EuroSun & SolarPACES: Solar District Heating: New Developments and a Proven Success Story (2)

Dr. Lucio Mesquita is a Senior Research Engineer at CanmetENERGY-Ottawa, a Canadian federal government research laboratory. He is also currently serving as the chair of International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Technical Collaboration Programme. Dr. Mesquita has over 30 years of experience in the research, design, and testing of solar thermal and thermal storage products and systems for heating and cooling applications in several countries including Canada, Brazil, China, and the United States. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University (Canada) and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil).

Univ. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Pitz-Paal has been one of two directors heading the Institute of Solar Research since June 2011. His main research areas are the technical analysis and optimisation of concentrating solar power systems for generating electricity and producing fuel.

Robert Pitz-Paal, born in Kleve in 1963, received his diploma in Physics in 1988 from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. In 1993 he obtained a PhD from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Ruhr Universität Bochum with a doctoral thesis on concentrating solar technology. In the same year he moved to the German Aerospace Center in Cologne. He  has been a university professor for solar technology at RWTH Aachen University since 2003.

Magdalena Berberich studied energy and environmental technologies and sustainable energy competence. Since 2015 she has worked at Solites – Research, Consulting and Transfer in the Steinbeis network in Stuttgart, serving as member of the management since 2021. Her expertise includes research and consulting for large-scale solar thermal systems, developing and optimizing seasonal and multifunctional heat storage, improving energy efficiency, and integrating renewable energy into sustainable heating systems. She has experience creating simulation models and calculation tools for energy analyses and promoting energy‑conscious behavior. Magdalena was Subtask Leader in IEA SHC Task 68 (2022–2025) and leads the new founded collaboration group on Solar District Heating within IEA SHC. She is member of the German Working Group on Long‑Term Heat Storage.

Joakim Byström is the CEO and founder of Absolicon Solar Collector AB, a stock listed Swedish company specializing in concentrated solar heating for industry and district heating networks. He has worked with solar thermal technology for more than two decades and is a recognized advocate for replacing fossil fuels with renewable heat. Under his leadership, Absolicon has developed large-scale solar district heating solutions and participated in international research projects focused on seasonal thermal energy storage, including pit storage systems that store heat from summer to winter. Joakim frequently speaks about industrial decarbonization, resilient energy systems, and the future role of solar heat in sustainable cities.

Bärbel Epp is the founder and managing director of the German consultancy solrico. She is responsible for the international newsletter of the web portal www.solarthermalworld.org, reporting exclusively about market and technology trends in the solar heating and cooling sector globally. solrico also created the first online World Map of SHIP suppliers (SHIP = Solar Heat for Industrial Processes) and carries out surveys among the around 70 companies listed on the world map annually. Bärbel Epp graduated in Physics at the University of Oldenburg, Germany.

DI Christoph Brunner is Managing Director of AEE INTEC, a leading European institute for applied research on renewable energy and resource efficiency. His work focuses on efficiency improvements, integrating renewable energy in industry, and applying water treatment technologies to recover recyclable materials. He has coordinated numerous national and international projects across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Member of the board of the European Technology Platform for Renewable Heating and Cooling (RHC‑ETIP) Member of A.Spire, the European public‑private partnership for industrial decarbonisation UNIDO energy‑efficiency expert and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland and Joanneum Austrian representative to the International Energy Agency (IEA) for sustainable heating and cooling.