On Monday, June 12, 2023, the Embassy of Iceland, Green by Iceland and energiewaechter, will host the Germany-Iceland Clean Energy Summit at the Nordic Embassies – Felleshus in Berlin.
In the context of today’s geopolitical challenges, more ambition is needed to rapidly decarbonize the energy system while ensuring energy security. Given that Iceland is the world’s largest producer of green energy per capita and has been a leader in renewable energy for more than a century, there are many lessons that can be shared to benefit from today’s global energy security and climate change challenges.
The Summit brings together government representatives, businesses, and civil society groups from Iceland and Germany to discuss ways to strengthen international cooperation to achieve climate goals. The summit builds on recent progress in clean energy and discusses technological solutions to accelerate the energy transition.
Dr. Robert Habeck, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, Iceland’s Minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate, have already confirmed their participation. In addition, a high-ranking Icelandic business delegation will be on site.
AGENDA
Monday, 12th June 2023
| Time (CEST) | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 10:45 | Registration | The Nordic Embassies – Felleshus, Rauchstraße 1, 10787 Berlin, Germany |
| 11:00 – 11:10 | Opening greeting | By Ambassador María Erla Marelsdóttir and Pétur Óskarsson, CEO of Business Iceland |
| 11:10 – 12:00 | The importance of geoscientific research, mapping and developing low temperature areas in Germany | Panel 1: • Prof. Dr. Ingo Sass, Head of Geoenergy – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences • Árni Magnússon, CEO of ÍSOR / Iceland GeoSurvey • Prof. Dr. Inga Moeck, Vice-President of the German Geothermal Association, Chairwoman of Geothermics and Information Systems at Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG) • Kristinn Ingason, Manager of Geothermal Plant Division, Mannvit • Stefan Thiem, Head of Reservoir Engineering and Simulation at Geothermie Neubrandenburg (gtn) Moderator: Sarah Borufka, Head of Communication at the German Geothermal Association (BVG) |
| 12:00 – 12:30 | Ministers Keynote addresses | Dr. Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, Minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate |
| 12:30 – 13:10 | Our Climate Future – Climate Protection, Energy Transition and Economic Prosperity: A challenge – an opportunity? | Fireside discussion: • Kristín Linda Árnadóttir, Chairwoman of The Federation of Energy and Utility Companies in Iceland, Deputy CEO of Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company of Iceland • Prof. Antje Boetius, Director of AWI / Alfred Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research Moderator: Dr. David Bothe, Director at Frontier Economics |
| 13:10 – 14:10 | Networking Lunch | |
| 14:10-15:00 | Public-private partnerships: How to accelerate the geothermal transition in Germany | Panel 2: • Prof. Rolf Bracke, Director of Fraunhofer IEG Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems • Halla Hrund Logadóttir, Director-General, National Energy Authority of Iceland • Thomas Jahrfeld, Head of Geothermal Project Development at Stadtwerke München • Tómas Már Sigurðsson, CEO, HS Orka Moderator: Dr. André Deinhardt, CEO of the German Geothermal Association (BVG) |
| 15:00 – 15:45 | Harnessing geothermal energy potential and its cascading uses | Panel 3: • Dr. Marit Brommer, Executive Director of the International Geothermal Association • Þorleikur Jóhannesson, Mechanical Engineer, Geothermal Systems, Verkís Consulting Engineers • Harpa Pétursdóttir, Director Stakeholder Affairs, ON Power • Eiríkur Bragason, COO at Arctic Green Energy Moderator: Birta Kristín Helgadóttir, Director – Energy at EFLA Consulting Engineers |
| 15:45 – 16:15 | Coffee break | |
| 16:15-17:00 | The role of CCUS technology in the Energy Transition | Panel 4: • Kristjana Kristjansdóttir, Chief Commercial Officer of Carbon Recycling International • Kristinn Ingi Lárusson, Head of Business Development and Commercialisation of Carbfix • Anastasios Perimenis, Secretary General, CO2 Value Europe (CVE) • Dr. Marc Rüggeberg, Head of CO2 Economy within Group Innovation at Volkswagen Group / VW AG • Zoltan Elek, Founder and CEO, Landwärme GmbH Moderator: Prof. Jürgen Peterseim, Senior Manager Sustainability at PwC Germany |
| 17:00 | Closing remarks | Nótt Thorberg, Director of Green by Iceland |
| 17:15-19:00 | Networking Reception | We cordially invite all participants to the Networking Reception |
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Dr. Robert Habeck
Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson
Iceland’s Minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate
María Erla Marelsdóttir
Icelandic Ambassador in Germany
María Erla Marelsdóttir is the first female ambassador of Iceland in Germany, since September 2019.
