Cleantech Revolution — EV Leaders, Tesla Shuttles, Cleantech Entrepreneurship & Investing

May 28th, 2017 by Andrea Bertoli

CleanTechnica‘s next Cleantech Revolution Tour is approaching, and it is packed with EV and clean energy leaders from around Europe who are intent on easing the way into a brighter future.

Starting in Berlin (Germany) on June 27 (special networking activities), continuing on June 28 in Berlin (panel discussions and presentations), offering shuttle rides from Berlin to Wroclaw in Tesla electric wondercars (first come, first served), and ending on June 29 in Wroclaw, Poland (panel discussions and presentations), the Berlin + Wroclaw edition of the 2017 Cleantech Revolution Tour is titled “The Future Is Now: Surf The Cleantech €-Wave” and will be broadly focused on how to best invest your time and money into the cleantech future.

The conference includes expert, detailed examinations of market trends and forecasts, panel discussions about where cleantech-related industries will be in 10 years, and how to best “ride the €-wave” into that future. It will also include numerous cleantech startup pitches.

Among other things, specific sessions will cover:

Autonomous vehicle design and development

Electric car consumer market research

The development/progress of various electric car manufacturers and models

EV charging needs today and in 2025

EV battery chemistry and manufacturing trends

The global and European electric bus market

The electric carsharing, ridesharing, & taxi boom (today and by 2025)

Rooftop solar & energy storage in Germany & Poland

E-mobility law & hurdles in Poland

Carsharing law & progress

The overarching goal of the Cleantech Revolution Tour is to help you put your money and time into good ideas and societally helpful work — whether you’re an entrepreneur, VC, working at a large cleantech corporation, or are simply engaged citizen.

We also promise to offer as much fun as we can squeeze out of our blood and bones!

Special note: We realize that cash is typically quite limited for entrepreneurs and young people trying to get their careers rolling. So, if you are 30 years old or younger or have a small startup and would like to join the conference as a partner, you can use the special $19/day rate.

If you are a CleanTechnica reader who isn’t approaching the conference from a business/investment perspective but would like to join for some CleanTechnica fun, please choose “I want to contact a writer” on our contact page and put “Coming Conference Reader Rate” in the “Which writer do you wish to contact?” slot.

We are happy to also announce now that Nissan has joined again as a conference partner! Our key partners now include Tesla Shuttle, Nissan, Janom, GreenWay, EV Volumes, The Beam, ELMO Carsharing, and EV Obsession.

Below are a bit more conference details as well as introductions to the cleantech world-changers will be leading discussions at the conference.

Facilitated networking activities will welcome attendees in Berlin on June 27.

A day of panel discussions, presentations, and more facilitated networking will take place on June 28 at Ahoy Berlin (here’s the location on a map).

In the early evening of June 28, Tesla shuttles will take attendees (who sign up) from Berlin to Wrocław. Of course, this is a further opportunity to chat with other interesting attendees, make business deals, and enjoy a Tesla. If you want to use a Tesla shuttle, be sure to request a seat ASAP. We will also pair up passengers with others who we think they would enjoy chatting or even collaborating with.

The Wrocław portion of the conference will be held at Hotel Mercure Wroclaw Centrum on June 29. (Here’s the location on a map.) Hot topics on this day will include electric carsharing in Poland, EV charging progress and plans in Poland, an autonomous vehicle future (or not), EV driver demands & desires today & tomorrow in Europe, who’s driving EVs today & who will tomorrow, electric buses & taxis, diesel/petrol car bans in cities across Europe and worldwide, and solar energy development in Poland. We hope you can join us!











We also have several new speakers to announce (and several more probably confirming in the coming days). Have a read below the line and see if you can’t avoid joining us in Berlin and/or Wrocław!

Roger Atkins, Founder of Electric Vehicles Outlook, has an unmatched history in the development of electric vehicles — from perspectives inside of EV startups, major automakers, and leading market analysts. Roger has a story to tell. Scratch that — he has ~100 stories to tell, and they are worth listening carefully to. A longtime British reader of CleanTechnica, he is sure to bring some exciting British flair to the next edition of the Cleantech Revolution Tour. Here’s a bit more about Mr. Atkins:

Roger is a high-networked consultant within the EV arena, and a keen proponent of benign environmental technology — especially solar energy and renewable storage. Urbanisation, Connectivity, and Sustainability are the 3 key drivers as Roger sees it. He has comprehensive experience in automotive brand development — from initial vehicle research and design through to retail. With 25 years of experience in key positions at Volkswagen, Volvo, Virgin, Audi, Mercedes, and Ricardo, Roger has been blessed with a few trips around the block.

