Instagrid gets new advisory board chairman

The former CEO of SMA Solar is joining the battery start-up. His main task is to help with internationalization.

Pierre-Pascal Urbon will strengthen the advisory board of battery manufacturer Instagrid in the future. The former head of SMA Solar Technology AG even takes over the chairmanship and is to contribute his expertise and his international network to the company. Especially with the upcoming internationalization and expansion, the 50-year-old Urbon should help.

Previously, Urbon was the CEO of SMA Solar, a manufacturer of photovoltaic and battery technology, from 2006 up to and including 2018. As CEO from 2011, he was also responsible for the strategic direction of the company. At Instagrid, a battery start-up based in Ludwigsburg and Helsinki, he is to support the founding duo Sebastian Berning and Andreas Sedlmayr in particular.

The two had founded the start-up in 2018. It specializes in portable high-performance battery systems for professional use. Among other things, the start-up is the winner of the InnoEnergy Awar 2019. As investors, the young company was able to win Segnalita Ventures and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), among others.

In the first quarter of 2021, it has delivered the first products according to its own information, in the future, they want to expand internationally, especially Europe is in focus. "The goal is to make instagrid a driving force in the field of off-grid energy storage technology worldwide," explains Sebastian Berning, co-founder and co-CEO of Instagrid.

That Urbon can help with this, they are convinced. "We are thrilled to have Pierre join the team. As CEO, he has developed SMA Solar into a leading solar inverter manufacturer," says Andreas Sedlmayr, co-founder and co-CEO of Instagrid.