Speaker Directory

Joakim Byström

CEO, Absolicon Solar Collector AB

Joakim Bystrom is the CEO of Absolicon Solar Collector, a stock-listed Swedish company that has developed prize winning solar concentrators for industries and district heating. The parabolic trough T160 has the highest optical efficiency ever measured for a small parabolic trough in commercial production and can produce heat and steam up to 160 C.

He studied engineering physics and has a University Diploma with a specialization in Technology at Uppsala University. In his early career, he developed sustainable forestry together with his father in the Swedish company Logosol where he still is one of the major shareholders. Outside his professional career, he served three years as Chairman at the Federation of Young Scientists, a youth organization for the advancement of science, and is the founding Chairman of the Solar Energy Technician Vocational Training School in Sweden. He also initiated and chaired the Stockholm Junior Water Prize under the patronage of H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria.

Silvia Croce

Post-doc Researcher, Eurac Research

Silvia Croce is a Post-Doc researcher at the Institute for Renewable Energy, Eurac Research (Italy). She is a building engineer - an architect by training with a PhD in Engineering from the University of Padova.

Her research work aims to gain insights into solutions for an integrated design of the urban built and natural environment, focusing on outdoor microclimate, thermal comfort, energy savings, and renewable energy production. At the same time, it intends to raise awareness of those topics' interlinkages and activate different actors in developing integrated and systemic solutions. She is active in several European projects, including Varcities and JUSTNature. She was actively involved in IEA SHC Task 51: Solar Energy in Urban Planning and currently is co-leading Subtask B on Economic strategies and stakeholder engagement in IEA SHC Task 63: Solar Neighborhood Planning. 

Harald Drück

Head of R&D, Head "Solar Testing", Head "Smart City Concepts", University of Stuttgart, Institute for Building Energetics, Thermotechnology and Energy Storage (IGTE)

Dr. Harald Drück is head of the Research and Test Centre for Solar Systems (TZS) and  head of R&D and Smart City Concepts at the Institute for Building Energetics, Thermotechnology and Energy Storage (IGTE) at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. His scientific focus is predominately related to 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 on the areas of heat storage, buildings with a 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 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).  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 Raiagiri School of Engineering and Technology in Kochi, India.  

Ken Guthrie

Managing Director, Sustainable Energy Transformation Pty Ltd

Javeriya Hasan

PhD candidate, Toronto Metropolitan University

I am currently a PhD Candidate at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada. My research involves the development of a Machine Learning (ML) algorithm accounting for morphological parameters representing the neighbourhood context and the prediction of density and volume of solar envelope forms. It is noteworthy that solar envelopes are architectural forms of buildings that are connected to the 'solar rights' concept, whereby new development forms do not overshadow adjacent buildings. This is important from the standpoint of assuring solar accessibility to building surfaces such as rooftops and facades, as that would allow the feasibility for appropriate technologies and also ensure passive solar heating.

Andreas Hauer

Director / Chairman of the Board, ZAE Bayern

Dr.  Andreas Hauer studied Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. He made his PhD at the technical University in Berlin. Now is Chair of the Board at the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research, ZAE Bayern, with about 100 scientists. There he is responsible for all national and international research and development projects focussed on thermal and electrical energy storage, thermal driven heat pumps / chillers for industrial and building applications. Dr. Hauer is an international known expert on energy storage in general and specialized on thermal energy storage. At the moment he is leading working groups on material development for thermal energy storage and on “Flexible Sector Coupling by the Implementation of Energy Storage” within the Energy Storage TCP of the International Energy Agency, IEA, and he is member of the Executive committee. He is member of the Board of Directors of the International Solar Energy Society, ISES. On the national level, he is member of the Board of Directors of the 2012 established Bundesverband Energiespeichersysteme (BVES), German Energy Storage Systems Association. In this position, he is responsible for R&D activities within the association. He is Editor in Chief for the Wiley publication “Advances in Energy Storage”, which will be launched in 2021.

Hans-Martin Henning

Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems

Prof. Dr. Hans-Martin Henning is Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany and Professor of “Solar Energy Systems” at the Institute of Sustainable Systems Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Freiburg. He is chairman of the Expert Council on Climate Issues of the German Government, Spokesman of the Renewable Energies Research Association (FVEE), member of the acatech (German National Academy of Science and Engineering) and member of the board of directors of the academy project "Energy systems of the future".

