Elena Sbenghea
Jobtitle: Program Leader for Stationary, Long-Duration Battery Technologies (Battery Competence Cluster NL) and Sustainable Business Development- Energy, Europe & Circularity (East NL)
Elena Sbenghea is Program Leader for Stationary, Long-Duration Battery Technologies at Battery Competence Cluster NL (BCC-NL) and East NL, where she connects Dutch and European R&D programmes with industry and public funding. In this role, she works to strengthen the innovation ecosystem around stationary energy storage and long-duration battery technologies. Her expertise covers the full battery and energy storage value chain - from technology development and system integration to market adoption and policy frameworks - with a strong focus on collaboration and accelerating innovation.
Elena brings a unique perspective from her extensive experience in the high-tech photovoltaic industry, particularly in China. As acting GM of Tempress Systems' Chinese entities, she played a key role in establishing a manufacturing facility for advanced PV machinery in Kunshan. This role gave her deep insight into the Chinese business environment, including local management, regulations, supply chains and cross-cultural cooperation. She combined strategic choices with operational responsibility, developing a strong understanding of international market development and technology scale-up.
This international background, combined with positions at Exide Technologies, Tempress and Mainswitch, enables her to effectively connect technical, commercial and policy domains.
In addition to her professional work, Elena is actively engaged in global human rights advocacy through her role within Zonta International. She links technological progress and sustainability to social impact, based on the belief that innovation should contribute to a fairer and more equitable world.
