About the ESTT

The Energy & Strategy Think Tank (ESTT) is a collaboration between Verbund, Wien Energie and the Institute for Strategic Management (ISM) at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). Aims of the ESTT: Megatrends such as digitalization, decentralization, and decarbonisation are reshaping the energy industry and adjacent capital-​intensive industries. To lead, navigate, and understand these disruptive…

About the Team

The ESTT team at WU consists of experts on strategy, innovation, organization, and sustainability in and beyond the energy industry. Dr. Georg Reischauer  (Head) Christian Bruck Dr. Alexander Engelmann Dr. Nina Hampl  Dr. Patrick Holzmann Maryam Rassouli Dr. Christian Schumacher Dr. Melanie Wiener  

Innovation Talk “Household Costs of Energy Transition and Cost Reduction Approaches”

This Innovation Talk with the title “Household Costs of Energy Transition and Cost Reduction Approaches” was held by Dr. Eike Blume-Werry, Manager Energy Policy Analysis, Group Strategy at E.ON, who develops strategic recommendations for a cost-efficient and socially balanced energy transition. The talk examined how the financial impacts of the energy transition on households can…

Innovation Talk “Best Practices for Strategy Implementation in the Energy Industry”

This Innovation Talk with the title “Building Bridges – Between Strategy and Implementation, Between People and Organizations, Between Change and Stability” was held by Susanne Ratzenberger, an experienced transformation leader with over 20 years of executive experience in integration, restructuring, and change initiatives. The talk explored how successful strategy implementation can be achieved in environments…

Innovation Talk “Addressing Risks in Supply Chains”

This Innovation Talk with the title “Addressing Risks in Supply Chains for Raw Materials and Components in Energy Storage Systems” was held by Francisco Berdasco Balbuena, Vice President Supply Chain at EnergyNest, who has more than 15 years of international experience in industrial manufacturing and renewable energy, with a focus on supply chain and operations….

Innovation Talk “V2G Reality Check”

This Innovation Talk with the title “V2G Reality Check: Which Role Will EV-batteries Play in the Future?” was held by Marcus Fendt, Managing Director at The Mobility House Energy, with over a decade of experience in the automotive and energy industries. The talk focused on the potential of electric vehicle batteries within Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and…

Innovation Talk “New Approaches and Tools to Manage Innovation”

This Innovation Talk with the title “New Approaches and Tools to Manage Innovation” was held by Philipp Kamaryt, Vice President Strategy & Innovation at Enery, with over ten years of experience in the energy and industrial sectors. The talk focused on how innovation processes in energy companies can be designed not just to react to…

Innovation Talk “Contributions of AI to Stabilize Electricity Demand”

This Innovation Talk with the title “Contributions of AI to Stabilize Electricity Demand and the Grid” was held by Claudio Geyken, Founder and CEO of RiDERgy, a company specializing in intelligent energy management software for electric vehicle fleets since 2022. The talk explored how artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to address critical challenges in…

Innovation Talk “From Zero to Impact: Building and Scaling Climate Tech Startups”

This Innovation Talk with the title “From Zero to Impact: Building and Scaling Climate Tech Startups Within Unternehmertum & TUM” was held by Sylvia Stojilkovic (UnternehmerTUM) and Lars Eiermann (TUM Venture Labs). This inspiring session took place at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and brought together leading voices in venture building and sustainability…

Innovation Talk “New Approaches to Address the ‘Duck-Curve’ Issue”

This Innovation Talk with the title “New Approaches to Address the ‘Duck-Curve’ Issue Beyond Hydrogen” was held by Dr. Elias Frei, Head of Hydrogen Technologies at Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg. The focus of this talk was on addressing the challenges posed by the “duck curve”—the significant mismatch between solar energy production and energy demand throughout…

Innovation Talk “Breakthrough Technologies in Energy Generation and Transport”

This Innovation Talk with the title “Breakthrough Technologies in Energy Generation and Transport” was held by Timona Ghosh, Senior Business Development Manager at HDF Energy. The focus of this talk was on the European Union’s ambitious goal of achieving a climate-neutral power grid by 2050, and the necessity of hydrogen-based solutions to complement renewable sources…

ESTT at the RENT Conference 2024

ESTT members contributed to the 38th Research in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Conference (RENT), Nantes, with the following paper: “Jack of all trades, master of none” versus “one-trick pony”: Platform ventures positioning strategies