"Business Model like a Decathlon" Interview with Florian Berghausen, recently elected member of the board of Renewable Energy Hamburg

Renewable Energy Hamburg: Congratulations on your election to the EEHH Board of Directors! What was your motivation for standing? What would you like to achieve?

Florian Berghausen: "Firstly, thank you. I am delighted that so many member companies expressed their confidence in me at the AGM and voted for me. Presumably most of them did not know me personally beforehand. That is why I am all the more delighted that in my short presentation I was able to make it clear just how much renewable energy and my involvement in the cluster means to me. There are a few things I would like to achieve. Firstly, I come from the solar sector and when you look at the Renewable Energy Hamburg cluster, for historical reasons there has always been a focus on wind power. I think wind energy is great, but I would also like to ensure that solar energy and, above all, photovoltaics are given a strong voice in the cluster. There is a great deal of potential for solar energy in Hamburg and the metropolitan region. Hundreds of thousands of additional systems and tens of thousands of new jobs are possible there over the next few years. Moreover, there are many links spanning different technologies. Renewable energies need to continue to grow closer together, both in the private and the industrial and commercial sectors. Sector coupling – linking up with Power-to-X technologies, storage, hydrogen or thermal energy – is the key issue for the next few years."

Renewable Energy Hamburg: DZ-4 has grown from a start-up to a thriving energy company. What do you think is the key to your success?

Florian Berghausen: "I like to compare our business model to a decathlon. We need to successfully master around 10 disciplines. These include things like talent management and growth management, as well as procurement, sales, fulfilment, financing, lead generation, IT, customer service and technical management. So ultimately, there’s not just one key to success, but a series of things which have to fit together. With hindsight you can say that we have succeeded in building a sustainable company thanks to a healthy growth trajectory and lots of ambition, but also humility and honesty. DZ-4 has a strong sense of purpose and aims to improve the world with solar energy. We have a product that customers want and which enables them to implement their own easy and personal energy transition. We also have an authentic corporate culture, where work is fun because it is based on appreciation and transparency."

Renewable ENergy Hamburg: What do you see as the strengths and potentials of the Hamburg metropolitan region in the field of renewable energies?

Florian Berghausen: "The Hamburg metropolitan region is a services hub and industrial location with a radiant merchant city at its centre, and has great potential to take on a leading role globally for urban cities with surrounding rural infrastructure. The metropolitan region fulfils all the requirements in terms of area, economic power and infrastructure for becoming self-sufficient in energy and, at the same time, climate-neutral. With political will, Hamburg could be one of the first cities in the world to show how it is done. At the same time my thinking extends beyond mere energy supply, or electricity and heat supply, to include mobility – because even the transport transition can only be successful with renewable energies. With a master plan like this it would be possible for the region to attract innovative companies and, moreover, to establish a new start-up culture packed with enormous potential. This would create lots of new, sustainable jobs in the metropolitan region."

Thank you very much for the enlightening interview!

https://www.dz-4.de/ueber-uns