Virtual Roundtables Europe 2020

9:00 am - 4:00 pm, June 10, 2020

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With solar industry events canceled or postponed globally, pv magazine is taking its successful Roundtables program online. Across two days, four Roundtable sessions will be hosted from pv magazine’s Berlin studio, with an unprecedented lineup of speakers and panelists joining from around the world. Sign up for free, log on, hear from the experts, and join the discussion!

To the app for presentations & videos

Energy powerhouses & small vendors – redefine your role in the next stage of Europe’s energy transition

June 9 & 10 , 2020 | 9 AM – 4 PM (CEST, Berlin)

Our Roundtables Europe are still on track and we are continuously developing our exciting program for you. While quality discussions will remain front and center the comprehensive program will address the most up-to-date themes, innovative insights, and future visions within the sector.

Apart from our in-depth content sessions, we will offer plenty of networking and interaction opportunities within our event app. You can network 1-on-1, set appointments, take part in group discussions, and interact with all other attendees via messages or in the Zoom Networking Room. We will also host a digital scavenger hunt over the two days with the top 3 participants winning prizes.

Participate and reap the benefits!

Access to expert presentations and case studies
Involvement in in-depth panel discussions of agenda-setting themes
Digital networking opportunities with key industry participants around the globe
Impactful insights for your 2020 solar business

Events

pv magazine video: Higher yields are possible

The first session of the pv magazine Virtual Roundtables Europe on June 9 showed that the performance of PV arrays can be boosted with effective measures – proving it's more than just theoretical. The evaluation of a portfolio of 70 plants prompted a p...

Quality Roundtable

pv magazine video: New tech not without teething pain

pv magazine's Quality Roundtable this year brought together experts from a broad range of applications relevant in the solar industry. The overarching theme this year was quality concerns with new technologies. Experts from companies and research institu...

Events

pv magazine video: The pressing need for sustainability in solar

The solar industry faces many challenges in its move to become truly sustainable and that goal is imperative, rather than being simply a luxury, if the sector is to achieve terawatt scale. pv magazine’s first Sustainability Roundtable took place...

Installations

pv magazine video: New business models develop in surprising directions

Corporate power purchase agreements and the combination of PV plants with hydrogen production open up new medium-term financing opportunities for solar projects, as was demonstrated at the fourth session of the pv magazine Roundtable Europe event....

Day 1 - June 9, 2020 | 9 AM – 4 PM (CEST, Berlin)

9:00 AM (CEST, Berlin)

Doors open

10:00 AM (CEST, Berlin)

Session 1: Asset Management Roundtable

Yield optimization over the long term - How to improve the yield during array lifetime and what to get right during development.

Drawing from real-world experience from the field, how PV arrays can be best managed from an ongoing cost and performance standpoint. Learn from new project case studies focused on components and data acquisition.

Speakers include:
Jacqueline Huynh, Portfolio Manager Infrastructure Equity, Allianz Global Investors
Jan Napiorkowski, Global Head of Clean Energy, Ariel Re
Lucie Garreau, Technical Regional Manager, EMEA, DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions
Andrea Viaro, Head of Technical Service and Product Management, JinkoSolar EU
Duncan Bott, Partner, LCF Alliance
Stefan Müller, COO, Enerparc

10 AM (CEST, Berlin), 1.30 PM (IST, Delhi), 4 PM (CST, Beijing), 6 PM (AEST, Sydney)

11:45 AM (CEST, Berlin)

Interaction & Networking

1 PM (CEST, Berlin)

Session 2: Quality Roundtable

With strong winds having caused catastrophic failures at several PV arrays in recent years, managing the hidden risk is at the forefront of developer, investor and supplier minds. New module technologies boost power but also raise quality questions. Floating also presents several hidden risks.

