About Us
We offer an integrated suite
of growth-oriented consulting
services for companies and investors
Get to know Apricum
Advantages we offer our clients
We are a globally active transaction advisory and strategy consulting firm dedicated to the cleantech industry. Established in 2008, we serve our clients as their independent advisor to help them succeed in the fields of solar & wind, water, heat, energy storage, green mobility and digital energy. We offer a wide range of growth-oriented services to investors and companies both public and private, including mergers and acquisition, fund raising, project finance, strategy development, business model design and technology roadmaps.
We have assembled an enviable team of experts with impressive industry experience in top management, consulting and finance roles. We work with a broad variety of companies from high-tech startups and project developers to financial investors and multi-billion US dollar conglomerates. We are headquartered in Berlin with representatives in key established and emerging renewable energy markets around the world.
Expert knowledge
Our team of more than 40 senior experts combines profound market and technology expertise as well as decades of industry experience in top management, consulting and finance roles.
Proven track record
We’ve completed over 200 cross-border consulting and transaction projects with the highest levels of client satisfaction. Visit our References page to read some of their testimonials and view some recent projects.
Vast network
We have access to key decision makers around the world and can connect you to high level contacts in the global cleantech and financial industries.
Global presence
We are headquartered in Berlin and serve clients around the world. We have representatives in the UK, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and the USA. Through our widespread global presence, we offer you valuable local market insights and access to potential business partners.
Apricum's global presence and network can help you realize growth
Growth may come in many guises: Whether you seek strategic or financial investors, a strategic acquisition or divestment or a smart internationalization strategy, we have the contacts and the expertise to guide your business development activities to success.
While we are headquartered in Berlin, we proudly serve clients around the world. Through Apricum, you can access our large international network of senior advisors, local representatives and partners in countries such as the UK, Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and the USA.
Our high-caliber, international network is one of our key differentiators and we’ve put it to good use in more than 200 cross-border consulting and transaction projects completed with the highest levels of client satisfaction.
Explore our impressive global network with local representatives and dedicated content experts below.
Team
“We offer our clients more than just outstanding capabilities – our team of financial experts, global network and international track record is second to none. We proudly offer our specialist knowledge of the cleantech industry and most importantly our passion for renewable technologies.”
Expertise, experience and passion characterize and unite our talented and diverse team members. The nature, variety and complexity of our clients’ projects attract these high-caliber management consultants, investment bankers, engineers, entrepreneurs and thought leaders to our team. With backgrounds in engineering, economics, physics and business administration, PhDs and MBAs are common among us. Residing currently in 14 countries, we are multilingual and deeply connected to local renewable energy markets around the world.
Leadership
Nikolai Dobrott
Founder & Managing Partner
Nikolai Dobrott has profound technology and market knowledge in the solar, wind, water and integrated renewable energy industries, combined with deep functional expertise in strategy development, strategic business plan execution and corporate finance. He speaks at major cleantech and renewable energy conferences worldwide every year.
Frank Beckers
Partner
Drawing on over 25 years of experience at First Abu Dhabi Bank, McKinsey & Company and Deutsche Bank, Frank Beckers brings considerable expertise to Apricum’s global transaction advisory and corporate strategy practices, with a focus on Europe and the Middle East.
Dr. Moritz Borgmann
Partner
Moritz Borgmann focuses on strategy and business model design, due diligence, capital raising and M&A and project finance engagements along the entire value chain of the solar industry and in the “digital energy” sector. Prior to joining Apricum, Moritz was the cofounder and member of the management board of digital semiconductor company Celestrius AG.
Florian Haacke
Partner
Florian Haacke is the head of the solar materials and energy storage materials practice group at Apricum. He has expertise in strategy development with a focus on materials enabling photovoltaic and energy storage technologies. Florian speaks at major materials conferences worldwide and contributes to studies and publications regarding this topic.
Florian Mayr
Partner
Florian Mayr brings a wealth of management consultant experience to Apricum, combining an enviable knowledge of both the conventional energy and renewable energy sectors. Prior to Apricum, he spent eight years in senior positions at McKinsey & Company and RWE.
