TECHNICAL - Key Persons
Aileen Binici supports Hamburg Institut in the area of green electricity, particularly in the certification of green electricity products and providers, as well as in climate accounting. She is also involved in the topic of guarantees of origin for renewable energies. She is currently studying for a Master's degree in Sustainable & Digital Business Management at Wedel University of Applied Sciences.
Before joining Hamburg Institut, Aileen Binici worked in (online) marketing and completed a bachelor's degree in business administration.
Her consulting expertise:
Green electricity certification
Verification systems
Projects on the green electricity market
Alina Hagel's focus at Hamburg Institut lies in the field of verification systems, certification and green electricity. In particular, she is working on the topic of guarantees of origin for green hydrogen and is also writing her Master's thesis on this topic in cooperation with us.
Alina Hagel is studying Interdisciplinary Public and Nonprofit Studies at the University of Hamburg. Before joining Hamburg Institut, she worked as a student assistant in sustainability consulting and completed an internship at the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Bonn.
Her consulting expertise:
Green hydrogen
Verification systems
Certification
Green electricity
"Every day we can decide anew what influence we want to have on this world" (Jane Goodall)
During her studies, Alina Thiele specialised in the areas of climate neutrality, the (social) scientific discussion of climate change and climate reAlina Thiele is a climate neutrality consultant at Hamburg Institut. In particular, she advises corporate clients who want to minimise their greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint and/or become climate neutral. Alina Thiele balances the GHG emissions of entire companies (Corporate Carbon Footprint, CCF) as well as individual products (Product Carbon Footprint, PCF) and develops appropriate climate protection strategies to reduce them. For some industrial clients, it also takes over the corresponding data management for their national and international sites. Furthermore, she specialises in CDP reporting.
Prior to her permanent position, Alina Thiele worked as a student trainee at Hamburg Institut. She also gained consulting experience at the initiative "180 degree consulting", where she worked on a method for CO2 balancing, and in the project "Norddeutsche Energiewende 4.0", which she supported as a research assistant in the area of acceptance research and promotion.
Her consulting expertise:
GHG accounting (CCF, PCF)
Climate protection strategies for companies
Data management
CDP reporting
Climate targets according to SBTi
Annalena Hoff supports Hamburg Institut in particular in the area of large-scale heat pumps and heat planning. She is currently studying Renewable Energy Systems, Environmental and Process Engineering in the Master's programme at HAW Hamburg.
"We cannot change the wind, but we can set the sails differently." (Aristoteles)
Carolin Schönemann specialises in verification systems, certification and green electricity at Hamburg Institut. She focuses in particular on regulatory issues. She is also writing her Master's thesis in cooperation with us, in which she is analysing the EU's Renewable Energy Directive III (RED III).
Carolin Schönemann is currently studying Public Economics, Law and Politics in the Master's programme at Leuphana University in Lüneburg. She also works as a student assistant at Norddeutscher Rundfunk and has already completed an internship at the EU Liaison Office of the ver.di Federal Administration.
Her consulting expertise:
Regulatory Affairs
Verification systems
Certification
Green electricity
Every day we get a little closer to the sustainable heat transition.
Dr. Alexandra Styles, who holds a PHD in economics, is a proven expert in the field of guarantees of origin. She has been contributing her scientific skills as a senior researcher at Hamburg Institut since 2020. Her focus is on the further development of guarantees of origin systems as well as marketing strategies and support systems for renewable energies. She also researches and advises on the evaluation of framework conditions for sector coupling and bioenergy policy, as well as on heating policy.
Dr. Alexandra Styles also actively contributes her knowledge to European and national standardisation work: In addition to working in the DIN working group for the revision of EN 16325, she is co-chair of the Project Team Heating & Cooling at CEN/CENELEC JTC 14 Working Group 5 "Guarantees of Origin related to energy".
Before joining Hamburg Institut, Dr. Alexandra Styles was a research assistant in the field of biobased basic materials and materials at the Thünen Institute for Wood Research in Hamburg. At the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, she had previously investigated framework conditions for renewable energies and innovative material biomass uses as a postdoc. The topic of her dissertation, which she wrote at the UFZ in cooperation with the German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ), was an institutional economic analysis of German and European bioenergy policy in the electricity, heat and transport sectors.
Her consulting expertise:
Further development of guarantee of origin systems
Marketing strategies and support systems for renewable energies
Evaluation of framework conditions for sector coupling and bioenergy policy
Heating policy
Dr. Alice Sakhel works at Hamburg Institut mainly in the field of verification of renewable energies, especially in industry and district heating. Another focus is on heating strategies for residential buildings.
