Christine Kühnel
Dr.-Ing. (TU Berlin), Dipl.-Ing. (CAU Kiel)
Managing Director
+49 (0)30 1208 434 0 christine.kuehnel@rl-institut.de
Activities
As Managing Director, Christine and Kathrin are responsible for the scientific and commercial management of the RLI. They manage the institute from a technical and strategic perspective and take care of the institute’s acquisition activities. Christine is the contact person for existing and potential new partners in the areas of heat transition and industrial transformation. She is responsible for human resources, finance, IT and contracts and is supported by the German Foundation Agency in Neuss and the Institute’s administration.
Christine is also the contact person for existing and potential new project sponsors, as well as for the German Foundation Agency.
Personal Information
Christine is an expert on the heating transition, environmental protection and civil society aspects of the energy transition. As Managing Director of the Reiner Lemoine Institute in Berlin, she has been responsible for its scientific and commercial management together with Kathrin Goldammer since January 2024. Prior to that, she had been Head of Institute Administration since 2019.
Christine studied industrial engineering in Kiel. After completing her doctorate at TU Berlin, she worked at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research as Scientific Coordinator and at the German Academy of Science and Engineering as Scientific Officer in the BMBF project “Forschungsforum Energiewende”. Before joining RLI, she was team leader in the field of renewable energies and energy-efficient mobility (bioenergy) at the German Energy Agency.
Since October 2024, Christine is on the board of Bürgerbegehren Klimaschutz. Christine was also spokesperson of the Berlin Climate Protection Council 2017 – 2021, member of the Enquete Commission “New Energy for Berlin” of the Berlin House of Representatives 2014 – 2016, as well as Chairwoman of the Board of BUND Berlin.
In addition to her work, Christine is currently on the board of the professional network Hypatia, a non-profit organisation committed to the visibility and networking of women in the context of the energy transition.