Speakers include:
Filippo Carzaniga, Chairman of the Board, FIMER Group
Craig Snee, Technical Sales Director, ET Solar
Eric Ast, Head of Business Development Alternative Energies, Stäubli Electrical Connectors
James Butcher, Project Engineer, NEXTracker
Dean Solon, Founder & CEO, Shoals Technologies Group
Lou Trippel, Vice President of Product Management, First Solar
Thorsten Kray, Head of Building Aerodynamics, Institute for Industrial Aerodynamics Aachen (IFI)
Monsoon Wang, Product Director, LONGi Solar
George Touloupas, Director of Technology & Quality, CEA
Minne de Jong, Solar Applications Specialist, TNO Energy Transition

1 PM (CEST, Berlin), 7 AM (EDT, New York), 4.30 PM (IST, Delhi), 7 PM CST, Beijing), 9 PM (AEST, Sydney)

2:45 PM (CEST, Berlin)

Interaction & Networking

Speakers | Day 1

Andrea Viaro, Head of Technical Service and Product Management, JinkoSolar EU

Andrea Viaro is responsible for the technical activities at JinkoSolar Europe since 2014, lately overseeing also product developments’ launch in the EU market. He has been working in the PV sector for the last ten years in similar roles at other tier-1 module manufacturer and technical consultancy global firms. His deep knowledge of PV technology and industry, regarding PV modules features, quality and technical bankability makes him a valued expert in the field.

Lucie Garreau, Technical Regional Manager, EMEA, DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions

Lucie Garreau joined DuPont in 2001 and has held various positions spanning technical service, R&D, production support and quality management for automotive and microelectronic applications. She began working in photovoltaics in 2009 and has been actively collecting and analyzing data on PV material degradation in the field, to help customers and partners make the right material choices that can help protect their assets, beyond the expected system lifetime.

Dean Solon, Founder & CEO, Shoals Technologies Group

As the President and CEO of Shoals Technologies Group, Dean Solon is responsible for running all facets of the business. Dean has a proven executive management track record and over 20 years of experience driving sales and technological growth in the solar industry. Dean founded Shoals in 1996 with partners and in the year 2000, bought all their shares in the business, and changed the course of Shoals from manufacturing for the automotive industry to the solar industry. While solar was in it’s infancy, Dean saw an opportunity to bring his extensive automotive knowledge and experience to a fledgling industry.

Thorsten Kray, Head of Building Aerodynamics, Institute for Industrial Aerodynamics Aachen (IFI)

Dr. Thorsten Kray is Head of Building Aerodynamics at I.F.I. Institut für Industrieaerodynamik GmbH (I.F.I. Institute for Industrial Aerodynamics). The special projects group focuses on wind loading on a variety of buildings and structures with special attention on solar structures. He has directed wind tunnel studies on numerous solar roof and ground mount systems and has been involved in solar projects in Europe, the U.S. and all over the world. His key skills include static and dynamic loads on ground mount solar fixed tilt and single-axis tracking systems, but also wind tunnel data based ballast layouts for solar arrays mounted on flat roofs.

George Touloupas, Director of Technology and Quality, Clean Energy Associates

George Touloupas is the Director of Technology and Quality at the solar PV quality assurance, supply chain management and engineering services firm Clean Energy Associates. At CEA he leads projects centered on developing CEA’s internal quality standards, researching new production technologies, and developing new services. George has an extensive background in PV manufacturing, as well as downstream experience, working among others, prior to joining CEA, as the Chief Operating & Technical Officer at Philadelphia Solar in Jordan and Technical & Operations Director at Recom.

Eric Ast, Head of Business Development Alternative Energies, Stäubli Electrical Connectors AG

Eric Ast is the Head of Business Development Alternative Energies at Stäubli Electrical Connectors AG (formerly known as Multi-Contact AG), a technology leader and pioneer in the fields of electrical and fluid connectors, robotics and textile machinery since its foundation in 1892. Eric Ast joined Stäubli in 2008 and has over 12 years of experience in different senior leadership roles internationally and holds a B.Sc. in Marketing and International Business. Ast also served as President of SOLARUNITED since 2014. SOLARUNITED is the only trade association focusing on Quality, Reliability, Innovation, and PV Technology.

Jacqueline Huyhn, Portfolio Manager Infrastructure Equity, Allianz Global Investors

Jacqueline is a Portfolio Manager in the Infrastructure Equity team at Allianz Global Investors and is based in Frankfurt. In addition to the management of 300MW of solar and wind assets in Europe, she focuses on financial and tax restructuration, digitalization and yield performance. Over ten years in the renewable energy industry, she has built a track record first on the sale side within the Juwi group with the financing over a 100 MW of wind and solar greenfield projects in France, Germany and overseas, then on the buy side for a joint-venture fund with project developers to secure a pipeline of deal flow, and subsequently took on an asset management role at Encavis.