Before joining Hamburg Institut, Dr. Alice Sakhel worked as a consultant for the Federal Government's Science Platform for Climate Protection. Their task is to advise the government - especially the BMU and the BMBF - on current climate protection laws and to provide impetus for legislation. She also worked as a consultant for energy statistics at Agora Energiewende for about two years.
Dr. Alice Sakhel completed her diploma studies in business administration at the University of Cologne, with a specialisation in international management at the FGV in São Paulo. In her doctoral thesis at the University of Hamburg in the field of environmental and energy management, she researched the topics of climate reporting to reduce uncertainties on the financial markets, the effects of external consulting on the implementation of energy efficiency measures in companies, and entrepreneurial handling of uncertainties regarding climate regulations.
Her consulting expertise:
Guarantees of origin in industry and district heating
Heating strategies for residential buildings
The chemist with a doctorate and co-founder of Hamburg Institut has his consulting focus in the area of municipal heating strategies and the integration of renewable energies into the heating market. Matthias Sandrock is one of the most accomplished experts on the heat transition and can now look back on almost 40 years of professional experience in the energy sector.
Matthias Sandrock has already prepared numerous expert reports and concepts for public and private clients for Hamburg Institut, with a focus on the heating sector. In recent years, he has been intensively involved in research and consulting projects on the integration of renewable energies and waste heat in district heating supply and the necessary further development of energy policy instruments.
Through his 25 years of work in the state administration of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, he is very familiar with the requirements of energy policy issues. There, as head of department, he was responsible for renewable energies, energy-efficient buildings and new energy technologies and managed the state initiative "Work and Climate Protection" with more than 60 organisations. He was also significantly involved in energy industry issues such as the remunicipalisation of energy grids, the establishment of a new municipal energy company and the development of spatial heating concepts.
His consulting expertise:
Experienced expert for the heat transition
Energy policy instruments and regulation
Advice to management and ministries on energy and climate protection strategies
Local and district heating systems
Renewable energies and waste heat
Dr. Nikolai Strodel's consulting focus at Hamburg Institut is on sustainable heat concepts with a focus on the integration of renewable energies and large-scale heating storage. The engineer, who holds a doctorate, deals with innovative heat generation technologies and expert opinions on strategic heat supply in various projects, which he often leads himself. The simulation models developed are adapted for specific applications and used to evaluate sustainable local and district heating systems with high renewable generation shares.
Before joining Hamburg Institut, Dr. Nikolai Strodel worked for several years as a research assistant developing complex models for mapping thermal energy systems. The basic models were further developed in cooperation with engineering firms, energy suppliers and municipal utilities. During his two-year employment at the Chair of Financing and Finance in Lüneburg, he was able to deepen his business and economic expertise in the field of financing renewable energies.
His consulting expertise:
Studies, advice and concepts for the heat transition
Integrated energy systems
Integration of renewable energies in the heating sector
Large heat pumps and large heat storage units
Economic efficiency of heat supply concepts
Job Titles:
- Senior Researcher
- Freelancer
- Senior Researcher GHG Accounting Energy Markets Energy Policy / Get to Know
Dr. Sönke Häseler is a freelancer and has been working at Hamburg Institut since 2012, particularly in the area of corporate climate accounting. The economist also deals with the question of a new electricity market design and analyses the German and European green electricity market. He is particularly interested in the relationship between the state, companies and citizens, which he examines from the perspective of the economic analysis of law.
After studying economics at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and working as a student at the wind turbine manufacturer REpower UK Ltd. in Edinburgh, he took up the position of research assistant and doctoral student at Hamburg Institut for Law and Economics. He later conducted post-doctoral research on electricity market design and flexibility at the University of Hamburg and the SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences.
His consulting expertise:
GHG accounting (Corporate Carbon Footprint, CCF)
Climate accounting of recycled materials
German and European green electricity market
Energy policy, regulation
The long-standing energy market expert works as a senior consultant and project manager in the field of renewable energy verification systems. Elena Chvanova works in research and consulting projects and focuses on national and international renewable energy verification systems in various sectors.
