SET Award 2025

Corinna Enders has been Chairwoman of dena’s Management Board since October 2023. In this role, she is responsible for dena’s operational and strategic development as well as its content. Her work focuses on supporting the German government and all stakeholders involved in the transformation to climate neutrality.

Corinna studied law in Germany and Italy and is an expert in environmental and climate policy, working briefly as a lawyer before spending many years as a government civil servant. Before joining dena, Corinna established and expanded Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH, a non-profit, in Berlin as Managing Director.

Angela is one of the world’s leading global energy futures experts, an experienced energy executive, a distinguished Oxford scholar and a published author. She has 30 years of experience in leading national, international and global multi-stakeholder transformation initiatives on a wide range of economic, energy, climate and sustainable development related challenges. Angela has worked as a senior executive in the public-, private-, academic- and civic sectors. She joined the World Energy Council in 2017 to create a practical energy transition leaders toolkit and direct a new strategic insights programme. Prior to that Angela led an upgrade in strategic foresight at the OECD, based in Paris. Prior corporate experience includes decades in Royal Dutch Shell and British Gas plc. Angela is an Associate Fellow, Said Business School, Oxford and a Strategic Foresight Fellow of the GOA, USA. She sits on two international advisory boards (HSE, Russia; ECI, Oxford) and is a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Science. She has published four books and numerous articles. Angela has a PhD in Physics.

Jane is the Managing Director for Venture Cup China which is an international Innovation and Entrepreneurship Service Platform based in Shanghai. It specializes in global competition, talents attraction and STI transformation primarily in Green & Sustainable Technology. The current operating projects include University Startup World Cup and Nordic Innovation Centre (Shanghai).  She is also the Executive Secretary General for World Young Scientist Summit as an academic event held once a year for the world young talents. The summit is jointly sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province. It highlights the importance of integrating science with industries, venture capitals, arts and other societal endeavors as well as encourages multidisciplinary innovation among young scientist.

Before returning to her hometown, she has over ten years international management experiences in USA, Europe and Hong Kong.

Robina is an Investor at Contrarian Ventures, the pan-European climate tech venture firm focusing on early-stage companies that work on innovations to decarbonize the energy sector, transportation industry, heavy industry, and urban space. Next to these industries, Contrarian looks at Carbon & Climate as markets separately. Robina has joined the team recently and manages the DACH market after founding and building the first circular economy software start-up in Germany for the last five years.

Robina holds an MSc in Politics, Economics, and Philosophy from the University of Zurich and ETH and recently joined the advisory board at dena.

Freerk Bisschop is a seasoned investor and advisor in energy transition innovation. He has a long background in the energy industry, as a scientist, strategist, consultant, manager, entrepreneur, executive, non-executive, investor and advisor. Currently he acts as Venture Partner to Inven Capital and as an independent advisor to startups, scale-ups and investors.

Antje Danielson joined MIT in April 2016 after 8 years at Tufts University where she directed the Institute of the Environment and was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health. She was elected President of the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors in 2012, and holds a number of board positions. Antje received awards from Harvard University and an Exceptional Contribution Award from Durham University. In 1999/2000 she co-founded the car-sharing company Zipcar.

With over 15 years of experience in the energy, mobility, and sustainability sectors, I am passionate about supporting innovative start-ups that drive electrification and decarbonization. As a Partner at Vireo Ventures, an early-stage VC firm, I leverage my expertise in business development, strategy, and marketing to identify, evaluate, and mentor highly scalable ventures that align with our mission and vision. I am also a certified business trainer, with a proven track record of delivering impactful training and coaching programs to entrepreneurs, executives, and teams.

Julia Padberg is Partner at SET Ventures, Europe’s leading energy VC that is currently investing from its 4th fund (€200m). SET aims to create a carbon-free energy system by endorsing pioneering founders with the capital, community, and insights to deliver financial and impact returns. Julia joined SET 8 years ago after 6 years being a corporate finance advisor in the energy & climate tech sectors. She is a director on the supervisory boards of FlexiDAO, Trunkrs and Sensorfact.

David Wortmann is the founder and managing director of the cleantech consulting agency DWR Eco, co-founder and board member of Leaders for Climate Action, and venture partner and investor in Proptech 1 and Planet A. At the same time, David Wortmann is co-managing director of the non-profit Global Eco Transition gGmbH, is regularly active as a podcaster, is a jury member of start-up awards and supports cleantech start-ups as a mentor, board member and investor.