She has gained a lot of experience and knowledge in the field of renewable energies and geothermal utilization during her position as Director General for Development Cooperation of the Foreign Service
and non-resident ambassador of Iceland to a number of African countries with geothermal potential.
Pétur Óskarsson
CEO of Business Iceland
Mr. Óskarsson has been CEO of Business Iceland since 2018. Prior to that he was Head of Corporate Communications at Icelandair Group, Iceland Telecom and Icelandic Enterprise Fund. He was Trade Commissioner to the US and Canada from 2000-2005 at the Consulate General of Iceland in New York. He has been on the boards of the Icelandic Employers Association, The Icelandic Travel Industry Association and is the Vice-Chairman of the American Icelandic Chamber of Commerce. He holds a BA degree in Philosophy from the University of Iceland and MBA from Fordham University in New York.
Fireside discussion
Kristín Linda Árnadóttir
Deputy CEO of Landsvirkjun, The National Power Company of Iceland
Kristín Linda Árnadóttir is deputy CEO of Landsvirkjun, The National Power Company of Iceland and the Chairman of The Federation of Energy and Utility Companies in Iceland. Landsvirkjun is Iceland’s largest power producing company, producing 100% renewable energy from hydroelectric, geothermal and wind facilities. Kristín was Director General at the Environment Agency of Iceland for over 12 years and in that role participated actively in environmental issues in Europe.
Prof. Antje Boetius
Director of AWI / Alfred Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Prof. Dr Antje Boetius is a German polar and deep-sea researcher and director of the Alfred Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research. She studies the impacts of climate change, biodiversity losses, ocean health. Boetius has participated in 50 expeditions on international research vessels. Her recent research focuses on the effects of climate change on the Arctic Ocean and the biodiversity of the deep sea. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and other national and international academies. For her research and engagement in public dialogue she has received several awards, including the Communicator Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the CarlFriedrich-Weizsäcker Medal of the Stifterverband. She collaborates with arts, theater, film and music with a focus on the relationship between humanity and nature.
Dr. David Bothe
Director at Frontier Economics
Dr. David Bothe is a Director in Frontier’s Cologne and Berlin offices and has 18 years of experience as an economic consultant with a strong focus on the energy and transportation sectors. David regularly advises companies, regulators as well as industry associations and NGOs across Europe on questions around economics, regulation, strategy, competition and environmental policy. In addition to his ongoing work on the European electricity, gas and fuel markets David has recently focused on the defossilisation of the European economy and the integration of renewable energies into all sectors through alternative energy carriers. David began his career in the energy sector with his PhD on Icelandic hydropower and has been closely following the developments in this market ever since.
Panel 1
Prof. Dr. Ingo Sass
Head of Geoenergy – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
Ingo Sass is a professor at the TU Darmstadt, where he represents the field of “Applied Geothermal Energy”. Since 2021, he has headed the “Geoenergy” section at the German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam. From 2008 – 2012 he also held a visiting professorship at the School for Renewable Energy Science at the University of Akureyri, Iceland. He is a publicly appointed and sworn expert for geothermal energy, deep drilling technology and well construction and has been a consulting engineer for geothermal energy and geotechnics at the Chamber of Consulting Engineers since 2004. As co-author of the strategy paper “Roadmap Deep Geothermal Energy for Germany” published in 2022 by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Helmholtz Association, he is convinced that decarbonization in the heating sector in Germany can only succeed with geothermal energy.
