June's Expert of the Month: Dr. Frédéric Maurer!

At Solar Impulse Foundation, we could not do what we do without the amazing work of our Expert Community. The Experts are a group of professionals working in science, engineering, business and more, with a wealth of knowledge and experience on sustainable technologies. Using this knowledge, the Experts assess solutions seeking the Efficient Solution Label to ensure that a high standard is being met by our solutions.

Each month, we recognise the hard work and dedication of an Expert in our Community. We are delighted to say that June's Expert of the Month is Dr. Frédéric Maurer! Frédéric has been an Expert since October 2020, helping to label seven solutions so far. Thank you for your amazing work, Frédéric! In this article, we hear more about Frédéric's experiences and background in sustainability.

Please tell us a little about yourself! 

I live in Liebefeld – a city next to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. I graduated (Master & PhD) from EPFL in Electrical Engineering. I am working since +10 years in the energy industry on various roles.

Please tell us about your area of expertise and profession.

My main area of expertise is energy. Actually, I am working on my start-up project in the energy industry and have other positions in the energy industry. My current roles focus on enabling decentralisation, fostering energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy projects.

What is the most promising or exciting area of your professional focus which could help the transition to clean energy and sustainability?

I see two main axes, first enabling more renewable projects being build, then enabling decentralisation. But I don’t dream, going out of coal is still a long way and coal has big arguments for it: high ROI and a lot of jobs.

What kinds of solutions have you assessed as an Expert with the Solar Impulse Foundation? Which solutions have impressed you most, and why?

I assessed solutions in several topics, from logistics to IoT (Internet of Things). I am really impressed by the wideness of the topics that needs to be addressed to cope with climate change – or respectively achieve the energy transition. I get more and more aware, that this is a huge challenge – only to replace fossil fuels with renewables. It is crazy to see how deep our societies depends on fossil fuels! It is really difficult to pick up just one solution that really impressed me. I think all impressed me and contribute to fight climate change.

Have you seen solutions receiving the Efficient Solution Label that would be relevant for your work?

For my start-up project, I see many opportunities in the field of hardware solutions as we are more focussing on software solutions. So far, I identified one potential partner and would be keen to deepen the discussion.

 What are your hopes for the labeled Solutions, and the mission of the Solar Impulse Foundation more widely?

I hope that labelling more solutions can contribute to foster the energy transition and help to reach net zero CO2-emissions. It is more crucial than ever! We start to see the impact of climate change in our daily live – so it is more important than ever to act. And there, every single brick, every single step, every single contribution is important.

To find out more about our Expert Community and apply to become an Expert, please see here.