Prof. Dr. Henning obtained his PhD in physics at Oldenburg University in 1993. Since 1994, he has been working at Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg, holding several different positions of responsibility over the years. In 2014 he was appointed Professor of Technical Energy Systems at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT and in 2017 Director of Fraunhofer ISE.

His key areas of research cover technical energy systems for buildings and energy system analysis. He plays a leading role in the development of computer models for the simulation and optimization of complex energy systems and their application to investigate the development of national / regional energy systems including all energy sources, energy conversion and storage technologies and energy end-use sectors.

Pedro Horta

Head of Renewable Energies Chair, Universidade de Évora

Dr. Pedro Horta, Head of the Renewable Energies Chair at the University of Évora and Coordinator of INIESC – the Portuguese National Research Infrastructure in Solar Energy Concentration, has a 20-year research career in solar energy technologies and applications, with a special focus on solar concentrators and their medium and high-temperature application.

With comprehensive experience in applied research on solar concentrator development and testing and solar system design (e.g., process heat, CHP, and water desalination applications), Dr. Pedro Horta has been engaged in in-depth research and technical and financing questions pertaining to process heat (SHIP).

Besides his participation in international R&D, including IEA SHC Task 64, IEA SHC Task 49, ETIP SNET/RHC, EERA JP-CSP), Dr. Pedro Horta has been the Head of the Group Solar Process Heat and Industrial Systems at Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE (2015-2019) and the Coordinator of the European Common Research and Innovation Agenda on Solar process heat (INSHIP, H2020-LCE-2016-ERA GAP-731287). He has also participated in SHIP-related financing projects (TrustEE, H2020-EE-2015-3 GA 696140; TrusCS Phase 1, GIZ Mexico) and developed capacity building and SHIP demonstration activities in Europe, the MENA region, Asia, and South and Central America.

Sahand Hosouli

Technology Transfer Fellow, Swansea University

I joined SPECIFIC in 2021 and my work focuses on the development of novel materials suitable for heat storage applications with a particular focus on industrial waste streams.

I have over 10 years of experience in the engineering sector. Experienced in energy storage, solar thermal systems, concentrated solar power, parabolic trough collectors and photovoltaic thermal collectors. Currently working on development of thermochemical heat storage (TCS) in Swansea University (SPECIFIC). I'm also involved in the RES4Live project, under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Prior to my current role, I was a visiting researcher at Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (Loughborough University) in UK and visiting professor at Sahand University of Technology and Payam Nour University in Iran.

Tom Fred Ishugah

Sustainable Energy Expert, East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE) Seconded by UNIDO

Mr. Tom Fred Ishugah holds a Master of Science degree in Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China and a Bachelor of Science degree in Energy Engineering from Kenyatta University in Kenya. He has over 12 years work experience in renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy management. Mr. Ishugah has earned a lot of experience and skills in leadership, programme development, administration and implementation through his work at East African Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREEE). Prior to joining EACREEE, Mr. Ishugah as a lecturer at department of Energy Engineering at Kenyatta University in Kenya for three and a half years.

He is a registered engineer by the Engineers Registration Board of Kenya and holds the following Professional Certifications or Licenses; Certified Energy Manager (CEM) by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), Tier 3 Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Technician License, Class A Energy Audotor’s Licence, and a Solar Water Heating Technician License by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA. He is an Associate Expert License by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) of Kenya. He has published several research papers on renewable energy technology in high impact energy journals.  

Ulrike Jordan

Professor, Thermal Engineering, University of Kassel

PhD in physics on solar combistores in Marburg, Germany (2001).  2 years EU Marie-Curie Post-Doc scholarship at the Technical University of Denmark.   Since 2005 junior professor and adjunct professor at the University of Kassel, Germany on Thermal Systems’ Engineering.   Leader of a Junior Scientists’ Research Group on Open Liquid Desiccant Systems (2012-2017)  Coordinator of the international PhD network Solnet and two Marie-Curie Early Stage Research / Initial Training Networks, on advanced solar heating and cooling for buildings (SolNet, 2006-2010) and on large solar heating systems and sorption processes (SHINE, 2013-2017).   National and international research projects on solar heating systems, district heating, industrial process heat and desiccant systems.  Member of IEA-SHC task 26 & 64/IV.

