Conference Chairpersons 2024

Greg Barron-Gafford (University of Arizona, USA)

Greg Barron-Gafford’s work has largely been based in the drylands of the world. He has worked for the last 18 years in the southwestern US studying Earth System science, plant ecology, and the impacts of climate and land use change. In 2011, he began studying photovoltaic installations and pushing for ways to co-locate native plant restoration and food production alongside renewable energy from photovoltaics (agrivoltaics). In recent years, his work has extended globally thanks to multi-national partners that span physical and social sciences, engineering, and community development. Greg Barron-Gafford is author or co-author of about 80 articles in scientific journals and is excited to participate in this meeting around this great food-energy-water solution.

Jordan Macknick (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)

Jordan Macknick is the Lead Energy-Water-Land Analyst for NREL. He is a member of the Strategic Energy Analysis Center's Systems Modeling team within the Resources and Sustainability Group. His primary work addresses the environmental impacts of energy technologies, while seeking opportunities for energy and ecological synergies. In his energy-water-land leadership capacity, Macknick analyzes national and regional implications of different energy pathways in the context of water and land resources, evaluates opportunities to improve the energy management of water infrastructure, and explores innovative approaches to co-locating solar and agricultural activities.

Scientific Committee 2024

Alan Knapp (Colorado State University, USA)

Alan K. Knapp is a University Distinguished Professor in the Biology Department and the Senior Ecologist for the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at Colorado State University. Professor Knapp’s research interests include grassland ecology, global change biology and ecosystem ecology. Currently, Professor Knapp is a lead investigator on the Sustainably Co-locating Agricultural and Photovoltaic Electricity Systems (SCAPES) project funded by the USDA. The goal of SCAPES is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary to design sustainable Agrivoltaic technologies for diverse agricultural practices.

Alessandra Scognamiglio (ENEA, Italy)

Licensed architect, PhD in Technologies for Architecture and Environment. Since 2000 she works as researcher at ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), Photovoltaic Technologies Area. Her main interest is working on the hybrid border between scientific research and design, to create a domain of common understanding and possibilities for experimentations in the real living environment. Her main topics are: the use of photovoltaics in buildings (BIPV), and landscapes, with focus on trans-disciplinary perspectives and innovative cognitive frameworks for sustaining new design visions. Since 2008 topic organizer of the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EUPVSEC), on the use of photovoltaics in buildings and nature; idea person and chairperson of the event “Photovoltaics, Forms, Landscapes. Beauty and power of designed photovoltaics” (www.pv-landscapes.com); Italian alternate ExCo IEA SHC; member of ETIP PV, Integrated PV;  Coordinator of the task force ENEA “Sustainable Agrivoltaics”.

Alexis Pascaris (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)

Alexis Pascaris is an agrivoltaics and energy-water-land nexus researcher in the Impacts Analysis Group within the Strategic Energy Analysis Center. As an applied social scientist, she is interested in how the intersection of social dynamics and technological innovation shapes the energy transition. Alexis’s research portfolio centers on minimizing the social and environmental impacts of solar development through stakeholder engagement, cross-sector collaboration, and innovative energy-water-land nexus solutions.

Álvaro Fernández-Solas (German Aerospace Center, Spain)

Dr. Álvaro Fernández Solas is a research scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), based at the Institute of Solar Research in Almería, Spain. He completed his studies in industrial engineering at the University of Jaén (UJA), Spain, obtaining his M.Sc. degree in 2019. In 2023, he successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on photovoltaic soiling at UJA. During his academic journey, he served as a visiting researcher at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).Throughout his career, he has actively engaged in various national and European research projects related to photovoltaics, contributing significantly to the field. His dedication is reflected in the numerous papers he has authored for peer-reviewed journals and prestigious conferences, focusing on topics such as PV soiling and agrivoltaics. Currently, he directs his research efforts towards agrivoltaics, exploring applications in both open and closed systems. He actively participates in the "Agrivoltaics subtask" of the IEA Task 13 and is a member of several scientific societies, including the AiDo working group and the COST Actions “PearlPV” and “NEXUSNET.

