Time for room check-in, and aperitivo as participants arrive and get to know each other.

Introduction to the BMW Foundation’s work, our focus on energy transition & climate action, and the intention for this format and group’s composition.

Dr. Heba AGUIB and Heike SCHNEEWEIS

Board of Directors, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Dynamic session to get to know fellow participants and their work.  

Facilitators: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble and Jessica von FARKAS, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

This participatory discussion will explore the critical factors that enable transformative ideas to move from concept to large-scale impact. The aim  is to have an honest and open exchange on common hurdles that participants face along the way while scaling innovation as founders and leaders.  This session is a peer-driven exchange that moves beyond traditional panel formats.

Impulse Givers:

David KENNEDY, CEO, Science Based Target initiative (SBTi)

Stephan HERRMANN, CEO, REVERION

Elsa GIVAN, Director of Strategic Partnerships, NASDAQ

Facilitator:  Julio SALAZAR, Strategic Partner, The Unconventional Co

Participants will be sitting with leaders and experts from different sectors and regions to further learn more about each other, each other’s field of work and untap unseen potential for collaboration. 

Keynote: How do you lead when there are no easy answers?

This keynote speech will reflect on the tensions that a global corporate player must navigate. What does risk-taking look like, when leading responsibly through paradoxes, rather than solving them.

Dr. Nicolas PETER, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble

In this immersive session, participants are guided in a powerful grounding experience, offering strategies for authentic leadership in moments of tension.

Johannes LOBER, Managing Director and Founder, Institute for Philosophy and Leadership

Progress demands more than individual effort: It demands breaking down silos between sectors that must work together to deliver a clean energy transition and industrial decarbonization at scale. Three interactive workshops – each with a firestarter input to frame the conversation - invites participants to discuss how strategic alignment across key areas can accelerate the net-zero transition.

Impulse Givers:

Heike FREUND, COO, Marvel Fusion

Dr. Michiel SCHEFFER, President of the Board, European Innovation Council

Dr. Bryan SCHELER, VP Solutions, Investments & Partnerships, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Moderator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble

Collaboration Workshops (75 min)

CAPITAL & SCALING - ALIGNING GRANTS AND PRIVATE CAPITAL TO ACCELERATE CLEAN TECH DEPLOYMENT

This workshop session addresses a critical bottleneck in the energy transition & cleantech deployment: how to best align public funding instruments with private capital to scale clean technologies. We will examine practical mechanisms to bridge the gap between early-stage innovation and commercial deployment, focusing on effective grant-capital integration, de-risking strategies, and investment models that attract institutional and venture capital. Key questions include: How can we better connect grant funding with capital providers? What frameworks are needed to mobilize private investment at scale?

Keynote Listener | Dr. Michiel SCHEFFER, President, European Innovation Council

Workshop Chair | Oona POROPUDAS, Project Lead, Climate Scaleup Fuding, TAH Foundation

BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATION - SCALING FROM LAB TO MARKET

This workshop session focuses on the critical path from scientific breakthroughs to commercial success. We will discuss how next-generation technologies can drive deep decarbonization, while remaining viable across cost, durability, and sustainability metrics. Central question: how to overcome the structural challenges of launching and scaling cleantech ventures. The exchange will center on technical validation, capital intensity, scale-up hurdles, and the support systems needed to bring high-impact innovations to market.

Keynote Listener  | Heike FREUND, COO, Marvel Fusion

Workshop Chair | Dr. Lars EIERMANN, Chief Sustainability Officer and Managing Director, TUM Venture Lab Sustainability & Circular Economy

INDUSTRIAL IMPLEMENTATION - INCENTIVIZING INDUSTRY TO DECARBONIZE AT SCALE

This workshop session focuses on a central challenge of the energy transition: how to accelerate the adoption of cleantech solutions within established industries. Participants will explore which incentives, investment models, and partnership structures can drive large-scale industrial decarbonization through innovation deployment in alignment with net-zero targets.