Duncan Ritchie
Partner
Duncan Ritchie leads Apricum’s project advisory practice. He has over 25 years’ experience in investment banking, finance and project development in the energy and infrastructure sectors. Before joining Apricum, Duncan was head of power & renewables at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.
Our team
Dr. Amer Alswaha
Senior Advisor and Country Representative Saudi Arabia
Former head of independent power producers program, Saudi Electricity Company; senior vice president, Saudi Electricity Company
Paul Arwas
Senior Advisor
Former director and VP of energy and chemicals, Arthur D. Little; founder, Arwas & Associates
Masataka Asano
Senior Advisor and Country Representative Japan
Former member of board and senior managing director, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Ricardo Barreto
Senior Advisor
Former CEO, Elia Grid International; regional director EMEA, Gaffney, Cline & Associates; senior business development, M&A manager, Wintershall
Hannes Beushausen
Principal
MBA, master’s degree in physics; former junior consultant, Daimler AG
Dietmar Blank
Senior Advisor
Dr. Raed Bkayrat
Senior Advisor
Former VP business development, First Solar; head of technology commercialization and industry collaboration, KAUST; director of system engineering and power electronics, DDS
Christina Brandt
Office Manager
Former senior management assistant, European Central Bank; assistant at Deutsche Börse AG, Deutsche Bank, ANZ Bank
Prof. Dr. Jan Hanno Carstens
Senior Advisor
Professor for renewable energy systems; former head of power plants business, director systems technology, Solon SE; sales and technology manager, Alstom
Corentin de Ricaud
Vice President
Master’s in finance and strategy; former investment officer, European Investment Bank; financial advisor, ENGIE; analyst, BNP Paribas
Dr. Horst Dietz
Senior Advisor
Member of the supervisory board, ABB AG, Solon SE, Bilfinger Berger; former CEO, ABB AG
Dr. Garry Felgate
Senior Advisor
Former partner, Orion Innovations; chief executive and executive board member, Energy Retail Association; managing director, AEA Technology Group; director, The Carbon Trust; director, KPMG
Henning Franke
Senior Advisor
Co‑founder and managing director INPUT Ingenieure GmbH; former head of project development, Linde-KCA GmbH; general manager, Bühler AG
Hanns-Joachim Garms
Senior Advisor
Former member of the executive board, tse AG (ENRO AG)
Heinrich Grabowski
Senior Advisor
Former member of EMEA senior leadership team, Novell; CIO, Rütgers/ Evonik; management consultant, Arthur D. Little
Robin Friedrich von Hammerstein
Project Manager
Master’s degree in industrial engineering; former consultant, Siemens Management Consulting
Frank Haugwitz
Senior Advisor
Head of Intersolar conference development, Solar Promotion International; former EU renewable energy manager, EU-China energy & environment programme; technical director, GTZ, China
Cate Holtz
Manager Marketing & Communications
Former senior project manager, Young Internet GmbH; communications strategist, Ikon Communications
Dr. Hendrik Kienert
Project Manager
PhD in climate physics; former senior consultant, Bain & Company
Horst Kruse
Senior Advisor
Former Director Sales Asia, Photovoltaics, Schott Solar; Director Marketing & Sales South East Asia, Angewandte Solar Energie (ASE) GmbH
Philipp Kunze
Senior Advisor
Cofounder and managing director, OneShore Energy GmbH; former managing director, Solaria Corporation; director, Germany Trade & Invest
Christian Langen
Senior Advisor
Non-executive board director, Oxford PV; former executive vice president, SMA Solar Technology AG; chief sales officer, Sovello AG; board director, EPIA
Jaesung Lee
Senior Advisor
Inha Technical College, South Korea; former new business development manager at SK Innovation; former senior manager of new business development at LG Innotek; former manager of battery division at Samsung SDI
Jesselyn Malimata
Consultant
Master’s in management and engineering of environment and energy; B.Sc. in chemical engineering; former commercial planning specialist and energy trader, AES
Christian Müller-Elschner
Senior Advisor
