Who we are

Start Up Energy Transition (SET) is a global innovation platform supporting innovation in energy transition.

SET is implemented with the conviction that a sustainable future is directly linked to innovative business models and political will. The SET platform is powered by the German Energy Agency (dena), in cooperation with the World Energy Council.

Start-up founder at the SET jury workshop

Our mission

‘’Strengthening the impact that energy innovators have in reaching climate neutrality’’

Through our activities, we support, promote, and create opportunities for start-ups in the energy sector to scale-up impact and accelerate the global energy transition in order to reverse climate change.

“We urgently need to push forward with the energy transition to reach net zero. The only way we will get there is through innovation on a massive scale. Start-ups and entrepreneurs, investors and corporates, policy makers as well as the entire innovation eco system all play a crucial role here. The SET Award has been bringing these innovators together for nearly ten years.”

Pia Dorfinger, Director Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Our work

Since its inception, SET continues to enable connections through dena’s and World Energy Council’s unique position at the crossroads of the private and public sector. At its core, the SET platform is built on three pillars: the SET Award, the SET Tech Festival, and the SET Newsroom.

Our activities make SET an important and well-recognized international platform for innovation in the energy transition.

Icon DENA SET Award

SET Award

An annual international competition for start-ups and young companies innovating for the global energy transition. In the last seven years, the award has received more than 3,100 applications from more than 100 countries.

Discover the #SET22 winners
SET Tech Festival

SET Tech Festival

An annual one-day event bringing together innovators shaping the future of energy: the best start-ups in the field of energy solutions, innovation-driven corporates, investors, and public organisations leading the energy transition.

Relive the #SETTF23
Icon SET Newsroom

SET Newsroom

The SET team produces unique content (articles, videos and events) featuring news from the energy world, the successes and challenges of SET start-ups and other trending topics valuable to our network.

You want to share some good news? Feel free to contact us!

Learn more
  • Icon DENA SET Award

    SET Award

    An annual international competition for start-ups and young companies innovating for the global energy transition. In the last seven years, the award has received more than 3,100 applications from more than 100 countries.

    Discover the #SET22 winners
  • SET Tech Festival

    SET Tech Festival

    An annual one-day event bringing together innovators shaping the future of energy: the best start-ups in the field of energy solutions, innovation-driven corporates, investors, and public organisations leading the energy transition.

    Relive the #SETTF23
  • Icon SET Newsroom

    SET Newsroom

    The SET team produces unique content (articles, videos and events) featuring news from the energy world, the successes and challenges of SET start-ups and other trending topics valuable to our network.

    You want to share some good news? Feel free to contact us!

    Learn more

Our team

We support innovation.

Our team is composed of passionate experts from a range of backgrounds with a common mission: to support start-ups and innovation in order to reach net-zero emissions as rapidly as possible.

 

Tania Baumann

Tania Baumann

COO, World Energy Council

Tania is the Chief Operating Officer of the World Energy Council and leads the World Energy Council’s engagement with the SET platform. She is responsible for the Secretariat’s global operations, including people, legal, and financial performance. Tania oversees the activities and relations with member communities and leads the Council’s events including the triennial World Energy Congress and World Energy Leaders’ Summits.

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Angela Wilkinson

Dr. Angela Wilkinson

Secretary General & CEO, World Energy Council

Angela provides direction and innovative leadership for SET and is the Secretary General & CEO of the World Energy Council. Angela has a PhD in Physics and has become one of the world’s leading global energy futures experts. 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.

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SET Team Pia

Pia Dorfinger

Director Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Pia is the driving force behind all the SET activities and works with the vision to sustainably expand our SET endeavours. Hailing from Austria, Pia has worked in the renewable energy and climate change sector for over 20 years with stops in France, the UK and the Philippines before settling in Berlin. Her strong background lies in International Business Administration and International Energy and Environmental Management.

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SET Team Rolli

Rolli Vogel

Team Lead Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Rolli is an experienced digital innovation scout, business developer and networker, often focussed on the collaboration of established companies with start-ups. Previously, Rolli built up the Best of Mobile Awards for the British Haymarket Media Group, among others, and was responsible for digital and innovation policy issues at The Economic Council (Wirtschaftsrat Deutschland), a leading German business association.

