Meet the young talents of the district energy industry

2018 Summer School challenge Winners

In 2018, for the 6^th International DHC+ Summer School edition in Ljubljana, we brought a new concept to the programme: the 24IdeaChallenge! The challenge was a reality-based problem designed by Danfoss and that was presented to the participants at the end of the week. The exercise was driven by the work and assessment hand-in-hand with experts and advisors in the field. Participants had the chance to suggest innovative solutions and the one feasible or the best one could have a chance to be implemented! The aim of this challenge is to create long-term partnerships between the participants and the industry. The winning team is at present on their way to implement their idea concretely within a plant in Slovenia.

As DHC+ Technology Platform is one of the major actor within the EU for education & trainings linked to District Heating and Cooling; we thought you might want to meet the winning team of this year challenge and young talents of the industry!

Congrats again to them with their innovation “Quick & Dirty LTDH”: Julijo Josip Franz, Peter Krizan, Nikola Matak and Susanne Tull.

Who are they? What are the profiles of the next generation in the industry?

Julijo Josip Franz

Petrol’s Energy Solution Department

See his LinkedIn profile

Julijo Josip Franz is a junior R&D engineer at Petrol’s Energy Solution Department. He finished his studies at the University of Ljubljana, at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on heat and power production. His master thesis dealt with the field of stand-alone energy systems. He is particularly interested in complex system modelling, forecasting algorithms and optimization problems. Despite his origin in the field of mechanical engineering, he tries to understand the complete process of product development, from the idea to the final product.

Peter Krizan

R&D Engineer at Danfoss Trata

See his LinkedIn profile

Peter Križan is an R&D Engineer at Danfoss Trata, located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is a member of the company since april 2018. His work focuses mainly on controllers and actuators for district heating & cooling systems. Peter holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Ljubljana. During his studies, he spent a year abroad at Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany. He spents his free time for practicing triathlon and travelling.

Nikola Matak

Research Assistant at FMENA (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture)

See his LinkedIn profile

Nikola Matak is a PhD student and employee of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb (UNIZAG FSB). He graduated in 2015 at the UNIZAG FSB in the Department of Energy, Power Engineering and Environment. He is currently working on the projects RESFlex – “Energy independent Croatia based on high penetration of Renewable Energy Sources and demand response technologies” and KeepWarm – “Improving the performance of district heating systems in Central and Eastern Europe”. He has expertise in local energy planning and the development of innovative business models for the implementation of RES projects. He has participated in the implementation of EU projects: PRISMI – “Promoting Renewable energy sources Integration for Smart Mediterranean Islands”, BEAST – “Beyond Energy Action Strategies”, MESHARTILITY, Alterenergy and STRATEGO, and he is a member of the local organizing committee for the SDEWES conference series – Conference on the Sustainable Development of the Energy, Water and Environment Systems.

Susanne Tull

EU Affairs & Communication Specialist at Danfoss

See her LinkedIn profile

Susanne works in Public Affairs, focusing on energy and climate policies and district energy, and has been with Danfoss since 2016. Prior to joining Danfoss, she studied European Studies in Germany, France and Denmark. She has as well worked in the European Parliament and for a German NGO educating young people about the EU.

The challenge took place thanks to the great collaboration with Danfoss & Petrol d.d.