Andrea Gerlak (University of Arizona, USA)

Andrea K. Gerlak is Director at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and Professor in the School of Geography, Development and Environment at the University of Arizona. Her research agenda focuses on cooperation and conflict in water and environmental governance, including questions of equity and access, institutional change, learning and adaptation. She is an author or co-author of more than 100 publications, including three books. She is a senior fellow with the Earth Systems Governance network. Dr. Gerlak has more two decades of experience leading interdisciplinary environmental studies programs and university-community environmental partnerships. She has consulted on water governance and climate resilience efforts for UNESCO and the WMO.

Anna Clare Monlezun (Colorado State University, USA)

Dr. Anna Clare Monlezun is a rangeland ecosystem scientist, synthesizer, and collaborative facilitator. She considers herself a life-long student of nature who thrives in interdisciplinary work environments, assisting stakeholders in the discovery of common-ground paths for learning, management planning, and long-term thrivability in the interface of ranching and conservation. She offers state-of-the-science knowledge and practical engagement in rangeland ecology, agrivoltaics, ecosystem services valuation, agroecological practices, and environmental market solutions. A published writer, musician, and poet, Anna Clare enjoys bridging the worlds of science, art, and land stewardship. A Colorado rancher herself, she brings her unique skillset to natural resource and grazing management in both her for-profit company, Graze LLC, and non-profit organization, Rangeland Living Laboratory Inc. Anna Clare is currently the Agrivoltaics Research Lead for a U.S. Department of Energy funded project in partnership with solar developer Silicon Ranch. She brings to the field of agrivoltaics and the solar industry a “systems” perspective, where ecosystem stewardship is equally paramount to the production of clean energy. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Humanities, an M.A. in Community Counseling, an International Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Expressive Arts: Therapy, Consultation, and Social Change, an M.S. in Animal Sciences, and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability.

Bengt Stridh (Mälardalen University, Sweden)

Dr. Stridh has been working for more than 15 years with photovoltaic (PV) systems at ABB Corporate Research until 2018. Since 2012 part time as researcher and since October 2018 full time as senior lecturer at Mälardalen University, performing research and education in solar energy. The research has been focused on operation, simulation, and evaluation of PV systems, including economy, regulations, and support systems for PV. In last years with a special interest in agrivoltaics. He is one of the Swedish representatives in IEA PVPS Task 13 on Performance and Reliability of Photovoltaic Systems since 2011.

Carrie Seay-Fleming (University of Arizona, USA)

Carrie is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Geography, Development, and Environment at the University of Arizona. She is an environmental sociologist using fine-grain qualitative research to better understand food system transformations and sustainability transitions in rural geographies across the Americas. Her work asks: who wins and who loses from efforts to govern the environment and from specific proposals to improve human-environment relationships? She has particular expertise in food security, sustainable development, biotechnology, energy transitions, and land-use conflict. She focuses regionally on Latin America and the Western United States. She is currently researching land conflict and community opposition to solar development in the arid Southwest as well as agrivoltaics as a mechanism for mitigating land-use conflict

Christian Dupraz (INRAE, France)

Christian Dupraz is involved in agrivoltaics research since 2009, when he designed the first crop / photovoltaic panels dual system prototype in Europe and named it as "agrivoltaics". He chaired the first Agrivoltaics Conference in 2020. He is Director of Research at INRAE, the French National Institute for Agronomical and Environmental Research, and is based at Montpellier University. He is currently the Editor in Chief of the “Agroforestry Systems” Journal. As an agronomist, Christian is focussing on the resilience of agricultural systems facing climate change, and both agroforestry and agrivoltaics are part of the solution. Christian was the founding President of the European Agroforestry Federation (EURAF) and of the International Union of Agroforestry (IUAF).

Dana-Marie Thomas (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)

Dana-Marie Thomas is a researcher in the Resilient Systems Design and Engineering Group in NREL’s Energy Security and Resilience Center. Her myriad of professional expertise includes a policy background in cyber and energy security, including cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, regulatory compliance, behavioral science, and public health. She is interested in community resilience and social vulnerability, the intersection of energy, resilience, the built environment, and health, as well as metrics and return on investment for all of these topics. At NREL, Thomas develops tools and research to enhance stakeholder participation and equity in the clean energy transition and address community vulnerabilities in an evolving threat landscape. She conducts energy security and resilience assessments that help partners improve energy system reliability and performance at their facilities, considering supply chain disruptions, natural hazards, security risks, and other factors. Thomas also studies cybersecurity best practices to inform policy, implementation, resilience, and good governance for securing critical infrastructure.