Founding partner, Deutsche Ventures; former COO, Younicos; senior vice president, T-Systems; partner, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Thomas Obermeier
Senior Advisor
Owner and CEO, TOMM+C; head of business development, EEW Energy from Waste GmbH; former CEO, Schwarze Pumpe GmbH
Per Hornung Pedersen
Senior Advisor
Member of management board, Suzlon Energy; former CFO, NEG Micon/Vestas; CEO, Suzlon Energy; CEO, Repower; CEO, Pelamis Wave Power
Deniz Selkan Polatkan
Senior Advisor
Founder and managing director, Motif Project Ltd
Roland Quast
Senior Advisor
Cofounder & managing director, German ASEAN Power; cofounder & managing partner, Quast Nahrath Group; member of management team, former head of strategic corporate development, Inventux Technologies
Andreas Rückemann
Senior Advisor
Director of sales Europe, Eguana Technologies; former head of sales Europe, Mercedes-Benz Energy; CEO, Heliatek Germany; director global electronic chemicals, Evonik; CEO Evonik/Degussa Novara Technology
Joachim Rupp
Senior Advisor
Former managing director, Viessmann PV + E-Systems; senior manager, Samsung; marketing manager, Hitachi
Hoora Sarajan
Consultant
M.Eng. in renewable energy systems; B.Sc. in energy and process technology, B.Sc. in physics; former student researcher, PVcomB at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin
Prof. Dr. Dirk Uwe Sauer
Senior Advisor
Professor for electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems, RWTH Aachen University, Germany; Project leader, division for electrical energy systems, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg
Sebastian Schierenbeck
Principal
Master’s degree in business administration and mechanical engineering, former senior consultant Booz & Company
Dr. Volker Schlüter
Senior Advisor
CEO, ChemAdvice; former CEO, Triplan AG; management consultant, Arthur D. Little
Dr. Oliver Schmidt
Senior Consultant
PhD in energy storage; founder of Storage Lab; former analyst, IEA; former senior consultant, E.ON In-House Consulting
Janet So
Senior Advisor
Director, Trinergy M&A Advisory; Director, Translink Corporate Finance; former senior consultant for PR firms; former consulting director for McGraw Hill’s AviationWeek / MRO Exhibition in Beijing
Richard Sowter
Senior Advisor
Former vice president Europe, Carmanah Technologies; president, BP Solar Inc. USA
Richard Stuebi
Senior Advisor
Founder and president, Future Energy Advisors; board member ESA; former VP, US strategy & group technology, National Grid; managing director, Early Stage Partners
Giovanni Sturiale
Analyst
M.Sc. in corporate finance and banking; B.Sc. in banking and finance; former credit analyst intern, Factorit, Italy
Dr. Kornelia Stycz
Senior Consultant
PhD in physics; former team head Berlin Risk Center, Deutsche Bank AG; physicist, DESY
Krishnappa Subramanya
Senior Advisor
Chairman, FICCI solar energy task force & SEMI PV advisory panel; fellow, IETE; former CEO, Tata BP Solar
Dr. Yoshihisa Tawada
Senior Advisor
Former chairman, Kaneka SolarTec Corporation; chairman, Japan Solar Energy Society; director, PV Power Generation Technology Research Association
Michael Voigtsberger
Senior Advisor
Managing director, DPM Management GmbH; former managing director, Steca Elektronik GmbH; project manager operations, Kathrein-Werke KG
Prof. Dr. Eicke Weber
Senior Advisor
VP, ISES; former CEO, Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS); director, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE; professor of physics and applied sciences, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg
Frank Wouters
Senior Advisor
Director EU-GCC Clean Energy Network; director, Gore Street Capital; former deputy-director general, International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA); director, MASDAR Clean Energy
Industries
Apricum is focused exclusively on solar, wind, water, energy storage, green mobility and digital energy. Our expertise spans the entire value chains in these industries. We have a comprehensive overview of the market dynamics, drivers and economics, as well as a deep, engineering-level understanding of the technical issues at play.
