Solstrides Projects is founded by Büşra Yılmaz-Depondt, who built the early years of her career on the belief that better technology would be enough to move the energy transition forward.
Over time, that work surfaced a harder pattern: strong technology kept stalling against the same walls — regulatory frameworks not built for it, procurement criteria that didn't reward it, decision-makers without the tools to evaluate it properly. Watching promising solar innovation repeatedly get stuck at that boundary between engineering and policy convinced her that the two could no longer be treated as separate problems.
That realization reshaped her career.
She moved from building the technology to shaping the conditions it needs to actually reach the market — joining Becquerel Institute as Senior Expert across BIPV, AgriPV, and Integrated PV, and taking a seat on the ETIP PV Steering Committee, where she co-leads the Integrated PV working group, contributes to ESG discussions, and has helped shape the Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda driving EU-level solar policy.
Her work today sits deliberately at that intersection — technical enough to know where a technology's real constraints are, and close enough to policy and market structures to help clear the way for it.
Professional Journey
Key Milestones & Roles
Roofit.Solar
Founding Team Member
Helped scale an early-stage solar company from the ground up — contributing to securing €6.4M in EU funding, pitching at investor and industry events, documenting technical manuals and product documentation, and supporting certification, compliance, and market-readiness across Europe.
ETIP PV
Steering Committee Member
Shaping European solar research and innovation priorities across integrated PV, sustainability and competitiveness.
Kameleon Solar
Chief Technology Officer
Developed products and led market analysis across new supply chains, life-cycle assessment (LCA), and certification — ensuring alignment between product development, regulatory requirements, and sustainability standards. Led technology strategy, EU-funded innovation programmes and multi-stakeholder projects at the intersection of solar innovation and the energy transition.
Becquerel Institute
Senior Expert
Advancing BIPV, AgriPV, and Integrated PV through market intelligence and stakeholder engagement — including the MASS-IPV, SEAMLESS, and SPHINX projects, and leading Türkiye market development for the Institute.
EU Innovation Programmes
Horizon Europe & EU Project Experience
Worked across INTERREG, MOOI and Horizon Europe programmes, connecting technology development with policy, partnerships and market deployment.
Energy Transition Consultant
Systems & Stakeholder Strategy
Bridging technical expertise with policy, industry and public-sector perspectives to accelerate sustainable and decentralised solar deployment.
