In the next text in the series "Who's Who in the Polish Offshore," we talk to Michał Kaczerowski, CEO of Ambiens. This is a Polish consulting company that has been supporting the offshore wind sector for several years in the effective management of procedures in the projects under development. – Ambiens is a boutique consulting company, where boutique means independence, consistent focus on the energy sector and its transformation, and regionalization of activity covering the Polish market and the Baltic Sea basin – says Kaczerowski.

Ambiens is currently one of the more popular consulting firms in Poland. It was founded in 2008 by economist Michał Kaczerowski – since then it has been supporting the largest RES projects in Poland. Michal Kaczerowski is responsible for strategy, offshore wind energy, due diligence and key stakeholder relations. In turn, Paulina Potyra-Kaczerowska, privately Mr. Michał's wife, acts as operations director overseeing onshore projects, managing the team and customer relations. This close-knit duo manages a team that supports investors at all stages of projects – from environmental impact assessments and early development, through due diligence during acquisition and financing, to post-construction and operational environmental services.

– We operate at the junction of three levels, where we actively participate in the dialogue between investors or developers, administrations and key stakeholders. Our mission is to find common ground between the interests of these groups – says Michal Kaczerowski in a commentary for MarinePoland.com.

For Ambiens, a key factor in the development of RES projects is the environment.

– Ambiens' goal is to support the development of low-carbon energy projects with respect for the environment, local communities and in line with the standardization of leading investors and financial institutions.

Ambiens has considerable experience gained in RES projects in Poland. Experts have supported investors of onshore photovoltaic farms with a total area of 7351 hectares and onshore wind farms with a total capacity of 2331 MW. Ofne of the wind turbines in Potęgowo, the largest onshore wind farm in Poland, is named after Michał Kaczerowski.

From land to sea

Ambiens has also been active in the offshore wind energy sector for many years, since 2021 together with its partner MAG Offshore.

– Ambiens' track record so far goes back to the first group of projects. In 2018, the market recognized the value of our experience from onshore wind power going back 10 years at the time. We were invited to consult on permitting strategies and assumptions for environmental impact assessments. In addition, we had the opportunity to work for a winning foreign investor in due diligence during the process of partnering with a state-owned company developing an offshore wind farm. We also developed stakeholder analyses and communication strategies.

Ambiens' experience also includes previous projects of key consultants and managers who have been present at all offshore projects in the country, says the Ambiens CEO.

– In addition, for years I have been actively involved in the development and promotion of the wind energy industry, including offshore. I work with associations, think-tanks and the administration, successfully giving opinions and consulting on key issues for the industry, from a practical permitting perspective – he adds.

Kaczerowski reports that Ambiens experts are currently focused on the second group of 11 new areas of Baltic dedicated to offshore wind energy in Poland.

– We described them in detail and evaluated them highlighting the differences in multi-criteria analyses. For all of them we prepared applications for location decisions (PSZW – applications for permission to erect artificial islands). Today we are present at the stage of the adjudication proceedings to determine the winners of the new projects and advise on strategic issues – he explains.

Not only the Baltic Sea

Ambiens has aspirations to develop its activities abroad as well.

– I understand our overseas involvement in two ways. On the one hand, in addition to domestic entities, we work constantly with foreign partners, which requires a regular presence in European offshore hubs, mainly Hamburg. On the other hand, it's projects outside the physical borders of Poland and the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone in the Baltic Sea – says Ambiens' CEO.

Kaczerowski stresses that the dynamic development of the offshore wind sector creates opportunities and offers great possibilities for expansion.

– We want to make wider use of our competence in project management in the system of EU directives and standards and policies of financial institutions, which are indirect beneficiaries of our involvement. In addition, the ability to work in international industry teams with corporate clients opens us up to the entire Baltic, North Sea and European offshore wind. Many of the investors, clients, partners and ultimately often colleagues that make up this specialized market are often present in different markets. Networking among industry practitioners opens further wickets in the face of the powerful challenges of energy transformation on the old continent. Today we are having some interesting conversations, but at too early a stage to talk publicly about details – he reports.

Ambiens plans for 2022

In the area of the domestic offshore wind sector, Ambiens aims to finalize activities related to adjudication proceedings and close the PSZW finality stage, further comprehensive end-to-end environmental impact assessment services, going well beyond previous standard approaches.

– We assume further development of the team with experienced industry experts and internship programs in cooperation with universities and career offices providing employment opportunities for the most talented – adds our interviewee.

The next 2-4 years for Ambiens will be "development ahead of the needs of the following life stages of projects of the nascent industry and the realization of foreign ambitions."

– In addition to that, consistently onshore wind energy and support of the largest and most difficult projects, for which the market likes to engage us, and development of 2 new consulting areas related, though probably surprising to many – Kaczerowski says mysteriously.

New basins will gain in importance

The entire industry is watching carefully the developing potential of offshore wind energy. Every now and then the industry media reports on more countries that are setting targets for offshore wind. Markets such as the US, South America and the Mediterranean are gaining in importance.

– I'm optimistic about the acceleration of the most advanced projects and hopeful about new sea areas. With increasing scale, the industry will gain even stronger ground. On the other hand, the center of gravity of competition will shift to new regions – he notes.

– The first group will compete for capital, while the winners of the second round will face the realities of new permitting. The decisive factors will be cost efficiency, time, but also the quality of development, understood also as mitigating risks or thinking out of the box, often beyond the horizon of current milestones. I believe that it is precisely the optimization of the process of obtaining all required approvals, permits and administrative decisions that should be one of the top regulatory priorities. Anyway, this corresponds with the assumptions of the RePowerEU Plan – Michał Kaczerowski concludes.