Dr. Oliver Then is Executive Managing Director of vgbe energy e.V. (formerly known as VGB PowerTech e.V.), the International Association of power plant and energy asset operators, and the vgbe Research Foundation. vgbe energy founded in 1920 is covering all aspects of the future energy system with a specific focus on dispatchable generation, RES, energy storage and hydrogen. Before joining vgbe Oliver has worked for more than 20 years years at a leading European utility in different expert and management functions around power plant operations and projects. Oliver studied Mechanical Engineering at the Ruhr- University Bochum and received his PhD from the Technical University Aachen.