Christof Timpe

Christof Timpe headed the Energy and Climate Division at the Oeko-Institut’s Freiburg office for many years until 2023. A graduate engineer, he has worked for the institute since 1993. Throughout his career, he has developed, managed and contributed to a multitude of projects at the local, national and European levels. Alongside his research and the provision of advice to policy-makers, the dialogue with businesses, especially in the energy sector, plays a key role in his work. In parallel to his research activities, he was responsible for the development of the Energy and Climate Division and was involved in the management and strategic orientation of the Oeko-Institut. Since January 2024, he has assumed the role of the Chief Executive Officer of the Oeko-Institut.

Expertise

• Design of well-performing smart electricity grids as the basis for a greenhouse gas-neutral energy system
• Transformation of energy sector companies
• Local authority climate action plans, including the development of GHG-neutral district heating
• Social-ecological research, e.g. in the context of climate change mitigation scenarios and the development of energy infrastructures
• Policy instruments for the successful implementation of the energy transition at national and European level, especially incentive and market-based mechanisms to increase the use of renewable energies, and instruments to improve transparency in energy markets (e.g. electricity labelling, disclosure of energy sources).

Key projects

• Kopernikus project: “Neue EnergieNetzStruktURen für die Energiewende” (ENSURE)
• Reduction of heat demand with solutions for a climate-neutral heat supply in the Bavarian capital Munich
• Study on climate neutrality for the Bavarian capital Munich and advice to the city of Freiburg on the further development of its climate action plan
• Strategic advice on the future direction of a regional gas supplier in the context of climate neutrality
• Scientific support for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action on the development of instruments for the market ramp-up of hydrogen and its derivatives

Professional training and career

Undergraduate studies in Power Engineering at Erlangen/Nürnberg University, graduated with the academic title of Dipl.-Ing. in 1992. Researcher at the Oeko-Institut, Energy and Climate Division, since 1993. From 1996 to 2023, Head of the Energy and Climate Division (Freiburg).

Language skills

English