Former State Parliament President Hendrik Hering at NEXA: Renewables as Economic Policy for the Mittelstand

Hendrik Hering, former President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Parliament, visited NEXA Horizons in March 2026 — in the middle of an election campaign. The meeting sharpened a thesis that has since become central to our positioning: in the German Mittelstand, renewable energy is not a climate question. It is a question of economic and industrial policy. Anyone who wants to strengthen the Mittelstand on energy costs, supply security, and locational competitiveness cannot structurally avoid decentralized renewables.

Who is Hendrik Hering?

Hendrik Hering is a Social Democrat from Rhineland-Palatinate and was, until 2026, President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Parliament. Previously, he was, among other things, the state's Minister of Economic Affairs. He is regarded as a seasoned Mittelstand expert with decades of experience at the intersection of politics and regional economic policy.

What happened during the visit

In the middle of a dense campaign phase, Hering took the time to walk through what NEXA Horizons is building together with our team. We showed him two things:

1. The NEXA simulation: A concrete Mittelstand portfolio from origination to refinancing — made visible via NEXA ONE. Which projects work, which financing structure fits, which revenue sources interlock.
2. The logic of the Mittelstand potential: Why the roofs, surfaces, and existing real estate of the Mittelstand — by our internal estimate a potential of over 100 GW — are the largest untapped lever of the German energy transition.

A scheduled one hour became two and a half. That speaks for itself.

The core thesis sharpened in this conversation

What Hering took from the conversation and reinforced with his own experience is a thesis NEXA has been promoting actively ever since:

Renewables are not climate policy. They are economic policy that solves the climate problem along the way.

The reasoning behind it:

• Energy costs are, in 2026, the biggest competitive disadvantage for many Mittelstand companies compared to US and Asian competitors
• Supply security is no longer a theoretical topic after the Ukraine crisis and volatile gas prices
• Industrial substance loss in Germany correlates directly with energy costs — chemicals, steel, energy-intensive manufacturing are relocating or closing
• Decentralized renewables are today the fastest and most cost-effective answer to all three points at once

This reasoning is not new. But hearing it from an experienced economic-policy maker who has accompanied Mittelstand policy for decades gives it weight.

Why this positioning matters strategically for NEXA

NEXA Horizons deliberately positions itself as a Climate Financing platform, not as a solar provider or GreenTech brand. The reason: anyone speaking with the Mittelstand does not win with "climate protection" as the primary sales argument. The winning conversation talks about:

• Predictable energy costs
• Fast amortization
• Liquidity-preserving models like NEXA Zero
• Revenue from trading and redispatch
• Clear reporting standards for bank, balance sheet, and investors

This is the language of the managing director of a Mittelstand industrial company. Climate impact is the consequence, not the argument.

What Hering specifically confirmed

Three observations from the conversation that are central to our origination strategy:

1. You don't reach the Mittelstand via Berlin. You reach it via tax advisors, savings banks, regional chambers of trades, economic development agencies, and Mittelstand associations. Our origination channels confirm this.
2. Political credibility requires concrete projects. A simulation showing that an 800 kWp roof plus 2 MWh storage delivers a 7-year payback in a Mittelstand industrial company is more convincing than any whitepaper.
3. Existing buildings are the most untapped lever. New build is the easy half. The existing stock is the real construction site.

Take-aways

• Renewables = economic policy. This reframing message fits NEXA's positioning and strengthens origination in the Mittelstand.
• Political connectivity is real. There are political actors who understand and carry this — across party lines.
• The origination thesis holds. Tax advisors, energy consultants, regional banks remain our strongest multipliers — not central hubs in Berlin or Brussels.

Thank you to Hendrik Hering for the time and the honest engagement with what we are building.