Roger was UK Audi Experience Manager in the mid-90s, witnessing the craft of Peter Schreyer with the Audi TT. He worked alongside Malcolm Gladwell at a P&G Seminar just as he published The Tipping Point. Roger was then involved in early-day internet retailing with Richard Branson at Virgin Cars, high-speed amphibious vehicles at Gibbs, hybrid taxis with Azure in 2005 at LTI, Modec electric delivery vans in 2007–2011, and part of the team at Ricardo shaping and witnessing the beating heart of innovation.

As an EVangelist, Roger sees the principal remaining challenge as infrastructure establishment, and also the need to educate and inform the consumer as to the many merits of EVs.

Peter Badik, sprouted and grown in Slovakia, has been leading regions of Europe into the electrification future long before the industry was a big deal. As a longtime CleanTechnica reader and a career in the banking sector, he has also followed industry trends obsessively and intelligently enough to identify market opportunities at what seem to be just the right times. Here’s a bit more about Mr. Badik:

Peter cofounded and is the managing partner of electric van producer Voltia as well as EV charging station network GreenWay. He’s also the director of the Slovak Electric Vehicle Association. He is a seasoned entrepreneur with extensive capability running complex projects. He’s pragmatic, with an unbiased view on project economics, particularly with his origins as an investment manager. His practical experience with financial risks and management combined with his passion for new business models and clean technology have led to him becoming one of Europe’s leading EV entrepreneurs.

Hanna Yanchuk, Deputy Head of the Electric Vehicle Association of Ukraine and another longtime CleanTechnica reader, brings her long EV experience and leadership from yet another corner of Europe that has been laying the groundwork for an electric vehicle revolution much longer than you probably think. Hannah has long been involved in EV promotion and development in several ways, as has her family, including the development of electric cars, charging stations, and battery storage systems. Here’s a bit more about Ms. Yanchuk:

The Electric Vehicle Association of Ukraine (Facebook page here) unites supporters and users of electric cars to promote electric vehicles, setting up the infrastructure (charging stations), developing and adopting legal frameworks for the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly transport, and sharing research on the EV market and potential growth. Its chief aim is developing and growing the EV market in Ukraine, and improving the representation of Ukraine in the world “green” market.

Tomek Gać, Cofounder of Quriers, Energia Slonca, ELMO CarSharing, & Tesla Shuttle, has pursued more avenues in cleantech entrepreneurship than an octopus has arms. Another longtime CleanTechnica reader, Tomek was one of the first people in Poland to buy an electric car and has just teamed up to buy another in order to launch Tesla Shuttle. Here’s a bit more about Mr. Gać:

Tomek is a cleantech fan and it shows in all of his endeavors. His courier company, Quriers, is unique in delivering parcels using electric cars and bicycles — a revolutionary approach in a country like Poland. He was probably one of the first 20 EV owners in Poland. Another one of his companies, Energia Slonca, explores opportunities for solar PV panel installations for private and corporate clients. Tomek also recently co-founded ELMO CarSharing and TShuttle. Juggling many tasks while managing these businesses and engaging in other green activities, Tomek is also a family man who finds time for his wife and three children.

Jacek Fior, another Cofounder of ELMO CarSharing & Tesla Shuttle, had a successful career and business in another realm of society (translation and teaching) before deciding to leap into a new life in the electric vehicle world. Jacek’s keen sense of business practicality, marketing, and the immediate need for a fast transition to clean technology — combined with his background in the intricacies of language and teaching — makes him not just an intriguing cleantech entrepreneur, but also a captivating person to listen or talk to. Here’s a bit more about Mr. Fior:

Jacek is an entrepreneurial type who sees opportunities all around. He ran his own corporate language training company and international translation agency, Quest Corporate Language Solutions, for 15 years, but he recently exited in order to focus on cleantech.