She has extensive experience in energy economics and policy and has demonstrated her analytical skills in her previous professional positions - for example at the Russian Ministry of Energy, RosBusinessConsulting and EnBW AG. In various studies, Elena Chvanova examined different aspects of international energy markets, including the electricity distribution market in different countries. In her last position at Dr. Langniß Energie & Analyse, she evaluated use cases and regulatory requirements for the implementation of a guarantee of origin system for renewable energies and green hydrogen in South Africa on behalf of the GIZ, derived recommendations for action and validated them in local stakeholder workshops.
Elena Chvanova studied International Technical Business Administration at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences. She wrote her final thesis on electricity transmission and distribution networks in Russia. She also completed a Master's degree in World Economics and Politics at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow with a focus on "Regulation of Energy and Natural Resources in Russia and the World".
She is a member of the DIN-led working group "Guarantees of Origin and Environmental Aspects" of the joint project "Standardisation Roadmap Hydrogen Technologies" funded by the BMWK and represents Germany internationally at the IEA Hydrogen Technology Collaboration, focusing on the hydrogen certification system.
Her consulting expertise:
Verification systems for renewable energies, especially for heat, electricity and hydrogen
Markets and regulatory framework
Solutions for the practical application of guarantees of origin, especially in industry and the energy sector
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant / Senior Consultant and Project Manager Climate Neutrality
- Senior Consultant and Project Manager at Hamburg Institut
Felix Kruse is a senior consultant and project manager at Hamburg Institut and mainly supports clients from industry and the building sector on their way to climate neutrality. His tasks include basic climate accounting for organisations (Corporate Carbon Footprint, CCF) and products (Product Carbon Footprint, PCF), potential analyses for emission reduction in all three scopes as well as the development of sound climate strategies and their effective implementation.
Before joining Hamburg Institut, the engineer worked for five years as a management consultant at Lischke Consult GmbH. Most recently, he worked as a team leader at cardioscan GmbH.
His consulting expertise:
Climate strategies for industry and the building sector
GHG balancing
Data management
Felix Landsberg works at Hamburg Institut, particularly in the area of heat planning, develops municipal climate protection scenarios and concepts and deals with integrated energy systems and sector coupling in the heat and electricity market. His diverse activities range from technical and economic analyses and simulation-based optimisation of energy concepts and scenarios to the preparation of action plans for political decision-making and upstream communication work. Felix Landsberg was also involved in the development of our scenario tool for municipal climate scenarios TOLIX. The studied energy expert likes to think through both technical and political projects from start to finish and addresses technical and communicative bottlenecks in the project process at an early stage. His experience and practical knowledge along the entire chain of project stages help him to do this.
In addition to advising customers and clients of Hamburg Institut, Felix Landsberg is also involved in the SolnetPlus research project of the climate protection initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Together with other project partners, Hamburg Institut is investigating solar heating networks and their potential in conjunction with recommendations for action for central market players.
Before joining Hamburg Institut, Felix Landsberg had already gained practical experience during an internship abroad in the field of wind power in Greece. He also worked as a student trainee in the areas of ground-mounted PV and wind, where he dealt with project development in Germany and project management for international PV and wind plants.
His consulting expertise:
Heat planning
Climate protection scenarios and concepts
Sector coupling heat/electricity(market) - Optimisation models
Neighbourhood concepts
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Project Manager
Jana Kapfer is a consultant and project manager in the field of climate neutrality at Hamburg Institut. She develops climate protection strategies for companies, municipalities and administrations and has already managed several consulting projects, for example for the cities of Oldenburg and Osnabrück, the University of Hamburg and a federal authority. Her focus is on greenhouse gas balancing according to the GHG Protocol and BISKO (Balancing Systematics Municipal) as well as on potential analyses and scenario calculations and the preparation of action plans. In the field of municipal climate protection strategies, their focus is on mobility and stakeholder participation.
Before joining Hamburg Institut, she worked as a student trainee at a renowned consultancy firm and at a large green energy provider, and completed an internship in the sector project supporting the Alliance for Development and Climate at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Bonn. She wrote her Master's thesis on the topic of sustainable finance.
Her consulting expertise:
Climate protection strategies for companies, municipalities and administrations
Greenhouse gas accounting (PCF, CCF) according to GHG protocol, ISO standards and BISKO
Municipal climate protection, esp. climate-friendly mobility and stakeholder participation
CDP reporting, SBTi target setting
Strategies for compensation and climate financing
Jana Kruse supports Hamburg Institut in the areas of climate neutrality, nature-based solutions and compensation. She is currently studying biology with a focus on biodiversity, ecology and evolution in her Master's degree at the University of Hamburg, where she is particularly concerned with the topics of nature conservation and ecosystem analysis.
