VoltStorage at the TUM Sustainability Day

CEO Jakob Bitner gives keynote speech on sustainability as a motivation for entrepreneurship

On Thursday, 27 October 2022, the first Sustainability Day of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) took place. At this event, students, employees, alumni, and anyone interested in learning more about sustainability were invited to network and engage. As a former graduate of the Technical University of Munich, CEO Jakob Bitner gave a keynote speech on the topic of sustainability as a motivation for entrepreneurship.

The Technical University of Munich anchors the topic of sustainability as a leitmotif of its Agenda 2030, with Sustainability Day accompanying the institution’s transformation into a sustainable university. Professor Thomas F. Hofmann, President of the University, said in his opening speech on the day of the event: „With responsibility, talent, scientific excellence and innovative strength, we want to ensure the resilience of our university and shape the sustainable transformation of societies. We are making TUM a catalyst for the enormous changes that must now come in our quest for sustainable development, taking into account ecological limits, economic durability and social justice.“ At the same time, Professor Thomas F. Hofmann emphasised that for the transformation to be sustainable, people themselves must be activated as innovation drivers: „We must empower students, staff, alumni, specialists and managers beyond their specialist knowledge with the necessary sensitivity and new skills to make informed decisions, convince others, develop effective measures for a sustainable future and powerfully put them into practice through scalable innovations.“

Following the presentation of the Sustainable Future Strategy 2030, a controversial panel discussion with high-profile guests took place. Here, Dr. Thomas Becker (1st Head of Sustainability at BMW Group), Katrin Habenschaden (2nd Mayor of the City of Munich), Prof. Dr. Thomas F. Hofmann (3rd President of TUM), Sina-Marie Rupp (4th Student Representative, Department of the Environment) and moderator Prof. Dr. Alwine discussed the role of universities in a sustainable transformation of the economy and society. This was followed by six keynote presentations on TUM’s key areas of impact in connection with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, on health and well-being, affordable renewable energy, energy-efficient and sustainable planning and building, circular economy, environmental and climate policy, and forest inventory and sustainable use.

The introductory event was concluded with a keynote speech by Jakob Bitner, CEO & Co-Founder of VoltStorage and graduate of the Technical University of Munich. The keynote speech addressed sustainability as a motivation for entrepreneurship. „The biggest challenge is to make renewable energies permanently available even in times of little sun and wind. For this reason, VoltStorage has developed the Iron Salt technology. Iron-Salt technology relies on an iron-based storage medium and thus on one of the most abundant raw materials,“ said Jakob Bitner. VoltStorage therefore has the potential to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies and revolutionise the electricity storage market with its Iron Salt technology. „This is a prime example of the revolutionary energy that can be found in a start-up. A revolutionary energy that is needed by every country that wants to be and remain at the forefront of innovation and progress in the long term,“ emphasises Jakob Bitner, CEO & Co-Founder of VoltStorage.

About VoltStorage

VoltStorage GmbH is a technological pioneer for stationary flow batteries. VoltStorage develops and produces energy storage systems based on ecological redox flow technology. With its sustainable storage solutions, VoltStorage strives to achieve the vision of making 100% renewable energy available 24/7. VoltStorage has an international research and development team as well as the largest operating flow battery fleet worldwide, and thus extensive expertise and experience in the development and production of sustainable storage technologies. With redox flow technology, VoltStorage is establishing a mass-market alternative to lithium-based storage technologies that does not require rare materials or conflict raw materials, is fully recyclable, and also has high operational reliability and durability. For a fairer and cleaner world for generations to come. Learn more at: www.voltstorage.com/en