helped co-found a "floating" coaching company, and worked as sustainability consultant. She is a strong believer in knowledge sharing around sustainability topics, with 10 years of chairman experience in facilitating a collaborative and fruitful discussion.

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.