"Everybody continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it." (Isaac Newton)
Johanna Bollow is a consultant for climate neutrality. She prepares carbon footprints, identifies reduction potential and develops decarbonisation strategies for Hamburg Institut's clients and customers. One focus is on non-energy emissions, nature-based solutions and agri-PV. She also works with geographical information systems (GIS).
Judith Keßeler supports Hamburg Institut's communication and public image. In addition to the website, this includes events, press relations, newsletters and social media. She also develops project-specific communication concepts for our clients and customers and supports the communication of the ok-power eco-label.
Before joining Hamburg Institut, Judith Keßeler worked as an editor in a publishing house and completed a degree in business administration as well as training in marketing communications.
Her consulting expertise:
Communication strategies and concepts
Editorial
Newsletter
Press work
Text for Web (SEO) & Social Media
"What we do today determines what the world will look like tomorrow." (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach)
Job Titles:
- Expert and Project Manager
- Member of the Working Group
Juliane Mundt is a highly experienced expert and project manager for the topics of climate neutrality, greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, certification, green electricity and guarantees of origin. Thanks to her wide-ranging expertise and many years of experience, she has points of contact with many subject areas at Hamburg Institut. Her current focus is on advising corporate clients, especially service companies and companies from the aluminium and automotive industries, who want to minimise their GHG footprint and/or become climate neutral. The senior consultant is well versed in accounting standards for companies and products, develops climate protection strategies with concrete measures and supports our clients in their implementation. She was also involved as an expert in the review process of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG), which is the internationally recognised standard for corporate greenhouse gas accounting. In addition to companies, Juliane Mundt also advises local authorities on the topic of climate neutrality. Most recently, she played a key role in the development of scenarios for achieving the new climate protection goals of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Energy and climate policy have occupied the graduate in regional science Latin America since her studies. Before joining Hamburg Institut, she gained practical experience in the energy sector at a nationwide green energy provider. This was followed by many years of partly international work in the field of development, validation and verification of emission-reducing projects at GIZ and Germanischer Lloyd. Most recently, she was a consultant for sustainable energy supply in PV island systems for remote areas, especially in Africa and South Asia.
Since 2023, Juliane has been a member of the working group on climate neutrality (NA 172-00-19-03) for ISO 14068. The working group ensures German participation in the work on the ISO 14068 standard.
Her consulting expertise:
Greenhouse gas balancing (Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) und Product Carbon Footprint (PCF))
Development and definition of sustainable climate protection targets
Climate protection strategies for companies, municipalities and administrations
Greenhouse gas compensation strategies and climate financing for companies
Certification of green electricity products
Guarantees of origin, regional guarantees and electricity labelling
Job Titles:
- Consultant at Hamburg Institut
Justus Börms is a consultant at Hamburg Institut and contributes his expertise in particular in the areas of heat planning and municipal climate protection. Here he works on a project-specific basis for our clients and customers and creates climate protection scenarios for their climate strategies.
Jörn Sünkel advises companies on the path to climate neutrality at Hamburg Institut and manages more complex projects for industrial companies. He accompanies our clients from the basic climate assessment for organisations (Corporate Carbon Footprint, CCF) and products (Product Carbon Footprint, PCF) to the structured analysis of potentials for emission reduction in all three scopes to a sound climate strategy and its effective implementation.
Currently, the engineer is leading an extensive project on behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency to further develop the methodology for climate accounting of products (PCF) and supply chains in the automotive industry. At the same time, he supervises several medium-sized and large industrial companies as project manager for the development of their climate strategies.
Before joining Hamburg Institut, Jörn Sünkel worked for six years as a development engineer and technical project manager for a manufacturer of wind turbines.
His consulting expertise:
Corporate climate strategies, focus on energy-intensive industry
Further development of the methodology for climate accounting (CCF, PCF)
Decarbonisation of basic industries (e.g. aluminium)
"Focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on creating the new." (Socrates)
"One should not want to foresee the future, but make it possible."
Job Titles:
- Graphic Designer ( Freelancer )
Lars Gehlau is a freelancer at Hamburg Institut and takes care of everything related to design and graphics. He has been self-employed as an art director since 2016 and creates interdisciplinary design solutions at BÜRO GEHLAU, focussing on renewable energies, the environmental sector and education. Previously, Lars Gehlau worked as an employed art director at motum, an agency for visual communication, and was also self-employed in the field of product design and engineering. Furthermore, the graduate designer has already worked in various positions as a research assistant for design and communication in the fields of fuel cells and hydrogen.