Árni Magnússon
CEO of ÍSOR / Iceland GeoSurvey
With background in Media and Politics Arni has decades of experience at Management level, both within Public and Private sector. In Iceland and Internationally.
Arni holds an MIB degree (Master International Business).
Since July 2020 Árni serves as CEO at ÍSOR, Iceland Geo Survey.
From November 2016 until January 2020 he was the Managing Director at Mannvit Kft, Budapest, Hungary. He also was the Director of International Markets at Mannvit Group.
Before joining Mannvit in 2013 he founded and headed the Sustainable Energy Team at Glitnir-Bank (Islandsbanki) from 2006. He was responsible for the creation of a new product in the U.S. Geothermal Energy Market; high-margin bridge loan facility, shortlisted by Financial Times for the Sustainability Deal of the year. He managed the setup and execution of Íslandsbanki’s New York-based subsidiary, Glacier, was the chairman of its Hold-Co and was on the board of the registered broker-dealer. He has been a board member of multiple companies and organisations, Icelandic and International, including financial institutions.
Arni was a board member of the U.S. Geothermal Energy Association, member of the Leadership council of American Council of Renewable Energy (ACORE) and served as the treasurer of the Iceland-America Chamber of Commerce. He has been frequent speaker at industry forums worldwide.
Before joining Íslandsbanki he was a member of the Icelandic Parliament and served as the Minister of Social Affairs. Past experience includes MD of the Progressive Party and Political Advisor to both the Minister of Foreign Affairs & External Trade and the Minister of Industry (Energy) & Commerce.
Prof. Dr. Inga Moeck
Geologist and vice president of the German Geothermal Association
Prof. Dr. Inga Moeck is a geologist with a doctorate and habilitation with more than 20 years of experience in national and international geothermal research. She is vice president of the German Geothermal Association, head of the geothermal information system for Germany GeotIS at the Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics in Hanover, and professor for applied geothermal and geohydraulics at the Georg-August University of Göttingen.
Kristinn Ingason
Manager of Geothermal Plant Division at Mannvit
Örn holds an M.Sc. in International Business from Copenhagen Business School in 1998 and held the position of CFO at Mannvit in 2015-2018 and has served as the CEO of Mannvit since 2018. Örn has also served on the boards of numerous companies in Iceland and abroad in connection with his work at Mannvit, Kaupthing and Skipti. He is on the BoD at Geothermie Neubrandenburg GmbH (GTN), a German subsidiary of Mannvit.
Stefan Thiem
Head of Reservoir Engineering and Simulation at Geothermie Neubrandenburg
Stefan Thiem, born and raised in Berlin. After his masters degree in geoscience at University Potsdam he started his career at Geothermie Neubrandenburg GmbH. During the past 9 years he gathered experience in fields from shallow closed loop systems to kilometer deep open loop solutions. He was involved in all phases for geothermal projects starting from exploration until exploitation.
Sarah Borufka
Head of Communications of the German Geothermal Association
Sarah Borufka has worked in journalism in both Prague and Berlin for over 15 years. More recently, she co-authored two best-selling biographies. She joined the Bundesverband Geothermie/ German Geothermal Association in March 2023.
Panel 2
Prof. Rolf Bracke
Director of Fraunhofer IEG Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems
Rolf Bracke is director of the Fraunhofer Institution on Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems (IEG). Previously, as founding director and chairman of the board, he established the International Geothermal Center (GZB) in Bochum as a joint research institution of science and industry since 2003. Within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Rolf Bracke coordinates the research on the transformation of the industrial and urban heat sector of the Institutes of the Cluster of Excellence Integrated Energy Systems. As a professor at the Ruhr University Bochum, he holds the chair for Geothermal Energy Systems.
Halla Hrund Logadóttir
Director-General of the National Energy Authority of Iceland
Halla Hrund Logadóttir is the Director-General of Iceland’s National Energy Authority and the Co-founder of the Arctic Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School where she now serves as a Senior Fellow. Ms. Logadóttir is a frequent commentator on the environment, energy, and innovation within the Arctic.
Among her other roles include being the Co-founder of Girls4Girls non-profit; a global mentorship program that aims to arm young women with the courage, vision, and skills needed to take on public leadership.
