Dear friends of Transsolar,
we have been informed that Gert Barth has passed away after a falling. His wife Brigitte followed him four days later, she also passed away.
Gert Barth was a founding member of Transsolar and always stood by us with good advice. He lived to the age of 93.
He invested in Transsolar at a time when the word "return on investment" had not yet been invented and dividends were a pious hope, but he always believed in success.
Obituary by Matthias Schuler
I got to know Gert Barth in 1987 at the Institute for Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering ITW at the University of Stuttgart, when Nobert Fisch hired him as a civil engineer with experience in the construction of seasonal heat storage systems. Together we were sworn in as employees of Professor Hahne: he in a suit and I with colorful harem pants and braid. Gert still remembered this joint appearance very well in the summer of 2022 during the telephone call at the occasion of our 30-year experience days.
With his calm manner and experience, he gave us young engineers real support and always knew a suitable story. Coming from the private sector, he quickly saw a great need for consulting for municipalities in heat supply projects as well as solar heated outdoor pools, which then ran as a sideline outside the institute. Together we planned the absorber system for the open-air swimming pool in Stuttgart-Möhringen. From these consulting activities together with distribution and hotline of the TRNSYS software, the engineering office Barth Fisch Kübler Schuler GbR was founded, which then changed to the Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH with the same shareholders in September 1992.
In interim, Gert went to China for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) for a research project on wind and solar technology, but we kept in touch and with his knowledge he was able to give us many an important piece of advice.
For many years he accompanied us, was regularly present at shareholder meetings and Christmas parties and was proud of what has developed from the wild bunch from the beginning.
We will miss him.
Rest in peace!