Delphine Petri (CSEM and EPFL, Switzerland)

Delphine is a material science engineer with specialization in energy from the EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne). Currently she works as a research engineer at CSEM (Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology) in the Solar Module group, with responsibility for the development and investigation on integrative photovoltaic solutions, reliability testing, and all agrivoltaic activities. She is involved in several research projects at the national and European levels. Delphine participates in the international expert group "Subtask Agrivoltaics" of the Task 13 Program of the IEA.

Eduardo  F. Fernández (University of Jaén, Spain)

Dr. Eduardo F. Fernandez is currently Ramon y Cajal Researcher and Head of the Research Group ‘‘Advances in Photovoltaic Technology (AdPVTech)” at the CEACTEMA of the University of Jaén (Spain). Dr. Fernández has more than 10 years of experience in the field of PV working in several prestigious institutions worldwide as PV product developer, research assistant, postdoctoral researcher, and nowadays, as head researcher. During this time, Dr. Fernández has participated in more than 20 research projects, been principal investigator in more than 10, has published over 120 peer-review papers indexed in ISI JCR, presented above 100 work in the most relevant international conferences and workshops, as well as multiple book contributions in prestigious international editorials within the field of PV. Dr. Fernández has also been member of more than 10 academic and scientific societies, such the IEA Task 13 (ST2.2 Agrivoltaics), PVQAT working group or PEARLPV and NEXUSNET Cost Actions.

Ethan Winter (American Farmland Trust, USA)

Ethan Winter joined American Farmland Trust in June 2021 and serves as AFT's National Smart Solar Director. In this role, Ethan is building AFT's national and regional platforms to advance cross-sector engagement, research and best practices for project siting, agrivoltaics and regenerative land management for solar energy facilities. Ethan oversees AFT's Smart Solar program development, including corporate partnerships and technical assistance for farmers transitioning into agrivoltaics. Previously, Ethan was a developer and senior community engagement manager for Cypress Creek Renewables, advancing a 100 MW portfolio of community solar projects in New York and Massachusetts. Prior to working in solar, Ethan led the Land Trust Alliance New York Program for 13 years, building a statewide network of conservation organizations and supporting LTA's national land and climate program. Ethan has a Master of Forestry from the Yale School of the Environment and lives in upstate New York.
 

Frank de Ruijter (Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands)

Frank de Ruijter is an experienced researcher on farming systems and sustainable agricultural production at the unit Agrosystems Research of Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands. He obtained his PhD in 1998 on the topic ‘Potato crop growth as affected by potato cyst nematodes’, and has worked on nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiencies in dairy farming and arable farming (agriculture, horticulture and flower bulb production), both with farmers’ groups and for policy makers, and on quantification of sustainable agricultural practices at global scale. Latest research topics are on exploration of biomass production options for a biobased circular economy, on efficient recycling of nutrients derived from plant material, animal manure or human waste (sanitation), and on combining agriculture with solar panels (agrivoltaics).

Gerardo Lopez (Sun'Agri, France)

Gerardo Lopez is a research scientist with twenty years of experience in crop physiology of fruit trees. His major contribution to the field of horticulture was to understand the effects of environmental stresses (water stress, solar radiation and temperature) on fruit crop production and the quality of fruit. He also studied how to adapt horticultural practices under abiotic stress conditions, including irrigation, fruit thinning and net shading. Since 2021, he is working at Sun’Agri, with the challenge of protecting fruit trees from climate change using agrivoltaics.

Harry Wirth (Fraunhofer ISE, Germany)

Dr. Harry Wirthborn in 1968, studied physics at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and at the Universitiy of Massachusetts, USA. He earned his PhD from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and from Fraunhofer ISE. From January 1999 he headed the R&D department of a specialty insulating glazing manufacturer. In 2005, he returned to Fraunhofer ISE to establish the group “Photovoltaic Modules” and to conduct the setup of the PV Module Technology Center. Since April 2023, he is director of the division “Power Solutions”. Harry Wirth is author of the report “Recent Facts about Photovoltaics in Germany” constantly renewed since 2011, author of the book “Photovoltaic Module Technology” and inventor of more than 20 patents related to solar energy.