His consulting expertise:
Graphics with a focus on environment and renewable energies
Corporate design
Web design
Maja Overberg supports Hamburg Institut in the area of heat planning. She is currently studying Energy and Environmental Management in the Master's programme at the European University of Flensburg.
Before joining the Hamburg Institute, Maja Overberg gained experience as a student trainee in the field of technical management of wind farms at BayWa r.e. During her bachelor's degree in energy engineering, she also completed an internship at the German Aerospace Center in the department of solar power plant technology, where she dealt with concentrating solar thermal energy, among other things.
Her consulting expertise:
Heat planning
"Do not lament what cannot be changed, but change what is to be lamented." (William Shakespeare)
Marc Lüdcke supports Hamburg Institut especially in the field of district heating and energy systems. His areas of focus include large-scale heat storage, projects on the coupling of sectors, the development of heating concepts, and model-based energy system analyses.
During his bachelor's and master's studies, Marc Lüdcke was already working as a tutor and research assistant in several areas. Parallel to his studies in energy technology with a focus on energy systems at the Technical University of Hamburg, he worked as a student trainee at Hamburg Institut and also wrote his master's thesis on the topic of "Seasonal Heat Storage in Earth Basin Storage" in cooperation with us.
His consulting expertise:
Large-scale heat storage
Sustainable heat supply
Model-based energy system analysis
"If your only tool is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail".
Job Titles:
- Consultant for Renewable Energies and Climate Neutrality at Hamburg Institut
Marina Kemper is a consultant for renewable energies and climate neutrality at Hamburg Institut. She works on net-zero strategies for various sectors for our clients and customers and advises companies on accounting issues, verification systems for renewable energies and science-based reduction pathways. Most recently, she was also involved as an expert in the review process of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG), which is the internationally recognised standard for corporate greenhouse gas accounting.
After completing her bachelor's degree in business administration in Bonn, Marina Kemper completed her master's degree in sustainability economics and management at the University of Oldenburg. She wrote her Master's thesis on the topic of corporate carbon performance. Before joining Hamburg Institut, Marina Kemper completed a trainee programme at the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Before that, she worked as a project manager at the Oldenburg Energy Cluster, where she was involved in the research project "Energetisches Nachbarschaftsquartier Oldenburg".
Her consulting expertise:
Verification systems for renewable energies (heat, electricity and gases)
Climate accounting, complex PCF
Strategy development for decarbonisation and climate neutrality
Science-based reduction pathways (SBTi)
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Biology and Ecology Expert
Marleen Greenberg is our biology and ecology expert. Her focus is on nature-based solutions, i.e. solutions that are inspired and supported by nature and at the same time bring ecological, social and economic benefits. Here, the biologist advises specifically on biological climate protection, such as the rewetting of peatlands and forestry projects. Other focal points of her work are compensation or climate financing as well as non-energy emissions. She is also involved in the coordination of internal knowledge management within Hamburg Institut.
Already during her studies of biology at the University of Hamburg, the topic of climate aroused Marleen Greenberg's interest, among other things through her work as an auxiliary scientist in the AG Biogeografie in the field of dendrochronology (tree ring research). Parallel to her Master's degree with a focus on biodiversity, ecology and evolution, she worked as a biologist in an environmental planning office, where she dealt with biotope mapping and GIS.
Her consulting expertise:
Climate neutrality, especially for municipalities
Compensation / climate financing
Rewetting of peatlands, biological climate protection, forestry projects
Advice on nature-based solutions and negative emissions
Non-energy emissions (agriculture, LULUCF)
"When the wind of change blows, some build walls and others windmills." Chinese proverb
"The purest form of madness is to leave everything as it is and hope that something will change." (Albert Einstein)
"If everything is to stay as it is, everything has to change." (Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa)
Job Titles:
- Data Manager Climate Accounting
"They always say that time changes everything, but actually you have to change it yourself." (Andy Warhol)
"We are not only responsible for what we do, but also for what we don't do." (Molière)
Job Titles:
- Intern / Intern District Heating & Energy Systems
"How wonderful it is that no one has to wait a moment before they start to make the world a better place." (Anne Frank)
"Where would we end up if everyone said where will we end up and nobody went to see where we would end up if we just went?"
"Whoever does not want to change anything will also lose what he/she wants to preserve." (Gustav Heinemann)