David Arinze is an Electrical Engineer, Innovator, and Energy policy expert with over a decade of experience working in the renewable energy sector in Nigeria and Internationally.  He currently serves as the Off-Grid Energy Portfolio lead at Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI), where he manages the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) funded Off-Grid Energy Program. 

Niclas Carlsson is the Director of International Market Development at the Swedish Energy Agency, which is
responsible for the agency´s strategical activities globally –both in terms of business and investment promotion.

Before joining the Swedish Energy Agency, he represented the Government of Sweden in various international positions, most recently as the Trade Commissioner of Sweden to Saudi Arabia at the Embassy of Sweden in Riyadh.

Apart from representing the Government of Sweden on three continents, Niclas Carlsson has vast experience as a company advisor having supported over three hundred companies in their international pursuits.

Niclas Carlsson has a background in Business Administration as well as International Relations from Stockholm University and Free University of Berlin.

Luis is managing partner at kopa ventures, a Germany- and UK-based early-stage VC with a focus on the most promising European climate tech startups in the fields of Energy, Mobility and Nature & Carbon Tech.

Luis has more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, manager and investor in mobility and energy with a broad network to entrepreneurs, start-ups, corporates, investors, and the public sector. In addition to his consulting experience, he co-founded a company in the AI sector. At EIT InnoEnergy, Luis was part of the early-stage DACH investment team and also restructured and further developed the global mobility portfolio.

As President of Women in Renewable Energy Mexico AC, (MERM) she co-founded MERL, the Latin American Network of Women in Energy that seeks the inclusion of more women in the energy sector, empowering and promoting initiatives with triple impact in the field of renewable energies in LATAM. 

She is part of the boards of directors; Mexican Solar Association (ASOLMEX), Path to 100# by Wartzila, Latin American Council of Renewable Energy LACOORE, member of the MX Alliance and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.  

She has been named 100 Powerful Women in Mexico by Forbes, 200 Important Women in Mexico by Executive World, 10 Women in Energy 2021, among other publications where she writes opinion articles, and actively participates in international conferences and forums as a speaker. 

She is a delegate for Mexico in the official women’s group W20 G20 working group that forms a transnational network of women’s organizations, associations. 

Isabelle/Dr. Isabelle Canu is a partner of the Green European Tech Fund (GET Fund) with a target of 150-250 M EUR to invest in European cleantech start-ups with a potential for high financial returns and a high positive impact on the environment.

Previously, she developed her own business in the field of sustainability strategies for VC and PE funds. She has also built up and managed the public VC fund coparion with 275 M EUR AUM. She is an experienced investment and fund manager and, with 19 years of practical experience in sustainable finance, including at the Federal Chancellery and KfW, she is a recognized pioneer and shaper of sustainable finance in the field of venture capital and start-ups. She is member of the Sustainable Finance Committee of the German Government.

She studied International Relations at Sciences Po in Paris and holds a PhD from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich.

Marie-Line Vaiani is since January 2023 Secretary General of the Conseil Français de l’Energie, the French committee of the World Energy Council (WEC).

In France, she has overseen multi-use water management of EDF’s hydroelectric dams, has developed new dispatching systems for the Electricity Transmission Network, as well as worked on local economic development and management for the “Une rivière, un territoire” programme’s investment fund.

Internationally, she has steered development and diversification strategies, from the regulation and design of energy markets to the development of national industry standards for renewable energies, hydrogen and batteries.

She is an ENSTA Paris-certified engineer, specialising in mathematical engineering, and holds a degree in corporate finance and capital markets from Sciences Po Paris as well as an executive MBA from HEC Paris. She is Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Daria is a Founding Partner at World Fund, Europe’s leading climate tech VC. She has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor. In addition, Daria sits on the boards of trustees of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and is the member of the extended board of the German Startup Association. She is the co-founder of the think tank 1E9 Denkfabrik, and has close ties with global tech thought leaders.
Her expertise guides World Fund’s investments. She advises as a board member Customcells, IQM, Space Forge, Vaeridion, ecoworks and Planet A Foods.

