Former boss of npower Volker Beckers is the new chairman of energy tech firm Reactive Technologies.

He picks up the role at the demand-side management firm – basically reducing businesses’ energy use – from ex-Nokia tech developer Dr Heikki Huomo.

Touching on the “great opportunity” facing the energy industry at a time when “core business models are facing challenges”, Volker Beckers says: “Demand-side management is really starting to gain momentum in the UK as successful trials yield clear benefits for major energy users such as supermarkets, hotels, campuses and office buildings.”

He adds: “Managing the time-of-use of millions of individual electrical assets across large multi-occupancy sites in order to reduce energy demand is challenging.”

Amongst other roles, Beckers is also a non-executive director for Elexon and HM Revenue & Customs.