Korbinian Kramer

Coordinator Solar Thermal Energy Conversion, Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE

Dr. Korbinian S. Kramer studied Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Renewable Energy Conversion in Augsburg, Germany. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Freiburg in Innovation Management.   At the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy, he is heading a working group on testing, quality assurance and technical characterization of heating and cooling technologies, such as solar thermal and heat pumps. He is also the coordinator for Solar Thermal Energy Conversion activities at Fraunhofer ISE. Involvement in standardization work for more than 15 years and over 45 publications are part of his expertise.   He is a lecturer at the University of Freiburg in the Master Curses "Renewable Energy Management" and "Sustainable System Engineering" and is offering an online course "Understanding Solar Thermal Energy Conversion".    

Nolwenn Le Pierrès

Professor and Deputy Director of LOCIE, Université Savoie Mont Blanc

Nolwenn Le Pierrès is a full professor and deputy director of LOCIE, a laboratory of Université Savoie Mont Blanc and CNRS. She obtained her PhD in 2005 at the PROMES (PROcesses, Materials and Solar Energy) laboratory (Perpignan, France) on the development of a solar deep-freezing thermochemical machine. She passed her HDR (Habilitation to Supervise Research) in 2014 at University Savoie Mont Blanc on sorption processes. Her publications include 41 articles in international journals, 5 book chapters, 3 patents, and 44 papers in international conferences. She co-supervised 12 PhD thesis. Her main research areas since 2002 are thermal energy storage and heat transformation by sorption processes (physical and chemical sorption), especially in the case of solar thermal systems. She works on both experimentation and numerical modelling and participates or has participated in several partnership projects in this field, with both academic partners and companies.

Dong Li

Deputy Dean, Northeast Petroleum University

Dong Li is a associate dean in School of Architecture and Civil Engineering of Northeast Petroleum University, China. He completed master Course at Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing in 2006 and received PhD degree from Harbin Institute of Technology, Haerbin in 2013. His research fields of interest are Building Energy Conservation, Solar Thermal Utilization, Translucent Medium Photothermal Conversion Mechanism, Migration Mechanism of Oil and Gas Pollutants.

Tao Li

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Science and Technology

Tao Li,  PhD, appointed to the faculty upon graduation, and is currently a lecturer of the Wuhan University of Science and Technology. Degree in 2020 from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology in Heating, gas supply, ventilation and air conditioning engineering. My research interest covers solar thermal utilization.

Shixiang Lu

Lecturer, Zhongyuan University of Technology

Ph. D. in engineering;   Graduated from Dalian University of Technology;   Specialise in the following research works: Comprehensive utilization of solar energy , Efficient utilization of renewable energy and Energy saving of buildings.

Marisol Oropeza

Business and Marketing Strategist, matters.mx and Heat Changers

Marisol Oropeza, a prominent figure in the solar industry, is recognised as an exceptional advocate for solar heating, renowned for her extensive knowledge and dynamic presence as a public speaker, moderator, and storyteller. Her influential collaborations span initiatives in accelerating the energy transition and advancing solar thermal technology, showcasing her as a highly-skilled professional with a creative mindset. She has cultivated a vast network of contacts in Germany, Europe, and Latin America.

As the founder of matters.mx and Heat Changers, Marisol is commended for her problem-solving prowess, strategic acumen, and exceptional marketing skills. Her intercultural competence and outstanding networking abilities position her as a bridge between technical and marketing teams, earning appreciation for her reliability, efficiency, and creativity in various projects.

Beyond her professional achievements, Marisol demonstrates leadership in environmental causes and gender balance, embodying the essence of female leadership. In summary, she stands as a dynamic force shaping the solar industry, celebrated for her impactful contributions, strategic acuity, and inspirational leadership in driving a sustainable energy transition. Marisol's academic background includes graduating with honors in Business Administration from UNAM, a Master's degree in European Studies from Hochschule Bremen, and additional studies in Strategic Marketing, Leadership, and Sustainable Development.

Wang Qiliang

Postdoctoral Fellow, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

I obtained my doctor degree in the University of Science and Technology of China in 2019, and then joined in the Renewable Energy Research Group in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 2019 as an awardee of Hong Kong RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (only grant 50 global researchers every year). During the PhD period, I also visited and studied in the University of Nottingham as an exhange student. I have been engaged in research in the field of solar-thermal conversion and utilization, heat transfer, etc. Hence, I have rich research experience and skills in thermal energy. Up to now, I have a publication record of 37, and obtained 10 national invention patents. I also achieved many weighty awards and honors, such as 2017 Grand Gold Medal of the 45th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, 2019 Extremely Excellent Ph.D. Graduate Award of the President of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2019 Excellent Ph.D. candidate of the Academic Awards of Energy and Built Environmen, etc. Now, I am also responsible for a Special Issue of "Solar thermal technologies" as a guest editor.

