Berlin, July 1, 2026 – At its general meeting on June 9, aireg — the Aviation Initiative for Renewable Energy in Germany — elected a new board of directors. Volker Ratzmann was elected as the new chairman of the board and takes office on July 1.
The outgoing Chairman of the Board, Siegfried Knecht, who has served the association on a volunteer basis alongside his duties at Airbus since aireg’s founding in 2011 and has made significant contributions, had decided not to seek re-election. Managing Director and Member of the Board Melanie Form will take on a new professional challenge after more than ten years with the initiative. The Board of Directors and the members would like to express their sincere gratitude to both of them for their outstanding achievements and their long-standing contributions to the development of the German and international Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) industry, as well as to the establishment of aireg as a leading voice for renewable energy in aviation.
Volker Ratzmann brings many years of experience in politics, the public sector, and advocacy work, and has been deeply involved in energy, climate, and industrial policy. Most recently — since 2020 — he served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Public Policy & Regulation Management for the DHL Group.
All additional members of the Board were reappointed for two additional years: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Kaltschmitt and Uwe Gaudig as Vice-Chairmen of the Board; Prof. Dr. Jürgen Ringbeck as President representing industry and aviation; and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Aigner as President representing research and science.
Quote from Volker Ratzmann:
„Flying sustainably, meeting people, and conducting trade worldwide is a peace-building cultural achievement. Ensuring that this remains possible in the future needs to be our promise to the youth.“
About aireg e.V.:
aireg – Aviation Initiative for Renewable Energy in Germany e.V. was founded in 2011 as an association of companies and organisations from the sectors of industry, research, science and polititcs. As a nonprofit initiative, aireg advocates for the availability and use of renewable energies in aviation in order to achieve the aviation industry’s ambitious CO₂ reduction targets. Our more than 60 members come from all sectors of the aviation renewable energy value chain: This includes research at universities and major research institutions, equipment manufacturers and operators, biorefineries, the petroleum industry, propulsion and aircraft manufacturers, governmental organisations, non-governmentalorganisations and airports, as well as airlines. Industrial members internationally cover the range from
start-ups to large corporations.
aireg e.V.
Maximilian Uhl
Political Communication Officer
kontakt@aireg.de
www.aireg.d