Filippo Carzaniga, Chairman of the Board, FIMER Group

Filippo Carzaniga was appointed CEO of FIMER in 2019 and in April 2020 he became Chairman of the Group. He joined the FIMER Group in 2006 as Marketing Manager, after graduating in Communication Sciences at the IULM Free University of Languages and Communication. In 2012 he was appointed General Manager of FIMER S.p.A. In 2014 he left FIMER S.p.A. and he held the position of Chairman of Fintechno TLC. In January 2018 he returned to the FIMER Group as Managing Director and member of the Board of Directors. In addition to this position, he is in charge of the Business Unit active in developing solutions for the infrastructure of electric mobility.

Jan Napiorkowski, Global Head of Clean Energy, Ariel Re

Jan developed the insurance market for renewable energy performance warranties since 2009. After heading Munich Re’s APAC Renewable Energy unit, since 2015 Jan leads Ariel Re's Clean Energy practice specialized in a wide range of Performance Guarantee solutions for utility scale and C&I portfolios of solar, waste to energy and storage projects. Jan is a trained theoretical physicist and holds a MBA in Insurance and Risk Management.

Monsoon Wang, Product Director, LONGi Solar

Monsoon Wang is the Product Director of LONGi Solar，in charge of product Planning, product marketing and technical Support work. Monsoon Wang joined LONGi solar since January 2017, he has more than 9 years working experience in PV industry and 5 years experiences in semiconductor industry. Monsoon Wang is a specialist of high efficiency PV cell manufacturing, module failure analysis and PV system optimization, he also has attended the modification work of several important industry standard.

Minne de Jong, Solar Applications Specialist, TNO Energy Transition

After a PhD in Utrecht on solar energy, Minne de Jong has been focusing entirely on solar energy applications since 2014. At TNO he works on PV applications, such as floating PV systems and on solar noise barriers. On these topics we form consortia, perform field research and work on healthy business cases. TNO has just finalized a comparative field test on floating PV and is about to start a new research in this field.

James Butcher, Project Engineer, NEXTracker

James Butcher joined Nextracker’s Australian team as a Senior Engineer in 2017. With a background in Geotechnical Engineering, James has extensive experience in geotech investigation and foundation design of wind sensitive structures for utility solar farm projects. This experience dates from 2010 and includes working on some of the first utility solar farms and first utility tracker projects in Australia like Nyngan, Broken Hill, and Moree solar farms. Since working on these early projects James has seen tracker architecture improve as understanding of wind dynamics develops and he has firsthand experience of tracker wind events within Australia.

Lou Trippel

Lou Trippel is currently Vice President of Product Management at First Solar, where he is globally responsible for First Solar’s PV module product life cycle management and product ecosystem. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Dayton, Ohio, and a master’s degree in technology management from Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey. Since joining first solar in 2007, Lou has held several positions on First Solar’s module product management and technical sales teams, where he has both performed and led application engineering, plant energy prediction, global technical sales and product management functions.

Day 2 - June 10, 2020 | 9 AM – 4 PM (CEST, Berlin)

9:00 AM (CEST, Berlin)

Doors open

10:00 AM (CEST, Berlin)

Session 3: Sustainability Roundtable

Why sustainability matters – challenges and opportunities in manufacturing and technology development in the context of an EU Green Deal.

PV materials, manufacturing, and development practices are being increasingly evaluated in terms of sustainability, bringing both complexity and opportunity. As an economic recovery from Covid-19 brings “green growth” to the fore, how technology, certification, and the corporate social responsibility demands of offtakers can bring sustainability to the fore and deliver a competitive edge.

Speakers include:
Pierre Verlinden, Founder & Managing Director, Amrock
Sebastian Gatz, Vice President, VON ARDENNE
Eszter Voroshazi, R&D Manager, imec
Tom Rommens, Researcher and Project Coordinator, VITO
Bertrand Lempkowicz, PR, Marketing & Communication Manager, PV CYCLE
Jürgen Reinert, CEO, SMA Solar Technology
Michele Vannini, Business Manager, Coveme
Sheila Davis, Executive Director, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Nancy Gillis, CEO, Green Electronics Council/EPEAT
Dustin Mulvany, Professor, San José State University
Andreas Wade, Global Sustainability Director, First Solar

10 AM (CEST, Berlin), 1.30 PM (IST, Delhi), 4 PM (CST, Beijing), 6 PM (AEST, Sydney)

11:45 AM (CEST, Berlin)

Interaction & Networking

1 PM (CEST, Berlin)

Session 4: Market Roundtable

Energy powerhouses and small vendors - redefining your role in the context of a PPA based market in the post-corona-era and an emerging hydrogen economy

The subsidy-free era emerged in European PV markets in 2019, enabled by PPAs with utilities and industrial offtakers. With the Covid-19 crisis impacting participants today, how can solar specialists thrive in the new environment and shape must corporate PPAs take? Also, how does the emerging hydrogen economy affect the market?