Stefan Mager studied political science in Germany and the UK. He joined GIZ in 2008, starting as a project manager for EU Twinning Projects in the environmental sector. Over the years, Stefan has taken on various roles within GIZ, including secondments to KfW and the German Ministry for Environment. He led a project advising the international department of the Ministry on key issues such as the global phase-out of fossil fuels, Just Transition, local climate action, decentralized renewable energy, and digitalization. Before assuming his current role as Head of Section for Infrastructure, Energy, Mobility, and Water, Stefan managed a program in Kosovo, focusing on waste management and circular economy.

Javiera Aldunate is the representative of the MIT Sloan Latin America Office, which supports the creation and transfer of knowledge and the advancement of management education and practices in the region.

She previously served as the head of the International Affairs Office at the Chilean Ministry of Energy, where she was responsible for strategically promoting the country’s position in the energy sector. Before that, she worked as the Executive Director of the World Energy Council Chile, a global non-profit organization fostering dialogue to encourage sustainable energy development. She also founded the leadership development program “Women in Energy-Chile” and is a mentor in WoomUp and Comunidad Mujer, networks that promote women’s professional growth.

Javiera is a Designer from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, holds an MBA from Universidad del Desarrollo, and has completed executive training programs at Stanford University and Babson College. She has extensive experience in creative strategy development, interdisciplinary project management, and user-centered projects. Additionally, she has taught design methodology and social innovation for over 15 years.

Pavina Adunratanasee’s work has been focused at the intersection of clean energy financing and technology innovation. Pavina is the Founder and CEO of Recalibrate Climate, an innovation platform focused on bridging emerging climate tech solutions and industries to accelerate global decarbonization. Additionally, she serves as the Founding Member of  Catalyze Climate; a first-of-a-kind Climate Finance Lab that aims to mobilize innovative financing mechanisms, accelerate technology deployment, and scale climate infrastructure via fostering cross-sector collaboration across finance, policy, and industries. The initiative spun out of Vectors Capital, a deeptech climate Venture Capital firm from San Francisco.

Prior to founding her own venture, Pavina served as Emerging Technology Manager at Iberdrola where she led the commercialization of new technologies to drive decarbonization of the commercial and industrial sectors in Australia. Her work has been focused on bringing decarbonization products to market across distributed energy, energy storage, and electric mobility. Before joining Iberdrola, Pavina achieved significant strides in the realm of renewables development with Siemens Financial Services, where she worked on mobilizing funding for power and onshore wind projects across the APAC markets.

Pavina is a thought leader advocating for leveraging decarbonization technologies to address the progressive impacts of climate change and is frequently invited to share her perspectives across industry leading conferences globally. Among her many accomplishments, Pavina was selected for a global women’s leadership program sponsored by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), a leading clean energy industry body. Furthermore, she has served as an advisor to early-stage startups in the climate innovation ecosystem spanning across the US, EU, and APAC.

Pavina’s journey into the realm of clean energy and sustainability began during her graduate studies in New York she focused her research on bridging solutions to improve access to clean energy in the global south. During this period, she delved into the intricacies of sustainable development, policy design, and development capital mobilization, setting the foundation for her impact driven career. Pavina holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), with a specialization in Sustainable Urban Policy.

Emet, a trained Energy Engineer, is deeply passionate about the intersection of sustainability and technology. At Net Zero Insights, he shapes strategic partnerships and steers business strategies to empower stakeholders in the climate tech industry. His engineering background enriches his approach to fostering data-driven insights for a sustainable future. A firm believer in the synergy between technology and sustainability, Emet envisions a future where both elements work hand in hand to drive positive change for our planet.

Aneri is an award-winning climate & clean energy ecosystem builder. She founded and built the largest energy access accelerator in Africa called ENVenture that was acquired by New Energy Nexus, and now serves as Nexus’s Chief Operating Officer. She also serves as Board Director for Rural Spark, a Dutch off-grid solar company, and as a Venture Partner for Prithvi Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Republic.

Aneri has been recognized as Renewable Energy World’s Top 40 under 40 in solar, 2021 Ashden Awards winner for Energy Access Innovation, Nasdaq Milestone Maker, an American Express Emerging Innovator, Cordes Fellow, and member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council. She has a Masters in Environment & Development from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Andreas Kuhlmann was dena’s Chief Executive from July 2015 – June 2023. Among others, the graduate physicist has held positions at the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), the German Embassy in Stockholm and the European Parliament, the German Parliament and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. He worked as a consultant and office manager at various political organisations and establishments, including the Environmental Committee of the European Parliament. As CTO/COO he is now in charge of operations and all issues around Energy, climate change and CleanTech at Christ&Company.