Thomas Jahrfeld
Head of Geothermal Project Development at Stadtwerke München
Thomas Jahrfeld is Head of Dep. “Geothermal Strategy“ at Stadtwerke München (SWM), the municipal utilities of Munich. The implementing of Munich’s decarbonization plan for district heating with focus on geothermal energy, and project initiation and development in urban and rural area of Munich has been a focus of his work for SWM since 2018. He is member of the board of the German Geothermal Association and member of Etip-Deep Geothermal (EGEC). As project engineer with a diploma for biotechnology, and studies of technical physics, he has vast experience in project management for geothermal heat and power plants, conceptual design of waste incinerators and CHP plants, project development for biomass CHP plants and waste utilization, permission procedures and is an expert for emissions for industrial plants.
Tómas Már Sigurðsson
CEO of HS Orka
Tómas Már Sigurðsson was appointed CEO of HS Orka in January 2020. Prior to joining HS Orka Mr. Sigurdsson worked at Alcoa for 16 years where he held roles including President for Alcoa in Iceland, President for Alcoa in Europe and the Middle East, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the company worldwide. Mr Sigurdsson has a degree in civil- and environmental engineering from the University of Iceland and a master’s degree from Cornell University in the United States. He has served on the board of various companies and organizations, including as President of The Iceland Chamber of Commerce (2009-2012), board member for The Federation of Icelandic Industries (2005-2011) and Executive board member for Europe Aluminium, Eurometaux and Business Europe.
Dr. André Deinhardt
CEO of the German Geothermal Association (BVG)
Geothermal can heat and cool our residential and commercial buildings 24/7 in all seasons. It’s time to make more use of this resource. Germany can learn from the development of the geothermal industry in Iceland.
Panel 3
Dr. Marit Brommer
Executive director, International Geothermal Association (IGA)
With over 20 years of experience in the energy industry executing projects in hydrocarbon / geothermal exploration and production, Dr. Brommer is currently leading a large global organization, the International Geothermal Association, which supports the deployment of geothermal energy worldwide.
Þorleikur Jóhannesson
Mechanical Engineer, Geothermal Systems, Verkís Consulting Engineers
Þorleikur Johannesson is a mechanical engineer with over 30 years of experience in the field of geothermal utilization and managing geothermal projects.
He has extensive experience in geothermal district heating, as well as a variety of low and high temperature geothermal energy utilization methods.
He started his career at Verkís in 1991 and has since been involved as a geothermal expert and project manager on a multitude of projects, both in Iceland and abroad, i.e. in Kenya, China, Turkey, Indonesia
Þorleikur is also a part time lecturer in the post-graduate program at the University of Iceland and in the United Nations University Geothermal Training Program. He graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree M.Sc. from the Technical University of Copenhagen (DTH).
Harpa Pétursdóttir
Director Stakeholder Affairs of ON Power
Harpa Pétursdóttir is the Director of Administration and Stakeholder Affairs at ON Power. She a lawyer with in depth knowledge of the legal framework of renewable energy and natural resources. Harpa has over a decade of experience in geothermal and electricity matters from her years working for the National Energy Authority of Iceland, BBA Legal Law firm and now ON Power. Harpa is also the founder of Women in Energy – Iceland.
Eiríkur Bragason
COO at Arctic Green Energy
Mr: Bragason is the COO of Arctic Green Energy a highly accomplished expert in geothermal energy development and power project management with >25 years experience. Served earlier as CEO of KS Orka and Orka Energy in Singapore. In addition to his posts Mr Bragason served as Chief Project Manager for various power projects across the globe. He holds a Degree in Engineering Structures from TU Berlin, as well as a degree in Business and Administration.
Birta Kristín Helgadottir
Director – Energy at EFLA Consulting Engineers
Birta Kristin has an MSc. degree in energy- and environmental engineering, with emphasis on renewable energy from the University of Iceland and DTU. She worked for Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company, and EFLA consulting engineers from 2013-2019 as a renewable energy consultant and specialist. In 2019-2022 she worked as a project manager and later as the director of Green by Iceland. She recently rejoined EFLA as the Director of Energy. She has also been on a few boards including Fests and Women in Energy – Iceland. She currently sits on the board of the Renewable Energy Cluster in Iceland as well as the advisory board of the Icelandic technological development fund.
