Dr. Nikolaus Benz, born in 1960, has been CEO of SCHOTT Solar CSP GmbH (formerly SCHOTT Solarthermie GmbH) since May 2008. In position, he is responsible for production as well as research and development in the SCHOTT Solar CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) segment. Solar receivers that form the core components of solar power stations utilizing parabolic trough technology are manufactured here. Before his promotion to the executive board, Dr. Benz managed the Development and Technology Division. One of the projects entrusted to him was the development, buildup of manufacturing capacity and introduction to the market of a receiver in 2006.
Before joining SCHOTT in 2001, Dr. Benz was Group Manager for solar-thermal activities at the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research in Munich. He has studied and developed solar-thermal applications for over 20 years, and has also been occupied with system analysis and production technology. Dr. Benz has been Vice-President of the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association (ESTELA), which represents the European CSP industry, since 2007. He graduated in Physics, as well as obtaining a PhD in this discipline, from the Munich Ludwig Maximilian University.
Steps in professional career:
• 2008: Named as CEO of SCHOTT Solar CSP GmbH
• From 2007: Vice-President of the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association (ESTELA)
• 2001-2008: Research & Development Manager, SCHOTT Solar CSP GmbH (formerly SCHOTT Solarthermie GmbH)
• 1993-2001: Group Manager for solar-thermal activities at the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research, Munich
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