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, energy storage 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’ve 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 branch offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and further representative offices in the UK, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India, China, South Korea, Japan, USA, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
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 branch offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and further representative offices in the UK, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia, USA, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Through our presence in more than 14 countries, we offer you valuable local market insights and access to potential business partners.
Our presence on four continents
Team
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.
Dr. Moritz Borgmann
Partner
Moritz Borgmann focuses on strategy, technology, corporate and project finance projects along the entire value chain of the solar industry. Prior to joining Apricum, Moritz was the cofounder and member of the management board of 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.
Yusuf Macun
Partner
Yusuf Macun is an expert in project finance advisory with over 20 years of experience in energy and infrastructure financing and investments, with a focus on the power, infrastructure, oil and gas and renewables sectors. He has held leadership roles advising the public and private sector on energy and infrastructure transactions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
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.
Kenny Whitelaw-Jones
Partner
Kenny Whitelaw-Jones is one of the leading financial modeling instructors in the world and a recognized expert in his field. He has trained over 1,000 modelers from the world’s leading commercial and investment banks, top tier accounting firms, infrastructure funds and project developers. Kenny has played a leading role in the development of financial modeling standards over the past 10 years, and has led many model build and advisory assignments in the transport, energy and infrastructure sectors, developing numerous corporate, funding and real estate financial models along the way.
Our team
Stephanie Adam
Senior Consultant
Master’s degree in environmental economics and climate change; former senior consultant, Siemens Management Consulting; analyst, Bloomberg New Energy Finance
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
Masataka Asano
Senior Advisor and Country Representative Japan
Former member of board and senior managing director, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Hannes Beushausen
Project Manager
MBA, master's degree in physics; former junior consultant, Daimler AG
Ruy Campos Dugone
Senior Advisor
Former head of international business development, Latin America and Africa, SunEdison; managing partner, Latin America, Bhaskar Solar
Dr. Jan Hanno Carstens
Senior Advisor
Former head of power plants business, director systems technology, Solon SE; sales and technology manager, Alstom
Dr. Kwanshik Cho
Senior Advisor
Former chief technology officer, executive vice president, Dongbu Daewoo Electronics; vice president, head of solar business, LG Electronics
Peter Deege
Senior Advisor
Former chief commercial officer, Photon Energy Group; general manager EMEA, Satcon Technnology Corporation; managing director, Ecostream Switzerland
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
Eva-Susanne Fleige
Office Manager
Former account manager, Anaqua Inc; paralegal, Schreiner Group
Dr. Christoph Flink
Senior Advisor and Head of Asia Pacific
Former head of strategy and M&A, JA Solar; faculty member, NIMI business school; director marketing, Grace Semiconductor (Hong Li); director operations, Infineon; senior IC process engineer, Intel
Francisco Galeano
Senior Advisor
Former investment acquisition specialist, Entropy Investment Management; director, business development, Enel Green Power North America
Hanns-Joachim Garms
Senior Advisor
Former member of the executive board, tse AG (ENRO AG)
Robin von Hammerstein
Senior Consultant
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
Senior Consultant
PhD in climate physics; former senior consultant, Bain & Company
Werner Koldehoff
Senior Advisor
Advisory board member, ESTIF, European Solar Industry Federation; former board member, BSW, German Solar Industry Association
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
James Kurz
Senior Consultant
MBA, bachelor of economics; former consultant to LM Wind Power; medical technology market analyst
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
Dr. Alvaro Lentz
Senior Advisor
Former president, ANES (Mexican National Solar Energy Association); professor, University of Mexico City (UACM); former professor and academic advisor, National University of Mexico (UNAM)