One of his many passions, besides card tricks and mixology, is electric cars. He has been enthralled by their fast rise onto the market and is now eager to help that rise accelerate. He is currently working on launching the Polish platform of CleanTechnica — cleantechnica.pl — in the hopes of helping people to understand the revolution we are witnessing. He is also the cofounder of a electric carsharing company ELMO and electric city-to-city shuttle Tesla Shuttle.

Witold Chmarzyński, Legal Counsel and Managing Partner at CC Law, is a leading lawyer focused on the transition to electric cars and carsharing. He will present in both Berlin and Wroclaw, with presentations on “Legal frames of car sharing business” and “Legal Progress & Hurdles In E-Mobility in Poland.” Here’s a bit more about Mr. Chmarzyński:

Witold specializes in such areas as: opening companies in Poland for foreign parties, services for corporate organizations, handling investment processes. He has extensive experience in all the legal aspects of real estate. His private and professional passion is e-mobility — he is a legal expert in the field, tracking the changing regulations in the area and speaking at many conferences dedicated to the legal aspects of e-mobility. He is also chief editor of Elektromobilnosc.com, a website dedicated to the legal and tax aspects of e-mobility. Many of his articles dedicated to the legal aspects of e-mobility have been published in industry magazines. He loves driving EVs, playing bridge, and sailing.

Jose Pontes, Partner & Sales Analyst at EV-Volumes, is probably the first person you think of when you think of international EV sales data. He has collected more EV sales data in the past several years than probably any other human on the planet. We’re also lucky to have him as a CleanTechnica contributor, analyst, and now EV reviewer. Here’s a bit more info on Mr. Pontes, who will be coming into town from Portugal to share his EV knowledge and opinions:

Always interested in the auto industry, particularly in electric cars, Jose has been overviewing the sales evolution of plug-ins through the EV Sales blog since 2012, allowing him to gain an expert view on where EVs are right now and where they are headed in the future. The EV Sales blog has become a go-to source for people interested in electric car sales around the world. Extending that work and expertise, Jose is now a partner in EV-Volumes and works with the European Alternative Fuels Observatory as well as CleanTechnica on EV sales matters.

Benni Schulz, Founder of The Beam, prefers to live and operate behind the scenes, but he is an Energizer bunny with deep insight into business, investment, entrepreneurship, media, and the energy transition who is focused heavily on speeding up our move away from fossil pollution and societal self-destruction. He has been a key organizer of the Cleantech Revolution Tour since his inception. Here’s a bit more about Mr. Schulz:

Benni is a serial entrepreneur who is now putting his full weight and influence behind cleantech. Founder of GridHub, founder of The Beam, and co-founder of TShuttle, Benni has more good ideas than a park has blades of grass. Benni and Zach Shahan together launched the Cleantech Revolution Tour in 2016 and haven’t stopped finding cleantech ventures and projects to pour their combined time into.

Viktor Irle, Cofounder & Analyst at EV-Volumes, is another EV entrepreneurial leader who prefers to live behind the scenes in his efforts to clean up the world while advancing an exciting, fun, economically beneficial electrified future. He also comes at the EV transition from a useful historical obsession with cars in general, something helpful to understanding broad market openings, challenges, and trends. Here’s a bit more on Mr. Irle:

Growing up in an auto-producing city in Sweden, Viktor has had an interest in cars for as long as he can remember. Writing his thesis about speed-controlled electric engines, and later studying industrial transformation and technological change, the great emerging opportunities of EVs made him jump on the train and co-found EV-Volumes, which is aimed at becoming the premier source of EV industry sales data and broader EV consultancy. I’d say it’s already there with regards to EV industry sales data.

Roland Irle, Cofounder & Developer at EV-Volumes, has a transparent connection to Viktor — Roland’s his father. Clearly, Roland helped to stimulate Viktor’s deep obsession with the auto industry, and he also brings a couple more decades of experience to this world-leading EV consultancy. He was pushing for vehicle electrification from deep inside of the auto industry perhaps before any of you even knew the name “Elon Musk.” Here’s a bit more about Mr. Irle:

Enjoying a lifelong interest in cars and technology with over 20 years of auto-industry experience, Roland is now convinced that the best cars for the future will be EVs. In partnership with Jose Pontes and Viktor Irle, he cofounded EV Volumes to create the premier source of EV industry sales data and broader EV consultancy.

