Solar Power Plants and Storage II: Ensuring Performance - Quality, Reliability and Bankability of Modules and BOS Components in a Competitive Environment

Niki is a Project Officer at SolarPower Europe in the Research & Innovation team. She coordinates multiple research and industry expert groups and leads the Lifecycle Quality Workstream, fostering collaboration between research and industry to advance the development of utility-scale PV projects.

George Touloupas is Vice President, ESG and New Services in CEA. Since 2010 George has been active in technical consulting for PV and energy storage projects, as well as in PV manufacturing, EPC and project development. He joined CEA in 2015 and has previously led the technology and quality team for solar and energy storage. Prior to CEA, he held positions as Chief Operating & Technical Officer at Philadelphia Solar in Jordan, as Technical Operations Director at Recom and as an EPC and project developer in Greece.

Sishir Garemella is head of international business development at Kiwa PVEL, the leading independent lab of the downstream solar market. Sishir leads Kiwa PVEL's international expansion in strategic markets. He has over 15 years of experience, primarily in the downstream, both as a financier and as an operator. Prior to solar, he has worked in investment banking in the UK and the automotive industry in Canada. He holds a Masters in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics in the UK and a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the University of Windsor in Canada.

Julia works as Product Lead Photovoltaics in Munich Re´s Green Tech Solutions team. She has built up the PV Warranty Partner program (www.munichre.com/PVWarrantyPartner) which enables project developers and investors to find suppliers entitled to sell warranty-insured PV modules, thereby turning their solar projects into safe, long-term investments. Julia holds a M.A. International Cultural and Business Studies from the Universities of Passau, Limerick (Ireland) and Granada (Spain) and an Executive Master of Insurance from the University of Munich.

Dipl.-Ing. Jörg Althaus ist Segement Manager für PV-Kraftwerks-Dienstleistungen bei TÜV Rheinland. Als langjähriger Fachexperte im Bereich der Solarenergie vertritt er TÜV Rheinland in verschiedenen Industrieverbänden, trägt auf Fachforen vor und hat an vielen internationalen Industriestandards mitgewirkt. Er lebt seit 20 Jahren in Köln und hat doch internationale Verantwortung. Bei seinen Reisen hat er viele PV-Anlagen oder -Fabriken auf der ganzen Welt gesehen. Die Begegnung mit unterschiedlichsten Kulturen und Menschen auf Geschäfts- oder Privatreisen vermisst er am meisten, wenn er zu lange stationär ist. Als Taucher versinkt er gerne in der Faszination der Unterwasserwelt, um sich vom Trubel der immer schneller werdenden Welt zu entspannen.

Magnus Herz holds a degree in Renewable Energies and has been a member of TÜV Rheinland's Solar Team since 2010, serving as a Senior Expert, Researcher, and Developer. His expertise spans consulting for international photovoltaic (PV) projects and contributing to numerous research and development (R&D) initiatives. Magnus focuses on developing AI-driven strategies to enhance quality assurance and mitigate risks in the solar energy sector. His work emphasizes the standardization of failure categories and the advancement of AI-based analysis techniques to drive innovation and reliability in PV systems.