Solar Heat Europe accelerates advocacy with new Board and adapted statutes

July 23, 2025

Solar Heat Europe has seen several exciting developments recently. The Brussels-based solar thermal association has elected a new Board, updated its statutes, and launched a completely revamped website. With a broader team and an enhanced communication strategy, Solar Heat Europe is now better positioned to accelerate the adoption of solar heat across all market segments. On the policy front, the Solar Heat Europe team is actively involved in the implementation of the Fit for 55 package and in shaping the upcoming European Commission Heating and Cooling Strategy. The photo shows the General Assembly meeting at the end of June in Bordeaux, France. Photo: Solar Heat Europe

Guglielmo Cioni, newly re-elected President of Solar Heat Europe (SHE), pointed out that solar heat is “the low-hanging fruit for enabling heat decarbonization. It is well-established, proven, off-grid, ready-to-deploy and – importantly – European-made.” Cioni emphasized that the new Board’s primary focus will be raising awareness about the crucial role solar heat can play in decarbonizing the heating sector.

The President receives support from five Board Members, three of them were re-elected: Oleguer Fuertes from BDR Thermea, Christophe Williams from Naked Energy and Roger Hackstock from Austria Solar. Newly welcomed were Christos Travasaros from EBHE, the Greek solar thermal industry association and Lucie Nebut, Business Development Representative for German-speaking companies at Newheat, France. SHE represents more than 225 organizations across 16 countries via its network and covers the vast majority of the solar heat sector in Europe.

Earlier this year, the association updated its statutes to welcome new members and give them better visibility regarding their role in the solar thermal value chain. The new statutes now clearly define the category “full members” as national associations, manufacturers of solar thermal collectors, project developers and research institutes. These groups are at the heart of the solar thermal business and have access to the SHE board and working groups. The category “associate members” is now open to test laboratories, suppliers of raw materials, storage companies and energy consultants, but also financial institutions, granting access to the main working groups. Other organizations such as users of solar heat or sponsors can now join the association. All information on these membership possibilities is available online.