Jiao Qingtai

Vice President/Chief Engineer, Solareast Holding Co., Ltd

Mr. Qing tai Jiao(Professor-level senior engineer); Vice president and chief engineer of Solareast holdings Co., Ltd.(China). He has nearly 20 years of experience in solar thermal utilization product development and technology research, with more than 30 invention patents; He is the deputy director of the national solar energy standardization technical committee of China, and participated in the formulation of more than 30 national solar energy standards.  He is also IEA-SHC task55 subtask B leader; Convenor of ISO TC180/WG3; Gold member of ISES.

Hu Runqing

Associate Research Professor, National Development and Reform Commission

Ms. Hu Runqing is associate research professor of Energy Research Institute(ERI) , National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the member of Council of Chinese Renewable Energy Society.  She has engaged in the renewable energy policy and planning research since 1989,  and has lead and conducted  many research projects in renewable enerngy heating,  distributed renewable energy , new energy city, and renewable energy statistics.

Khalid Salmi

Expert - Energy Management, Standardization and Certification, Regional center for renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE)

Eng. Khalid Salmi is an Energy Management Expert at the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE). Graduated as a mechanical engineer and holds an MSc degree in Renewable Energy Engineering, he joined RCREEE in 2014. As Energy Management Expert, Eng. Khalid Salmi is actively responsible for managing the regional implementation of RCREEE’s standardization and certification portfolio, aiming to upscale the RE-EE products, services, and personnel in the MENA energy markets in accordance with the international standards and practices. With over 9 years of professional experience and under several projects and activities, Eng. Khalid Salmi cooperated with various national governments and international development organizations, including Ministries, development banks, UN programs, European Union, in addition to other alliances and networks involved in the energy industry and green economy affairs worldwide.

Throughout his professional career in different sustainable energy fields, Eng. Khalid Salmi acquired practical expertise about the important role of green technologies, policies, and regulations as effective instruments for the sustainable management of resources, and the deployment of new clean energy practices, toward tackling the economic and environmental challenges at all levels.

Karen Surridge

Centre Manager, SANEDI

Klaus Vajen

Professor, Director, University of Kassel

Wim van Helden

Department Lead, AEE INTEC

Wim van Helden studied Technical Physics and since 2014 he is working with AEE INTEC in Gleisdorf, Austria, where he is leading the Department of Technology Development. He has extensive experience in leading national and international research and demonstration projects, developing large-scale Thermal Energy Storage and compact Thermal Energy Storage. He is also a board member of the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Renewable Heating and Cooling (RHC-ETIP) and a member of the scientific committee of IRES, the International Renewable Energy Storage Conference. From 2009, he is also leading three successive IEA SHC Tasks on Compact Thermal Energy Storage.

Dengjia Wang

Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology

Dengjia Wang,PhD,professor and doctoral supervisor of Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, China. Deputy Director of Solar Energy Building and Environment Center, leader of Youth Science and Technology Innovation team of Shaanxi Universities "Building energy saving and solar energy utilization", vice chairman of youth Committee of HVAC, honorary title of "Youth Changjiang Studies" of Ministry of Education. Shaanxi Youth Science and Technology Award (Shaanxi Youth Science and Technology Model). Shaanxi Youth Science and Technology Innovation Leader. First Prize of Science and Technology of Tibet Autonomous Region (ranked first). He has published over 150 refereed papers, including seven that received best paper awards, and several books.

Peter Weinberger

Associate Professor, TU Wien

Since 2012 working on thermochemical energy storage materials based on salt hydrates, metal oxide- metal hydroxide systems, redox-active metal oxides, metal oxide- metal carbonate systems, and transition metal ammoniates.

Hongwen Yu

Professor, Shandong Jianzhu University

Ph.D., professor, focused on the development and utilization of new energy systems. As the first inventor, he has authorized 19 Chinese invention patents and published more than 50 papers.

Tianqi Zhang

Lecturer, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology

2006-2011,Bachelor of Architecture,XAUAT,China;  2011-2013,Master of Science in Urban Planning,UoM,UK;  2014-2020,PhD in Architecture Science,XAUAT,China

Xinyu Zhang

Director, China Academy of Building Research