Holly Andrews (University of Arizona, USA)

Holly Andrews is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Arizona. As a soil ecologist and biogeochemist, her research interests focus primarily on the potential for agrivoltaic systems to improve soil health, organic matter development, and carbon sequestration. 

James McCall (NREL, USA)

James is a senior analyst who specializes in modeling the economic and environmental tradeoffs of agrivoltaics and renewable energy projects. His areas of interest include dual-land use solar configurations, energy-water-food nexus, land use change impacts, and renewable energy siting and economic modeling.

Jennifer Bousselot (Colorado State University, USA)

Jennifer Bousselot, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Horticulture in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado State University. Jen and her graduate students study green roof plant-pollinator interactions, green roof system stormwater capture, rooftop agriculture, and the integration of solar panels on green roofs, also known as rooftop agrivoltaics. See her TEDx talk on Rooftop Agrivoltaics at youtu.be/pobj34HuHO8. Jen is the Editor of the North American academic green roof and wall journal, the Journal of Living Architecture. She is the former Research Chair on the Board of Directors for the North American green roof trade organization Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Jen is an accredited Green Roof Professional and co-coordinates the Colorado Regional Center for Excellence in Living Architecture, both designated by the Green Infrastructure Foundation. Jen was on the 2018 City of Denver Green Roof Task Force and is on the Technical Advisory Committee for the city’s Green Building Ordinance. Due to her expertise in green roofing, Jen regularly consults on the design, installation, and maintenance of green roofs, primarily in the western US. Jen has co-authored over 20 peer reviewed publications since 2010 with most related to green roofs, local foods, and native plants. She is co-author of the Colorado Native Plant Society published 3rd edition of Common Southwestern Native Plants, updated the Trees and Shrubs of New Mexico 3rd edition, contributed to two chapters in the book Ecoregional Green Roofs, and is currently working on updating a new edition of Trees and Shrubs of Colorado.

Jonathan Leloux (LuciSun, Belgium)

Jonathan Leloux has been working in the field of solar photovoltaic energy since 2005, as an engineer, researcher, consultant and entrepreneur. He holds of an engineering degree from Faculté Polytechnique de Mons, Belgium, and a PhD in photovoltaic systems from Instituto de Energía Solar – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (IES-UPM), Spain. He is a co-founder and the managing director of the company LuciSun, where is contributing to the development of the software simulation tool LuSim, which incorporates advanced modelling features for agrivoltaic systems. Jonathan has participated in several research projects at the national and European levels. He is involved with LuciSun in the Horizon Europe research project SYMBIOSYST, leading the work on agrivoltaic systems modelling. He is a participant in the IEA PVPS Programme Task 13 on PV systems performance, including agrivoltaics. He is an editor for IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

Knowledge Murphy (American Farmland Trust, USA)

Knowledge comes to AFT with over a decade of experience working in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, as well as a content creator, entrepreneur, and an environmental justice advocate. He is also an advocate for Black people having peace. He is the owner & CEO of Black Man, Green Plan LLC, a consulting company & multimedia brand which focuses on spreading info about renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainability, & most importantly, environmental/climate justice to Black, and Brown people, or Original people, in a culturally relevant manner. Recently, Knowledge worked on a variety of projects around environmental justice, climate justice, resilience and more as a Sustainability Specialist with Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability in Portland, OR.

Lee Walston (Argonne National Laboratory)

Lee Walston is an ecologist at Argonne National Laboratory where he is head of the Ecology, Natural Resources, and Managed Systems Department within the Environmental Science Division. He has over a decade of experience in efforts to better understand and minimize the ecological impacts of solar energy. For the past 6 years he has supported DOE-funded projects to evaluate the ecological and ecosystem service opportunities of solar energy dual land use practices. He serves on several solar energy advisory boards and working groups to improve the ecological compatibility of solar energy development.