What excites me about working with start-ups in energy transition is to interconnect the energy sector with digital solutions, linking one of the most exciting industries of the future with the fundamental megatrends of this decade. This is a growth story for markets and people – live every day.

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SET Team René

René Böhm

Senior Expert Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Throughout the years, René has gathered professional expertise in event management. He is responsible for the SET Tech Festival. The dyed-in-the-wool Berliner has his background in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing, Business Informatics and Entrepreneurship.

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SET Team Mara

Mara Berg

Senior Expert Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Mara has worked in the renewable energy and climate tech sector for over 10 years. She is purpose-driven and passionate about innovative & sustainable solutions that foster the green (energy) transition. As a strategic business and product developer, she has built and launched innovative digital products focusing on renewable energy, sustainable finance and CO2-offset.

Mara has a background in political science and economics, with a focus on international economic communities and energy security. She has lived and studied in the United States and Argentina.

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SET Team Tahar

Tahar Kechrid

Senior Expert Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Tahar is responsible for our Newsroom and supports the team with the SET Award and Tech Festival. Having worked and lived in Germany, France, Argentina, Tunisia and the US, he aims to engage the most innovative energy start-ups from all corners of the world. Tahar has a background in International Relations with a focus on Sustainability and Security.

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SET Team Niklas

Niklas Feierabend

Expert Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Our communications expert, Niklas, brings a rich blend of design acumen and expertise in media and communications management to the table. Prior to his tenure at dena, Niklas garnered invaluable experience through roles at start-ups, innovation and communications consultancies, and a DAX-listed corporation. Throughout his career, Niklas has consistently operated at the nexus of business innovation, digitalization, and transformation within the realm of communications.

Niklas is resolutely committed to one overarching objective: crafting optimal communication strategies that resonate with all stakeholders.

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SET Team Deborah

Deborah Bartel

Expert Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Deborah, our Start-up Ecosystem Expert, is motivated by a dual mission: to combat climate change and bolster the protection of our critical infrastructures through climate-tech innovations. With a diverse career that includes serving as an assistant to a deputy of the French Parliament and managing projects on satellite data in climate protection at the European Commission, Deborah brings a wealth of practical experience to our team.

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SET Team Elias

Elias Schiafone

Expert Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Meet Elias, our expert in Start-up Ecosystems. As a key member of the SET Hub team, he is dedicated to empowering climate tech start-ups and propelling their innovations to advance the energy transition.

Elias brings a wealth of expertise to the table, derived from his academic background in political and sustainability sciences, with a specialization in energy and climate policy and technology. His extensive knowledge and diverse experience uniquely position him to contribute significantly to the collective effort in addressing the urgent challenges posed by the climate crisis.

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SET Team Christine

Christine Krakau

Expert Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

Meet Christine, our communications expert for the SET Hub program, stationed at the Future Energy Lab in central Berlin.

With a blend of twin passions—working in communications and navigating the dynamic world of start-ups—Christine eagerly channels her expertise toward one of the most crucial issues of our time: combating climate change by steering the energy transition.

Boasting a diverse professional background, Christine holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science, complemented by a master’s in communication management. Her experience spans communications agencies, consultancies, and roles within both start-ups and tech companies.

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SET Team Claudia

Claudia Marks

Project Assistant Start-up Ecosystem, SET (dena)

After studying translation, Claudia moved to Colombia in search of new challenges. In the following seven years she discovered the topics finance and accounting in a local start-up. Back in Germany Claudia headed for a MA in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and focussed on degrowth and sufficiency.

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SET Team Akanksha

Akanksha Ranjan

Student Assistant, SET (dena)

Akanksha’s passion for a sustainable & equitable future led her to join SET. With a can-do attitude and penchant for writing, she supports our team with communication, editorial and social media. Akanksha is currently researching literary ecocriticism in her MA programme at Freie Universität Berlin.

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SET Team Jack

Jack Drummond

Student Assistant, SET (dena)

Jack is a MA student at Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin specializing in communication and communities. Jack is currently part of the SET communication team.

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