Solar Academy Webinar

The Global Solar Certification Network (GSCN) is working on the global harmonization of procedures for testing, inspection and certification of solar thermal products to strengthen the market for quality solar thermal products. The GSCN established an alliance with the Solar Heating Initiative (SHI) to promote the global implementation of the collector label SOLERGY, which is based on collector certification schemes acknowledged by the GSCN, such as SolarKEYMARK and SRCC.

During the webinar, you will learn about the latest GSCN and SOLERGY work plus information on standards used within the Global Solar Certification scheme. The webinar will conclude with first-hand experiences with the GSCN from a certifier and a manufacturer.

The webinar was moderated by Bärbel Epp from solrico.

Webinar Recordings

  • March 21 - live webinar and Q&A

  • March 23 - webinar rebroadcast and live Q&A with the presenters

March 21, 2023

March 27, 2023

Speakers

Harald Drück

Harold DruckDr. Harald Drück is Head of the Research and Test Centre for Solar Systems (TZS) and Head of R&D at the Institute for Building Energetics, Thermotechnology, and Energy Storage (IGTE) at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. His scientific focus is predominately related to the development of performance test methods and certification schemes for solar systems and their components for domestic hot water production, space heating, industrial processes, and solar thermal cooling as well as in the areas of heat storage, buildings with high solar fractions and smart cities.

Nationally and internationally, Dr. Harald Drück works as a consultant for a large number of public and private clients. In addition, he is involved in numerous national and international working groups and committees, e.g., as Honorary Chairman of the Solar Keymark Network and Chairman of the Global Solar Certification Network, the European Standardisation Committee CEN TC 312, and the international Standardisation Committee ISO TC 180 as well as the Board of Directors of the European solar thermal industry federation Solar Heat Europe (SHE).

Furthermore, he is a Task Manager of the newly initiated IEA SHC Task 6 on Solar Energy Buildings. In addition to his work at the University of Stuttgart, Harald Drück is also Head of SWT (Solar- und Wärmetechnik Stuttgart / Solar Heat Technology Stuttgart), one of the leading service providers in the field of solar thermal technology and Adjunct Professor at the Raiagiri School of Engineering and Technology in Kochi, India.

Harald Drück will introduce the GSCN with regard to its mission, involved key actors, and organizational structure. Furthermore, he will present GSCN success stories and point out some ideas for future activities.

Marisol Oropeza

Marisol OropezaMarisol was born in Mexico and has lived in Germany since 2004. She graduated with honors in Business Administration from UNAM and holds a Master's degree in European Studies from Hochschule Bremen in Germany. In addition, she has studied International Marketing, Leadership, and Sustainable Development.

Her core competencies are strategic marketing, business development, and international project management. Marisol has worked in the public sector in Mexico, accumulating experience in the formulation of public policies. In Germany, she worked at the Environmental Institute of the Technology Transfer Centre in Bremerhaven for three years, where she gained experience in the acquisition and management of international and European Union-funded projects (FP5, FP6 and FP7). Later, she worked for the German manufacturer of solar collectors Ritter Energie for 8 years, in the areas of Export, Business Development, and Marketing.

Since 2016 Marisol works independently and has her own consultancy established in Berlin: matters.mx. Its clients include highly recognized companies and organizations in the European and Mexican solar energy market. She is a consultant and speaker and participates in several projects in the solar sector at an international level: Solar Heating Initiative: member of the steering committee and responsible for marketing and public relations: Heat Changers: founder and coordinator, Solar Payback: responsible for the communication activities in Mexico of this IKI-project funded by the German government, Intersolar Mexico: project manager of the Mexico edition of the worldwide-known series of Intersolar Exhibitions and Conferences, ANES: member of the XXI Board of Directors as Secretary of International Affairs, W4RES: member of the Board of Directors.

Stephan Fischer

Stephan FischerHolding a doctorate degree in Process Engineering, Dr. Stephan Fischer is presently Group Leader for Component and System Testing at the Institute of Building Energetics, Thermotechnic and Heat Storage (IGTE) at the University of Stuttgart (Germany) and in addition, he is staff of Solar- und Wärmetechnik Stuttgart (SWT), one of the world’s leading service providers in the field of solar thermal technology.

His main research interests are dedicated to solar thermal collector technology and advanced solar thermal heating systems. He is a member of several German and European working groups related to standardization, testing and certification.
Since 2003, Stephan is a DIN CERTCO-approved inspector within the scope of the Solar Keymark certification (workshop and product monitoring) in the field of solar technology (collector production, storage tank production, system production) and since 2019, he is an expert for the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS).

Stephan will give an overview about the standards used within the Global Solar Certification scheme focussing on ISO 9806 and the upcoming revision of the standard.

Shawn Martin

Shawn MartinShawn Martin is a mechanical engineer with a wide range of experience in research and development, product design, and commercialization, primarily for construction technologies. Since 2015, Shawn is the Vice President of Technical Services, Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) where he is responsible for managing the SRCC product certification and listing programs for solar thermal and wind turbine products. In his work, Shawn also develops and maintains ICC/SRCC ANSI ANSI consensus standards for solar thermal technologies and publishes, updates, and maintains renewable energy product performance ratings.

Harald Poscharnig

Poscharnig HaraldHarald Poscharnig is the Head of Research and Development for Product Management and Quality Management at GREENonTec. There he is responsible for planning, establishing, enforcing, and the continuous development of HSEEQ systems. His work includes quality assurance in innovation processes, implementation of external system audits, and product certifications.

 

 

Bärbel Epp (Moderator)

Barbel Eppis the Founder and Managing Director of the German consulting firm solrico. She is responsible for the international newsletter of the website solarthermalworld.org, reporting exclusively on market and technology trends in the global solar heating and cooling sector.