Our Team

Natalia Westhäuser
Geschäftsführende Gesellschafterin (CEO & Managing Partner)

Natalia Westhäuser, MBA

CEO & Partner

Natalia Westhäuser is a passionate transformation leader with over 25 years of experience in new technology commercialization, business scaling and digital transformation in the energy and ICT industries.

She is also an Operating Partner of FiveT Hydrogen, the 360° financial partner of the hydrogen industry and, together with Ardian in the joint venture Hy24, the owner of the world’s first and largest infrastructure fund focused exclusively on “clean hydrogen”.

Natalia held leading positions at Siemens AG and Siemens Energy in the areas of sales, strategy, procurement, and in-house consulting, including four years in the hydrogen industry a. o. as VP and Head of Projects New Energy Business responsible for the worldwide project business with hydrogen electrolysis systems and over two years as head of the Shared Service Center and a start-up for digital services in the Czech Republic with units in Brazil and India.

Natalia holds an MBA in Finance und Leadership from the Friedrich Alexander University in Nuremberg. Prior to that, she earned a Magister Artium (M.A.) degree in German Studies from the University of Augsburg and later graduated in Business Administration from the Academy of Business and Public Sector Management (VWA) in Munich.

Her consulting focus is on business positioning, business development and sales with the topics of strategy, go-to-market, project evaluation, risk management, and process optimization.

Natalia Westhäuser
CEO & Partner

Armin Schnettler
Managing Director

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Armin Schnettler

Managing Director

Armin Schnettler is an internationally positioned engineering personality, most recently CEO of the New Energy Business Unit at Siemens Energy, who ideally combines operational business responsibility and academic innovation and research. For more than 20 years, he has actively accompanied and stimulated the energy turnaround in Germany and throughout Europe and has been able to make trend-setting decisions himself or to stimulate them as a highly respected neutral advisor.

He has a proven track record in the strategic and operational development of a future hydrogen economy that ensures a sustainable orientation of future energy supply, mobility, and industrial processes through sector coupling. In addition, he has broad experience in the field of future-oriented technologies such as power-to-X, e-fuels, and fuel cells. Furthermore, he is Operating Partner of FiveT Hydrogen, the 360° financial partner of the hydrogen industry, developing an investment fund family focused exclusively on clean hydrogen – including the world’s first and largest infrastructure fund already launched together with Ardian in the Hy24 joint venture.

Armin Schnettler is the Vice President of the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE) and a member of the supervisory and advisory boards of various companies in Germany and Europe. Prior to that, he was head of the Siemens group research activities in the field of energy and electronics and was full professor and director of the Institute for High Voltage Technology of the RWTH Aachen University for many years, board member of the Research Association for Electrical Systems and Power Industry FGH e.V., Mannheim, and co-founder of various successful consulting companies, e. g. Umlaut Energy (today part of Accenture).

Armin Schnettler holds a degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Dortmund, where he also earned his doctorate in 1992.

His consulting focus is on technology and innovation strategy, the technical and economic evaluation of renewable energy projects and companies as well as sector coupling and international positioning.

Dr.-Ing. Hans Barrios

Head of Energy System Optimization

Hans is an enthusiastic electrical engineer with strong focus on quantitative and stringent analytical methods. He has more than 10 years of experience in consulting projects, helping customers across the globe to tackle the techno-economical challenges of the energy transition. 

Most recently he was with Siemens PTI, the grid consulting department, where he led projects with >15 engineers for customers in Germany, Singapore, Saudi-Arabia, US, amongst others. He was able to bring in his passion for leading (multi-cultural) teams and managing customer’s views and expectations. 

His main areas of expertise are grid integration, grid planning, system stability, market simulations and integrated energy system planning. One of his key strengths is his ability to develop tailor-made algorithms and solutions to cope with the specifics of each projects and provide best substantiated results.

Hans has a PhD from the RWTH Aachen University in electrical engineering. He is also member of the German Cigré C1 committee.

Areas of expertise:

  • Integrated energy system planning
  • Grid integration of large hydrogen plants and RES
  • System stability
  • Market simulations

Dr.-Ing. Hans Barrios
Head of Energy System Optimization

Dipl.-Ing. Christian Sacchet
Managing Director Hydrogen Operations & Digital Services

Dipl.-Ing. Christian Sacchet

Managing Director Hydrogen Operations & Digital Services

Christian is a target-oriented and creative engineer, most recently heading the Service department for the hydrogen business at Siemens Energy.  Based on well-founded technical, project management and operational experience in the field of hydrogen, he combines a strong understanding of market and customer requirements and the capability to make innovation become real. He combines business acumen with tangible operational successes and brings in his innate curiosity and motivational power to drive transformation in every business situation.

Over his career in the energy industry, he covered multiple key and management roles in strategy, sales, manufacturing, restructuring and business development. He developed the digital business for the Siemens power plant division and most lately created an award-winning circular business model around the service of hydrogen equipment, growing this business from scratch to multiple millions. 

Christian was part of the Siemens graduate and top talent management programs.  Amongst other engagements he held guest lectures at the ESMT Berlin, is part of the BCG “Vordenker” group and was selected for the Bertelsmann “Future Leaders of Europe”.

Areas of expertise:

  • Hydrogen Operations & Maintenance
  • Service Business
  • Digital Business Models
  • Business Development
  • Project Management

Project Development Support

we support international project developers in the field of sustainable hydrogen, Power-to-X and system integration.

MORE ABOUT PROJECT DEVELOPEMENT

Investment Advisory

we advise investors such as funds, pension funds and family offices on the identification and structuring of company investments.

MORE ABOUT INVESTMENT ADVISORY

Growth Advisory

we help to review and adapt the growth strategy, including technology consulting for national and international players.

MORE ABOUT GROWTH ADVISORY