Speakers include:
Bassam Darwisch, Head of Renewables Origination Germany, Vattenfall Energy Trading
Mateusz Wronski, Head of Product Development, Aurora Energy Research
Christian Pho Duc, Managing Director of Smartenergy Projects, Smartenergy
Ralf Bernhard, Manager C&I Origination / PPA, BayWa r.e. renewable energy
Hanno Mieth, Senior Originator, Vattenfall Energy Trading
Björn Piske, Business Lead Large Scale Solar Development Germany, Vattenfall Energy Innovation
Eckhart Doose, Corporates & Mittelstand, Bayerische Landesbank

1 PM (CEST, Berlin), 7 AM (EDT, New York), 4.30 PM (IST, Delhi), 7 PM CST, Beijing), 9 PM (AEST, Sydney)

2:45 PM (CEST, Berlin)

Interaction & Networking

Speakers | Day 2

Sheila Davis, Executive Director, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

Sheila Davis is the Executive Director at Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), a non-profit organization engaged in research, advocacy and organizing to promote human health and environmental justice in response to the rapid growth of the high-tech industry. Under Davis’ tenure, SVTC launched the Sustainable Solar Initiative, and released the report “Toward a Just and Sustainable Solar Industry,” which outlined the environmental impacts of the solar industry. In 2009 SVTC also launched the Solar Scorecard which ranks solar manufacturers on their environmental programs and practices.

Jürgen Reinert, CEO, SMA Solar Technology

After he studied electrical engineering in South Africa, Jürgen Reinert received his doctorate at RWTH Aachen, Germany. From 1999 to 2011, he worked for Emotron AB in Sweden, where in his last position, as General Manager, he was responsible for Technology and Operations. From 2011 to 2014, as Executive Vice President, Technology, he was responsible for the division Power Plant Solutions at SMA. Since April 2014, Jürgen Reinert has been a member of the Managing Board. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in October 2018.

Bassam Darwisch, Head of Renewables Origination Germany, Vattenfall Energy Trading

Bassam Darwisch has been working in the energy industry for 20 years. Right at the beginning of his entry into the energy market he established, managed and restructured sales, marketing, trading and portfolio management. The ambitious nature lover has been active in the renewable energy business for over ten years. At Vattenfall Energy Trading he is responsible for the Renewables Origination business in Germany, which focuses on the integration of renewable energies into the various markets (wholesale and customer market).

Pierre Verlinden, Founder, Managing Director, Amrock

Dr Pierre J. Verlinden is Managing Director of AMROCK, a PV technology consulting company, Adjunct Professor at the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering at the University of New South Wales, Australia, as well as Adjunct Professor at Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China, and non-executive director of OxfordPV and BTimaging. Dr Verlinden has been working in the field of photovoltaics for more than 40 years and has published over 200 technical papers and contributed to a number of books.

Mateusz Wronski, Head of Product Development, Aurora Energy Research

Mateusz is the Head of Product Development at Aurora. Mateusz is responsible for leading the expansion of Aurora’s market intelligence services into new geographies, and for building Aurora’s Software as a Service offering. Since joining the company in 2013, Mateusz has authored multiple studies quoted in major media outlets and supported multiple transactions in the energy space. Prior to joining Aurora Mateusz was with UBS Investment Bank in London and began his career as a quantitative modeller for a London-based collateralised debt boutique. Mateusz holds a BA degree in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford. Prior to Oxford he studied in Poland, where he was a Prime Minister scholar.

Nancy Gillis, CEO, Green Electronics Council/EPEAT

Ms. Gillis has more than 20 years’ experience leveraging sustainability to increase competitiveness, reduce risk and foster innovation in both public and private sector organizations. Prior to joining the Green Electronics Council, Nancy was the Global Lead for Resilient and Responsible Supply Chains with Ernst & Young (EY). She joined EY from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Federal Government’s procurement agency that oversees approximately $45 billion of annual spend, where she served as the Director of the Federal Supply Chain office, responsible for expanding the use of sustainability criteria and ecolabels in federal procurements. Nancy has a graduate degree in Communications Technology from Georgetown University.

