SMA Sunbelt - our team 2022

Management Team

Burkhard Söhngen

Burkhard Söhngen
Managing Director

  • Responsible for Finance, Operations and Strategy within SMA Altenso
  • 15+ years of experience in the Renewable Energy Sector in various executive positions
  • Co-founder of a leading independent O&M and Engineering service provider
  • 10 years of experience in Corporate Finance & Controlling and Corporate Banking
  • Degree in business administration from the Universities of Jena und Aberdeen (Scotland)
Dr. Enrique Garralaga, Managing Director Engineering - SMA Sunbelt

Dr. Enrique Garralaga
Managing Director

  • Responsible for Engineering, Solutions Management and Project Development within SMA Altenso
  • 15+ years of experience in the Renewable Energy Sector, thereof with SMA since 2013
  • Experience in multi MW-sized PV, hybrid and battery storage systems
  • Master degrees in Physics at Universities in Zaragoza and in Paderborn. European Master in Renewable Energy at Northumbria University and PhD in Engineering from Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Dr. Jens Birkholz, Head of Sales - SMA Sunbelt

Dr. Jens Birkholz
Head of Sales & Business Development

  • Responsible for Sales as well as Market & Business Development within SMA Altenso
  • 10+ years of experience in the solar industry, thereof with SMA since 2011
  • Experience in go-to-market and sales strategy across all major solar applications (Grid-tied, Off-Grid and PV-Hybrid)
  • Master degree of physics from University of Hannover and PhD in physics from University of Göttingen
Wiebke Krüger, Head of Project Management - SMA Sunbelt

Wiebke Krüger
Head of Operations and Project Management

  • Responsible for operations, including SCM, project management and service within SMA Altenso
  • 10+ years of experience in solar market (project management, project engineering, sales)
  • Experience on small to large scale PV, off-grid, hybrid and battery storage applications
  • Master degree of industrial engineering, Paderborn and Brisbane
Fabian Jochem, Head of Strategy - SMA Sunbelt

Fabian Jochem
Head of Strategy

  • Responsible for the strategy development of SMA Altenso GmbH
  • Currently with a strong focus on Power-to-Gas applications
  • 15 years of experience in solar market, (sales, project development, engineering, management)
  • Focus on off-grid, hybrid and battery based solution
  • Master of mechanical Engineering, Darmstadt and Munich

History

History & Awards: SMA Altenso GmbH was founded in 2014 with the main goal to offer PV-solutions for the Solar-Hybrid market in the “sunbelt region” (area near the equator). Since then SMA Altenso GmbH has developed into a professional expert for PV-hybrid, grid-connected battery solutions and Power-to-Gas applications. Altenso can deliver and support project implementation, through innovative and complex hybrid and battery systems all over the world.

Following awards show the outstanding character of our projects:

Winner of the Solar Power Portal Energy Storage - Best Utility Scale Project 2018 - SMA Sunbelt

Winner of the Solar Power Portal Energy Storage
Best Utility Scale Project 2018

Winner CREF 2018 - Best Microgrid Project

Winner CREF 2018
Best Microgrid Project

Winner of the Intersolar award 2016 - Outstanding solar projects

Winner of the Intersolar award 2016
Outstanding solar projects