Keynote Listener | David KENNEDY, CEO, Science Based Target initiative (SBTi)

Workshop Chair | Ines KOLMSEE, Partner, Matterwave Venture

Spotlight Symposium: From Impact to Action

In this closing session, the impulse givers return with a focused keynote reflection - not to introduce new ideas, but to distill the essence of the preceding workshop. Drawing from the discussions, perspectives, and key moments shared, they present one pivotal insight that captures the core of the conversations and one concrete action to carry it forward. This synthesis is designed to translate shared learning into strategic clarity, bridging reflection and execution, and empowering participants to move from dialogue to action.

Heike FREUND, COO, Marvel Fusion

David KENNEDY, CEO, Science Based Target initiative (SBTi)

Dr. Michiel SCHEFFER, President of the Board, European Innovation Council

Dr. Bryan SCHELER, VP Solutions, Investments & Partnerships, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Building on new ideas and opportunity spaces which were explored in the morning, participants now turn further to who else is in the room. By mapping individual strengths and challenges, the group gains clarity on what is possible when individual forces are combined for the energy transition.

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble

Participants start with impromptu one-to-one conversations to share what they're curious about and what they might offer others. These exchanges create the basis for shaping Day 3’s Case Clinics and Open Space as they bring questions to the surface  they’re sitting with, ideas they’re excited about, and themes they want to explore together.

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble

In high-pressure environments, leaders must do more than survive adversity - they must lead through it with clarity, adaptability, and strategic depth. This session helps founders and leaders reframe resilience as a strategic leadership capacity, not just personal willpower. Participants will learn to use failure as a source of insight and adaptation, explore resilience across self, team, and organization, and offer them practical tools to lead intentionally. Guided reflection and peer exchange in a high-trust setting will support leaders in building resilience at every level.

Facilitator: Julio SALAZAR, Strategic Partner, The Unconventional Co.

Curated Dialogue Walk.

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble

Guided Visualization & Journaling

In a guided visualization, participants reflect on three steps to this practice of “Active Hope”, some of which they have taken these past days already.

Fireside Chat: Leadership in Energy Transition

Building on the morning’s visualization, this conversation is about active hope as a way of leading, by choosing how we show up in response to what matters. Participants will hear personal reflections from two leaders about the paths they've taken, the moments that shaped their vision, and what they see emerging on the horizon.

Dialogue Walk

What is the future you are committed to — and what role do you feel called to play in shaping it?

Attendees bring their real-world leadership or organizational challenges to a small group of peers. Through guided inquiries, they receive support to crack complex problems, expand their thinking, and unlock new solutions.

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble; and Jessica von FARKAS, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Share Back. Pick-up topics for the afternoon.

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble; and Jessica von FARKAS, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

These sessions are shaped and led by the group, building onthe most important topics of the past two days. It’s a space to explore ideas which need a collective deep dive.​

Facilitator: Jessica von FARKAS, and Sarah HAFFAR, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Following the previous discussions, the group identifies concrete levers to amplify their collective impact by mapping out the concrete collaboration potential in the group, articulating key resources they need: people, skills, knowledge, platforms and networks.

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble; and Jessica von FARKAS, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Time and space to reflect in the plenary on the past three days, and discuss open topics and questions that are coming up. The group has a final chance to address issues to be further explored in an open space on Day 4, the last day.

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble; and Sarah HAFFAR, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Facilitator: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble

In this final open space of the program, participants will co-shape and discuss critical topics and ideas, and partnerships that can carry their work forward.

Facilitator: Jessica von FARKAS and Sarah HAFFAR, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

In this session BMW Foundation team members who are working on Challenge One – Energy Transition and Climate Change - share more in-depth insights about the current initiatives, upcoming events, formats and engagement opportunities beyond the Energy Challenge Days.

As the program comes to an end, the joint journey of this group is just starting: Participants come together to reflect on their key takeaways and share personal or organizational commitments moving forward. This closing session offers a space for gratitude, connection, and a collective send-off as we transition from shared experience to sustained action.

Moderation: Bennet BARTH, Verena FINKENZELLER, Emanuel FARAG, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Facilitators: Saya KITASEI, Partner, Bramble; and Jessica von FARKAS, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt

Departure organized by BMW Foundation to Frankfurt Main Station and Frankfurt International Airport.