Prof. Dr. Werner Platzer studied Solid State Physics in Münich and received his PhD in "Optics and Heat Transport Transparent Insulation" from the University of Freiburg in 1988. Dr. Platzer has been working at Fraunhofer ISE for more than three decades. Before becoming the director of the Division Solar Thermal and Optics, his research covered fields like solar facades, energy-efficient buildings, smart glazings, optical material development and concentrator optics. Since 2016, he is an Honorary Professor at the University of Freiburg. Also, in 2016 he accepted the chance to gain international experience by working for 2 years as an Executive Director of the new Fraunhofer Chile Center for Solar Energy Technology in Santiago. His current research interests are based on optical properties and heat transport for solar thermal concentrator technology, especially for Linear Fresnel collectors and solar tower heliostat fields. He is interested also in interdisciplinary topics on the system integration level, for example hybridization of CSP with PV, solar process heat and heat pumps for industry, integration of high temperature storage options or solar water treatment. He is the author of about 200 journal and conference articles and many book chapters. Prof. Dr. Werner Platzer is also a chairman of the International Standardization Committee TC117 on solar thermal electric plants. He is convinced that a sustainable future is based on human, social, economic and technical development equally. Technologies alone will not save our climate, but the better ones will contribute to this aim!