Oliver Hermes on the death of Stephan Kohler
I will miss him as an advisor, expert, and friend.
Stephan Kohler, one of Germany's most renowned energy experts and long-time CEO of the German Energy Agency (dena), passed away last weekend at the age of 68. Oliver Hermes, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the Wilo Group and Chairman of the Eastern Committee, stated that with the loss of Stephan Kohler, he not only loses a partner in the business world but also a friend: "After years of collaboration, an honest friendship developed between Stephan and me. Alongside his wisdom and humor, a very warm part of Berlin is lost to me."
As a trained mechanical engineer, Kohler has been one of the pioneers of climate protection in Germany since the early 1980s and has been involved in various capacities in Germany's "Energiewende," which has led to a rapid expansion of renewable energies in the country since 2000. As the head of dena, Kohler participated in numerous specialist conferences and working groups of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy. He actively engaged in the Russia Working Group, the German-Russian Strategic Working Group, and the Petersburg Dialogue.
"We will deeply miss Stephan Kohler, not only as an advisor and expert but also as a great friend of Eastern Europe and our association," said Oliver Hermes. "Especially regarding the EU Green Deal, we were in close contact until the end. His death deeply affects us, and our heartfelt condolences go out to his family."
Kohler was born in Augsburg in 1952. After his education, he initially became known as an expert in nuclear technology and radiation protection before joining the Öko-Institut Freiburg in 1981, where he took over as head of the Energy Department in 1983. During Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika era, Kohler established contacts in the Soviet Union and set up an environmental information office in Moscow in 1988. In 1991, he became the managing director of the newly founded Lower Saxony Energy Agency in Hanover.
New Paths to Climate Protection
He published the groundbreaking book "New Paths to Climate Protection" for the Expo 2000 in Hanover and established himself as a visionary of the energy transition for the government of Gerhard Schröder. From 2000 onwards, he actively accompanied the energy transition with the German Energy Agency (dena) in Berlin. Dena is 50 percent owned by the federal government and 50 percent by KfW, DZ Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Allianz. Kohler became the founding CEO and served as the Chairman of the Management Board at dena from 2006 to 2014.
Under Kohler's leadership, dena joined the Eastern Committee and engaged in active consulting activities in Eastern Europe. Energy efficiency projects were developed for Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia, and solar and photovoltaic systems were established in the region. Since 2015, Stephan Kohler has worked as a managing partner in two energy consulting companies and has been involved in advisory boards of various foundations and institutions. As an expert in energy issues, he remained active in the committees of the Eastern Committee until recently.