Solar energy
We are active across the full range of solar technologies including photovoltaics (PV), concentrated solar power (CSP) and solar hot water (SHW). We span the entire solar value chain from component manufacturing, module manufacturing (e.g., crystalline silicon, thin-film, CPV concentrators), system integration and project development to power generation.
Contact Apricum Partner Dr. Moritz Borgmann for further information.
Solar materials
Our activities span the complete spectrum of solar materials required in the production of PV modules, ranging from active cells (cell materials, coatings, connectivity) via cell packaging (encapsulant, backsheet, glass) to value-added coatings (light-shifting, anti-reflective, anti-soiling) up to frames and mounting systems for the finished modules.
Contact Apricum Partner Florian Haacke for further information.
Energy storage
Energy storage is a key element of the new energy system, be it mechanical, (electro)-chemical or thermal based. On the one hand, energy storage provides flexibility by mitigating or managing the impact of a growing share of variable renewables and bi-directional energy flows. On the other hand, storage is increasingly chosen as the preferred infrastructure option to defer investments in grid or generation or to increase system resiliency in the face of extreme weather events. Apricum offers support to participate in this growing business opportunity through our extensive knowledge of use cases, markets, economics, technologies – and how they all fit together.
Contact Apricum Partner Florian Mayr for further information.
Energy storage materials
We are engaged across the gamut of materials (chemical components, polymers, metals) employed in batteries and super capacitors, ranging from batteries cell chemistry, via electrolytes and binders to polymer films and non-wovens as separator membranes. Special attention is given to value-added coatings, novel additives and structuring, which may improve storage performance.
Contact Apricum Partner Florian Haacke for further information.
Wind energy
Our wind practice is focused on the utility-scale segment in both onshore and offshore wind. We engage along the entire wind value chain from upstream materials, component manufacturing and integration to downstream project development, EPC, O&M services and power generation.
Contact Apricum Managing Partner Nikolai Dobrott for further information.
Green mobility
Along with the ongoing electrification of the transport segment, we offer strategy consulting and transaction advisory services for both e-mobility and power-to-mobility (see also Power-to-X). We have a deep understanding of the applicable business models, from manufacturing of vehicle components and charging/fuelling infrastructure, to charge point operation (CPO), electric mobility provision (EMP) and innovative mobility services. As green mobility is closely interrelated with our activities in energy storage (e.g., vehicle-to-grid, second life) and digital energy (e.g., smart infrastructure), we are able to provide our clients with unparalleled coverage of all relevant aspects.
Contact Apricum Partner Florian Mayr for further information.
Digital energy
Digital infrastructure such as sensors, software platforms and communication networks are increasingly applied across the energy sector to realize cost savings for example, by optimizing asset utilization, streamlining O&M and facilitating transactions. Furthermore, digital energy is applied to unlock new revenue streams by aggregating distributed energy resources to access attractive market schemes, among others. Leveraging Apricum’s vast experience in applicable industries such as solar & wind, energy storage and green mobility, we provide strong guidance to understand and seize the benefits from the growing digitalization of the energy world.
Contact Apricum Partners Florian Mayr or Dr. Moritz Borgmann for further information.
Waste-to-energy
An integral part of the waste hierarchy is the generation of energy, primarily in the forms of electricity and heat, from waste. Following waste reduction, waste reuse and waste recycling, the transformation of residuals into energy and valuable materials, for example, as refuse-derived fuels and solid-recovered fuels, creates an equally important and rare possibility of clean electricity baseload generation. Simultaneously, inevitable landfilling is reduced significantly while waste-to-energy fulfils its unique task to defang a vast number of hazardous substances. Apricum offers advisory and support in the waste industry with particular focus on waste-to-energy, wastewater treatment and municipal solid waste management. Building on our vast industry network and transaction advisory experience, we provide our clients with comprehensive M&A support, strategy advisory and project finance expertise.
Contact Apricum Managing Partner Nikolai Dobrott for further information.