Jakub Stęchły, Founder of Cherry Car & the 4e Foundation, has jumped into a clean transport career after a long history in the utility sector. Yet another longtime CleanTechnica reader, electrification of transport had too strong a draw. But he is also still working to progress clean energy faster than it would otherwise. Here’s a bit more about Mr. Stęchły:

Jakub believes that soon we all will be driven by electric cars that we will not own, and that this new world will be good for everyone. To make this transition take place earlier, Jakub focuses his energy on various electric vehicle and mobility-as-a-service projects across Poland. In his spare time, Jakub supports 4e Foundation, which tries to educate kids on energy and electromobility and do something good for the environment in the process.

Marcin Mizgalski, a veteran of the IT world, has been living the cleantech dream. He’s a solar pioneer and EV-driving electric vehicle evangelist. Here’s a bit more about Mr. Mizgalski:

Marcin is a very talkative owner of five PV installations (40 kWp on five 2-axis trackers), co-financed with EU funds. A practicing expert on renewable and accumulation energy since 2013, Marcin has been bothering local #BigEnergy for several years. Despite his wife’s efforts, he’s an EV-passionate driver of a Mercedes B250e. Marcin is the most popular blogger, market creator, and influencer in the Polish renewable energy market. Currently living in London, working for Amazon UK, and studying at Northumbria Newcastle University, he’s still on the lookout for new frontiers of the future of energy.

Elizabeth Ferguson, CEO of Schömbs Schwarz Schwan Consulting, is a Yale-educated American transplanted to Germany. She is bringing a broader business development and strategy background to the tour, as well as a special interest in biomass energy. Here’s a bit more on Ms. Ferguson:

A passionate and driven person with the ability to absorb the history and culture behind the drive for business development, apart from just the economic interests that most people see. By bringing original thought and outside perspective to big picture issues, I create unusually effective policy and strategy through examining the breadth and depth of a situation combined with my ability to understand opposition and obstacles as well as opportunity. The result is that I give my clients the ability to be several moves ahead of the game and build strategy that is achievable, not just idealistic — and then show them how to make it happen.

Tobias Engelmeier, Founder & Managing Director of TFE Consulting & Bridge To India, is another longtime CleanTechnica reader (and occasional contributor) who spotted a hot cleantech market in the making long before it was making headlines in the world’s largest newspapers for its cleantech leadership. He didn’t just spot the promise in India, though — he helped to create, analyze, and guide it. Sure, he’s no Prime Minister Modi, but anyone heavily involved in the Indian solar market surely knows Bridge to India. Here’s a bit more about Mr. Engelmeier:

Tobias Engelmeier is working towards a low carbon world. He believes that this is a great opportunity rather than a sacrifice and that it will be driven by business and economic fundamentals rather than by political directive. Developing countries, who can still make a choice about their future energy infrastructure, are in a particularly good position to get the most out of the renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions available. The good news is: A global energy transition is inevitable. The bad news is: current market designs in most countries are not conducive enough and could delay this inevitable transition for just too long to save our climate. So that is what we need to work on: better market designs. (Disclaimer: views in motion…) Companies I am involved with: TFE Consulting, Bridge to India (sustainability solutions for India), India Goes Solar (helping consumer go solar in India), and GridHub (building and supporting companies and initiatives that are driving the energy transition).

Zach Shahan — of course you know this guy. Zach, as Director of CleanTechnica & EV Obsession and also Cofounder of ELMO and Tesla Shuttle, will be heavily involved in the Cleantech Revolution Tour when it comes to Berlin and his current home base of Wrocław. You surely already know enough about Zach and his opinions, but here’s a bit more info for newbies:

Zach is the director and editor of CleanTechnica. He’s also president of Important Media, which is the parent network to CleanTechnica and 15 other media sites.

Zach has been referenced, interviewed by, or published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, CNBC, Reuters, and numerous other news outlets and websites. He has also given presentations, provided workshops, and moderated panels at clean energy and electric vehicle conferences in the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and India.

In 2013, Zach was named one of the top 20 influencers on fuel economy matters alongside President Obama, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, the US Secretary of Energy, Nissan & Renault Chairman & CEO Carlos Ghosn, GM’s CEO and president, and several other car company execs as well as a few leading auto journalists.

Go check out more about the coming Cleantech Revolution Tour conference series or just buy a ticket now.











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