© Siemens

"Open Innovation" is another category in Siemens' "Inventor of the Year" award. This category is intended in particular to recognize inventors whose development extends beyond company boundaries. A prime example of this is Caterva - a Siemens spin-off that has managed to establish itself as a young company in the field of decentralized energy supply - a highly competitive market. Caterva's technology makes it possible to store solar power and feed it into the grid. Dr. Roland Gersch (37), Technical Director of Caterva in Munich, is now the recipient of the "Inventor of the Year 2016" award.