Panel 4
Kristjana Kristjánsdóttir
Chief Commercial Officer, Carbon Recycling International
Extensive international experience in the energy industry and carbon to value projects. She has developed and managed CO2 to methanol projects, including business development, strategic planning and bringing together diverse groups of stakeholders to achieve carbon capture and utilisation for production of sustainable methanol with CRI´s Emission-to-Liquid technology solution
Kristinn Ingi Lárusson
Head Of Business Development and Commercial at Carbfix
Kristinn Ingi Larusson studied at the University of South Carolina and the University of Edinburgh.
As Head of Business Development and Commercial at Carbfix, his responsibilities include business development, project financing and external growth. He has particular experience in sales and marketing strategies, corporate finance and business planning.
Anastasios Perimenis
Secretary General at CO2 Value Europe (CVE)
Anastasios Perimenis, holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the NTUA, Greece, a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from the TUHH, Germany and a PhD in Bioengineering from UCL, Belgium. Over the last 14 years, Anastasios has conducted fundamental and applied research in Germany (German Biomass Research Center) and Belgium (Université catholique de Louvain) in a series of subjects linked to the development of a sustainable and circular low carbon economy (e.g. biorefinery development, waste valorisation). Anastasios continued as responsible for European and international funding at the EU Office of ULB, Belgium. Anastasios is currently the Secretary General of CO2 Value Europe, leading the operational work of the Association for the recognition of Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) as an essential solution towards a climate neutral and carbon circular EU economy.
Dr. Marc Rüggeberg
Head of CO2 Economy within Group Innovation at Volkswagen Group / VW AG
Dr. Marc Rüggeberg studied at the Technical University of Brunswick and the University of Linköping.
As Head of CO2 Economy within Volkswagen Group Innovation, his responsibilities include innovation projects on the overall value chain of Carbon Dioxide Removal, CO2-utilization, CO2-storage and mineralization. He has particular experience in manufacturing technologies and focuses on scalable solutions for Carbon Capture in combination with use cases for product synthesis and/or permanent storage.
Zoltan Elek
Founder and CEO, Landwärme GmbH
Zoltan Elek graduated from the Technical University of Munich after completing a degree in Electrical Engineering, where he majored in Energy Technology. He is also a graduate of the Center for Digital Technology and Management at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, participated in an MBA program, and completed an executive program at Harvard Business School.
After working for notable names such as E.ON Engineering and McKinsey & Company, Mr. Elek founded Landwärme in 2007 and is the CEO of the Germany-based company. Landwärme is a biomethane supplier active in the European market and with a trading portfolio of more than 3 TWh one of the leading biomethane traders in Europe. Not only is Mr. Elek’s company a pioneer in the German market, it is also building bridges between Eastern and Western Europe and doing away with obstacles that currently stand in the way of an integrated European market for renewable gas.
In all, Mr. Elek offers a wealth of experience in, and well-founded knowledge of, the biomethane industry and markets in Europe. He actively participates in the discourse surrounding renewable energies and biomethane in particular.
Adj. Prof. Jürgen Peterseim
Senior Manager Sustainability Services at PwC Germany
Jürgen is a Senior Manager at PwC, Sustainability Services, based in the Berlin Office in Germany. he has 20 years experience with net-zero expert and focuses on net-zero roadmaps for real economy and financial services companies, energy supply, sector coupling, industrial ecology, strategy development, and product commercialisation. Jürgen has a doctorate and holds an Adjunct Professor position in Sustainability at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Closing remarks
Nótt Thorberg
Director Green by Iceland
Nótt recently joined Green by Iceland and holds a MSc from the University of Strathclyde. She has specialised in strategy and transformational change in the international business context through various positions including Marel, Samskip and Icelandair. She is amongst the founders of the Association of Women in the Icelandic Fisheries (KIS) and has been a board member of numerous Non-Profit-Organisations.
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