Prof. Dr. Konstantin Lenz
Senior Advisor
Professor of energy economics, University of Erfurt; former country manager commodities Germany, Nasdaq OMX; head of German branch, Markedskraft Group; price and product manager, Electrabel
Dr. Hee-Soo Moon
Senior Advisor
Former senior manager, ESS business division, LG Electronics; manager, solar business division, LG Electronics; senior engineer, Samsung Electronics
Christian Müller-Elschner
Senior Advisor
Former COO, Younicos; senior vice president, T-Systems; partner, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Dr. Wolfgang Oels
Senior Advisor
Former director operations, Glatfelter AMBU; VP operations, Alion; director production, Q‑Cells; consultant, McKinsey & Company
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
Moritz von Plate
Senior Advisor
CEO, Cassantec; former managing director, Solarlite; managing director, Agrosolar; principal, The Boston Consulting Group
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
Dr. Andreas Rückemann
Senior Advisor
Head of Sales Europe, Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH; former CEO, Heliatek Germany; director global electronic chemicals, Evonik; CEO, Evonik/Degussa Novara Technology
Prof. Dr. Ricardo Rüther
Senior Advisor
Lecturer on solar energy, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil;
former head and founder of International Solar Energy Society in Brazil
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
Project Manager
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
Richard Sowter
Senior Advisor
Former vice president Europe, Carmanah Technologies; president, BP Solar Inc. USA
Krishnappa Subramanya
Senior Advisor
Chairman, FICCI solar energy task force & SEMI PV advisory panel; fellow, IETE; former CEO, Tata BP Solar
Meishi Tan
Consultant
Master's degree in sustainable development, bachelor of business administration; former analyst, investment banking, Citigroup Asia Pacific
Dr. Yoshihisa Tawada
Senior Advisor
Former chairman, Kaneka SolarTec Corporation; chairman, Japan Solar Energy Society; director, PV Power Generation Technology Research Association
Mike Wanebo
Senior Advisor
VP corporate development, Sunpreme; former senior director business development, hybrid energy solutions, Sun Edison; chief operating officer, Scatec Solar
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 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.
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.
Energy storage
We cover a broad array of energy storage technologies from pumped hydro to compressed air and battery storage, as well as new grid-scale battery technologies such as zinc hybrid cathode-based technology.
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 seperator membranes. Special attention is given to value-added coatings, novel additives and structuring, which may improve storage performance.
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.
Energy management systems
We work with a wide range of stakeholders who have a vested interest in the generation and consumption of energy, to monitor, visualize and optimize the flow of energy in industrial, commercial and residential buildings.
Hybrid
We are active in the hybrid renewable energy sector where PV or wind is combined with fossil fuel-based generation and sometimes storage for markets not sufficiently served by centralized power generation, e.g., remote off-grid or mini-grid sites requiring distributed or captive generation.
Solar desalination
We cover a range of technologies used for renewable desalination, of which around two-thirds are based on the Reverse Osmosis process, followed by Multi Stage Flash. PV is the dominant energy source compared to wind and solar thermal, with hybrid configurations often employed as backup capacity.
Partners
Solera LLC
Mostafa Mobarak | Managing Partner
Solera, based in Cairo, is one of the first Egyptian companies focusing exclusively on clean energy. Their professional team provides all relevant advisory services on the ground and contributes its excellent relationships to authorities and the local industry. Together Apricum and Solera offer integrated project development services for PV and wind projects in Egypt.
Reiner Lemoine Institut gGmbH
Philipp Blechinger | Teamleader
Off-Grid Systems
The Reiner Lemoine Institute gGmbH (RLI) is a non-profit research institution founded in 2010 that provides research on renewable energy, integration of different energy technologies, diffusion of renewable energy, network management, energy storage and hybrid power plants.
8.2 Ingenieurpartnerschaft Obst & Ziehmann
Dietmar Obst | Partner
8.2 is an independent engineering consultancy focused on renewable energy power plants. 8.2 has an experienced team of over 140 experts and works as owners’ or lenders’ engineers. 8.2 covers all relevant renewable energy sources including wind – onshore/offshore; PV, CPV, CSP, biogas and their grid integration.