Michele Vannini, Business Manager, Coveme

Michele Vannini received Degree in Electronic Engineering at the University of Bologna, Italy. He has twenty years of experience in Project Management, Sales and Operations. He has lived in Brazil (where he received his MBA at the FGV, Curitiba) and North America where he held Senior positions in the Automotive industry. Currently he has the responsibility for a numbers of regions (North & South America, India) for the Photovoltaic & Film divisions in Coveme.

Dustin Mulvany, Professor, San José State University

Dustin teaches in the Environmental Studies Department at San Jose State University, one of the first six interdisciplinary environmental studies programs in the USA, founded as a result of the first Earth Day 1970. His research focuses on the social and environmental dimensions of food and energy systems where he researches questions about innovation, emerging technologies and environmental change. His research on solar energy commodity chains is synthesized in his new book entitled Solar Power, Innovation, Sustainability, and Environmental Justice with the University of California Press.

Dr. Sebastian Gatz, Vice President, VON ARDENNE

Sebastian Gatz is Vice President Photovoltaics at VON ARDENNE, an equipment manufacturer for industrial vacuum coatings on materials such as wafers, glass, metal strip and polymer films. Dr. Gatz has been working in the field of photovoltaics for more than 14 years. Before joining VON ARDENNE, Dr. Gatz worked as a project manager at SolarWorld and as Head of Development at Manz and Meyer Burger. Dr. Gatz was awarded a diploma in physics from the Technical University Munich and a doctorate degree from the Leibniz University Hannover.

Dr. Eszter Voroshazi, R&D Manager, imec

Dr. Eszter Voroshazi is R&D Manager of imec’s Photovoltaic activities covering thin-film, silicon and tandem cells, innovative module technologies and PV system simulations. In parallel, she is Activity Leader of Photovoltaics at EnergyVille. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and has in-depth expertise in device and module technologies, and their reliability and characterisation as well as their sustainability. Eszter Voroshazi has published more than 80 papers, and involved in conference, expert and standardisation committees.

Dr. Tom Rommens, Researcher and Project Coordinator, VITO

Tom Rommens worked as an environmental consultant and project coordinator, mainly active in soil remediation, nature development, waste management, spatial planning, environmental impact assessments. He was Sustainability Manager at Saint-Gobain Gyproc (Benelux) and responsible for the sustainable development strategy, which included resource efficiency, recycling, environmental labelling schemes and LCA for construction materials and buildings. Since 2019 he is working for VITO as a researcher and project coordinator, on topics related to sustainable materials management, LCA and circular business models.

Bertrand Lempkowicz, PR, Marketing & Communication Manager, PV CYCLE

Bertrand Lempkowicz, is responsible for communication, marketing and public relations for PV CYCLE since 2017, the well-known organization to be the first international association to organize the management of photovoltaic waste in 2007 and WEEE certification since the launch of the legislation. Bertrand jumped into the world of renewable energies in 2017 after 15 years as an entrepreneur in different industries such as communication or the food industry, this double career allows him to understand the needs, the complications of companies but also the advantages of doing it in an sustainable way.

Christian Pho Duc, Managing Director of Smart Energy Projects, Smartenergy

Christian head’s Smartenergy’s hydrogen activities and is also in charge of solar projects in Germany. His many years of international management experience, specialist technical background and last but not least, multicultural roots make him ideally suited for this task. After years spent expanding electric mobility on the water as VP Sales at market leader Torqeedo he is now eager to provide clean energy to installations world-wide. Christian’s 5 years’ experience in the Solar Industry include tenures at Smartenergy Renewables, Nanosolar and Solyndra developing solar projects as Managing Director and VP Sales in EMEA and India.

Hanno Mieth, Senior Renewables Originator, Vattenfall Energy Trading

After studying mechanical and industrial engineering, Hanno Mieth worked for five years as area manager of a heating technology company. Since 1998 he has been an employee at Vattenfall. For 14 years he was responsible as Key Account Manager for the supply of industrial customers. Since 2012 he has been Senior Renewables Originator for the electricity distribution of renewable energies (direct marketing) with a focus on Germany and is also responsible for the development of the market for Power Purchase Agreements for wind farms and new PV investments in Germany.