Lexie Hain (Lightsourcebp / ASGA)

Lexie Hain is Director of Agrivoltaics and Land Management at Lightsource bp, Americas. Lexie holds a MSc from University of Edinburgh (UK) in Environmental Sustainability (2001) and a B.S. from Cornell University, Agriculture and Life Sciences (1999). A farm owner since 2003, she owned and operated a horticultural plant nursery (2005-2015). Lexie has raised sheep for solar grazing since 2017, contracting the flocks for vegetation maintenance at in the Northeastern United States. She co-founded and directed the American Solar Grazing Association (ASGA), from 2018-2022, and currently serves on the board of directors.

Makoto Tajima (ISEP, Japan)

Makoto Tajima has over 25 years of experience in international development work and research, working overseas for NGOs and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as an expert/advisor. He is the director/senior research fellow of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP) and advisor on Disaster Risk Reduction and Response of Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC). He also serves on the Japan Solar Sharing Federation (JSSF), CWS Japan, Women’s Eye board, and AgriVoltaics 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 Scientific Committee. His professional background is in natural resources management—MSc in agronomy and soil science specializing in agroforestry, the University of Hawaii.

Matthias Meier-Grüll (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany)

Matthias Meier-Grüll  is member of the institute for Plant Sciences at Forschungszentrum Jülich and Leader of the Agri-Horti-PV activities at the research center. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Nanotechnology at the Technical University of Aachen in 2009. After his Post Doc he became Group Leader at the institute of Photovoltaics in Jülich in 2013. In 2015 he became Head of the department of Scientific Coordination at the PV institute where he was responsible for strategy development, third party funding and resource management as science manager. Finally, he changed to the institute of plant sciences as project leader of the first APV 2.0 project in Jülich in the frame of the BioökonomieREVIER initiative and Hub-Lead “Bioeconomy meets Energy”, wherein he develops and runs energy projects with bioeconomy background. Together with the Agri-PV team Matthias actually runs six Agri-PV projects with different focus on e.g. soy bean growth or semitransparent PV modules

Max Zhang (Cornell University, USA)

Max Zhang is the Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering at Cornell University. His research interests focus on energy and the environment, driven by societal impact. He studies the interactions between energy and environmental systems using numerical models and experimental techniques, in the context of renewable energy and deep decarbonization. Dr. Zhang has been working with colleagues across Cornell University to create a sustainable solar initiative. His primary research interest in this area is to create a holistic platform to transform the design process of future solar farms. Dr. Zhang’s research has led to major legislation and programs in New York, the U.S., and internationally. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Max Trommsdorff (Fraunhofer ISE, Germany)

Max Trommsdorff is heading the Group Agrivoltaics at Fraunhofer ISE and works in the field of dual land use for agriculture and photovoltaic power generation since 2014. Since then, he worked in more than 30 agrivoltaics projects with a focus on economic feasibility, technology transfer and institutional designs. With over 50 employees of different disciplines, the Group Agrivoltaics at Fraunhofer ISE encompasses all relevant facets of agrivoltaic technology like PV technology, agricultural and environmental sciences, hydrology, geology, as well as economic and political sciences. Max chaired the AgriVoltaics2021 and is currently leading the international expert group "Subtask Agrivoltaics" of the Task 13 Programme of the IEA and the Working Group on Scientific Accompanying Research on Agrivoltaics of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Germany. As the founder of the AgriVoltaics conference and member of the conference's Management Board , Max is convinced that a well-working international exchange is a solid base to spread the concept of agrivoltaics.

Mike van Iseghem (EDF R&D, France)

Mike van Iseghem is research engineer in AgriPV, with a PhD in Material Science. Responsible for the scientific program of the APV activities in the R&D department of EDF (Electricité de France, a global utility company), Mike has a long experience in the sector of solar energy. He started however as a glass scientist, with an engineering degree at KU Leuven, and a PhD from Mines ParisTech. He worked at Saint-Gobain Recherche and Baccarat, before switching to Photovoltaics. His recent contributions are on reliability of PV modules, APV experimental set-ups and its modeling (Renardières test site on alfalfa and wheat close to Fontainebleau, Vitisolar on winery near Bordeaux, more to come). He is keen on setting up partnerships (H.E. projects, AiDO, INRAE.) and tutoring PhD candidates

Onno Muller (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany)

Onno Muller is a plant ecophysiologist interested in how and why plants respond to their environment, specifically leaves of plants in their natural habitat. Experienced in field phenotyping, quantifying photosynthesis and its relationship to leaf nitrogen, rubisco, fluorescence, leaf and vein anatomy among others, in lab and field conditions. Internationally orientated and fascinated by non-invasive methods. He implemented and is coordinating field phenotyping under elevated CO2 in the BreedFACE, as well under photovoltaics in the APV 2.0. project. He uses the light induced fluorescence method, among others, for photosynthetic phenotyping. He is PI on field phenotyping projects in the German agricultural landscape as well as abroad.

Pietro Elia Campana (Mälardalen University, Sweden)

Pietro Elia Campana is an associate professor at the Department of Sustainable Energy Systems, Future Energy Center, Mälardalen University. His main research interests are agrivoltaic systems integrated modelling and optimization, solar irradiance assessment, microclimate modeling, artificial intelligence for energy applications, and water-food-energy nexus. He has about 15 years experience integrating solar energy applications into agriculture. He led the first agrivoltaic research project in Sweden. He is associate editor for the Elsevier journal Applied Energy (IF: 11.2). He is one of the Swedish representatives in the IEA PVPS Task 13 subtask on agrivoltaic systems,

Richard Randle-Boggis (SINTEF Industry, Norway)

Richard Randle-Boggis research bridges sectors and disciplines to address complex global sustainability challenges, with a focus on solar energy initiatives. The overarching question guiding much of his research is: how can we achieve even greater socio-economic and environmental benefits from renewable energy initiatives, in addition to much-needed low-carbon electricity generation? He has a passion for agrivoltaics and its ability to tackle multiple sustainable development goals simultaneously. His experience in this area ranges from implementing agrivoltaic pilots in East Africa - where PV potential is enormous and climate change threatens food production, through to expanding agrivoltaics research in Norway – where all proposed solar parks involve deforestation.

Soo-Young Oh (Yeungnam University, Republic of Korea)

Soo-Young Oh received his B. S. E. E. from Seoul National University in 1972, and M. S. E. E. in 1977 and Ph. D. in electrical Engineering in 1981 from Stanford University. He has worked 17 years in scientist and project manager in Hewlett Packard Labs. He is a recognized expert in high-speed device modeling and design of the digital and mixed signal SOC. Dr. Oh has been  the vice president of Convergence Components & Materials Research Lab. in Electrical Communication Research Institute (ETRI) in Korea from 2006 to 2012. He has been the directer of Advanced Solar Technology Resaerch Division in ETRI and manages the development of flexibls DSSC and CIGS solar cell. Now he is the professor of Yeungnam University from 2012 doing the research on the reliability of Solar Cells  and AgriPhotoVoltaics(APV).

Stephan Schindele (BayWa r.e. AG, Germany)

Stephan Schindele Head of Product Management Agri-PV at BayWa r.e. AG. Stephan is r.e. sponsible for enabling BayWa r.e. PV projects on agricultural land in harmony with the farming and nature conservation sectors. In his function he leverages synergies of the Food-Energy-Water-Biodiversity Teams within the BayWa Group. He supports our global Agri-PV greenfield development by optimizing the tangible and intangible aspects of Agri-PV. Before joining BayWa r.e. in 2020, he was employed as a PhD candidate and Agri-PV project manager at Fraunhofer ISE. There he built up the new business field of Agri-PV, wrote numerous publications on the topic and received several awards for his work (2012-2020).

Veronica Bermudez Benito (Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Qatar)

Dr. Bermúdez is an internationally recognized expert authoring or co-authoring more than 120 scientific papers in renown journals, including Nature, Nature Energy and Science in clean and sustainable energy and in particular in photovoltaic materials and technologies in the whole value chain.  She has extensive experience in laboratory to industry technology transfer in the field photovoltaics in almost the whole value chain and in particular in materials development, devices and processes scale up, power plant operations best practices, reliability, degradation and impact of weather conditions on performance ratio.