Solar & Clean Energy
Conference Programmes
Find out more about our expert speakers or view all the session details below.
Tuesday 16th April
14:00 - 14:05 | Welcome
MC: Yasin Kasirga, Decarbonisation Leader - Middle East & Africa, GE Vernova
14:05 - 14:20 | Keynote
H.E. Eng Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure
14:20 - 14:40 | Presentation: The challenges of zero-hour – what will it take to run the grid with no gas generation?
Bruce Smith, Executive Director, Strategy and Planning, Emirates Water & Electricity Company
14:40 - 15:20 | Panel: Creating carbon-free
electricity grids
A carbon-free grid is a complex challenge that will need industry and governments to work together. It is not just about building more grid-connected clean energy and storage, and this discussion will investigate what flexibility and investment will be required around a future energy mix and the types of technologies needed to solve this challenge.
Moderator: Yasin Kasirga, Decarbonisation Leader - Middle East & Africa, GE Vernova
Dr. Afif Saif Al Yafei, CEO, Transco
Dr. Shamma Al-Malek, Strategy Development Director, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy
Luc Koechlin, CEO Middle East, EDF Group
Dr. Ibraheem Almansouri, Director, Engineering, Masdar
15:20 - 16:00 | Panel: Long distance transmission: Investing in multi-country corridors
Low-carbon, long-distance energy transmission will be of increasing importance to countries, as it offers advantages around efficiency, ability to manage fluctuations and can benefit communities that currently do not have access to a stable electricity supply. This panel will discuss the technical challenges to long-distance transmission using clean energy, whether east-to-west approaches make better use of renewable energy and if the levels of investment make these ambitions feasible?
Moderator: Hind Almutawa, Senior Manager - IPPs & Production Planning Department, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority
Omar Al Hashmi, CEO, Transmission & Distribution, TAQA
Yousif Al Ali, CEO, Etihad Water and Electricity
Dietmar Siersdorfer, Managing Director Middle East & Africa, Siemens Energy
Simon Birkebaek, Partner, BCG
Tom Foley, Future Energy Leader, EMEA, GHD
16:00 - 16:15 | Case Study: UAE national geospatial platform for future energy
What is the role of digitalisation of the grid for clean energy sources/energy storage. What regulation needs to be in place to ensure that required investments in digitalisation are made?
Eng. Maryam Alshamsi, Sustainability Engineer, Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, UAE
16:15 - 16:30 | Presentation: Weathering the grid: What extreme weather means for the energy grid
Extreme weather puts additional strain on the electricity grid, both through increased demand and on the infrastructure itself. How do utilities ensure that equipment can cope with extreme events, does the GCC have an advantage that other regions can learn from and do rapid increases in clean energy use and plans for long distance transmission have implications?
Howard Wenger, President, Nextracker
CLIX talks – Startups in the spotlight
16:30 | Manjusha Shelke, Rechargion
16:38 | Gurjant Randhawa, Cipher Neutron
16:46 | Matthias Rudloff, Ambartec
16:54 | Malak Hamdan, VS Renewable Energy
Wednesday 17th April
10:30 - 10:35 | Welcome
Hall 7
10:30 - 11:20 | Panel: Energy decarbonisation: Tripling installed renewables by 2030
Can ambitions to triple installed renewable energy in less than a decade be met? This panel will investigate what investment is required, if finance gaps can be met, what work is needed to prepare the grid, and the challenges that will need to be overcome, including meeting supply chain demand, to hit a 2030 deadline.
Moderator: Dr Najib Dandachi, CEO, Al Usul
Abdelmuti Murad, Head of Energy Strategies and Policies Division, Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, UAE
Bruce Smith, Executive Director, Strategy and Planning, Emirates Water & Electricity Company
Francois-Xavier Boul, Managing Director Renewables MENA, Engie
Carlos Gasco Travesedo, Executive Director, Energy Policy Sector, and Energy Policy Advisor, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy
Mohammad Jame, Vice President, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority
11:20 - 11:35 | Presentation: Readying power grids for rapid renewable energy growth
Dr Ralf Blumenthal, Head, Siemens Grid Software Middle East & Africa
11:35 - 11:50 | Presentation: Ensuring momentum behind a just energy transition
A just energy transition was a core pillar of COP28 UAE, as countries seek to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and move towards net zero options. But why is a just transition so important, what benefits will such an approach bring to local communities and how will this make a meaningful contribution to the global energy transition? This presentation explains.
Riad Meddeb, Director of Sustainable Energy Hub, United Nations Development Programme
11:50 - 12:15 | Fireside talk: Gas flexibility – its role as a transition fuel
What is the role of gas as a transition fuel as country’s look to increase their installed renewables base? This discussion will look at where gas fits in a country’s energy transition, the role it will play as country’s move towards clean sources, how it can flex to meet intermittent, but frequent demands and where gas fits as part of the storage debate.
Moderator: Christopher Decker, Partner, Energy & Natural Resources, Oliver Wyman
Alastair Mulligan, Director, Asset Management, Generation, TAQA
Andy Biffen, Executive Director of Asset Development, Emirates Water & Electricity Company
Otmane Benamar, Chief Technology Officer, EMEA, GE Gas Power
12:15 - 13:00 | Panel: Future growth opportunities for long duration energy storage
As short-term storage becomes more prevalent thanks to the growth of PV and wind facilities, so too is the emergence of long duration energy storage (LDES). This panel will discuss the advancement of the various technologies (excluding lithium batteries) requirements around government regulation, and the role LDES will play as more inter-country grid connections are implemented.
Moderator: Bruce Gurfein, CEO, Connect Group
Frank Wouters, Chairman, MENA Hydrogen Alliance and Director, EU MED-GEM Network
Upma Koul, Board Member, LDES Council and Vice President, Energy Storage, Sumimoto SHI FW
Dr Marco Terruzzin, Chief Commercial and Product Officer, Energy Vault
Shri Das, Chairman & Managing Director, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency
CLIX talks – Startups in the spotlight
13:00 | Alvaro Sousa, Chief Strategy Officer, Waterstuff Sun
13:08 | Dr. Sahar Sam, Co-Founder, Solaires Enterprises
13:16 | Linda Fanney Valgeirsdóttir, CEO, Alor
13:24 | Maebh Reynolds, Founder, GoPlugable
MC: Toka Ahmed, Sustainability Consultant, Eedama
14:30 - 15:10 | Panel: AI’s impact on energy systems
How will artificial intelligence and machine learning change the planning, running and monitoring of energy systems? Are the benefits such technologies bring real and significant, or simply fine-tuning what is already being done? And what are the examples that organisations can learn from – AI is a term easily dropped into a conversation, but this panel will showcase tangible examples of AI in use.
Moderator: Dr. Hassam Chaudhary, Assistant Professor, School of Energy,
Arturo Riveira, VP Operations and Maintenance, Generation, TAQA
Dr Morgan Eldred, Founder, Digital Energy
Pierre Samaties, Partner, Roland Berger
Sun Haiyan, Representative, Shanghai New Energy Industry Association
Eng. Abdalla Talal Alhammadi, Sustainable Engineer, Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, UAE
15:10 - 15:30 | Fireside talk: A roadmap to circularity
Plant owners cannot wait until solar or wind facilities reach end of life to start thinking about circularity. However, that message has not yet gained widespread acceptance. The industry knows requirements to recycle will be in place by the time renewable energy plants need to be decommissioned, and in some cases for older PV facilities, it may make sense financially to update modules now. This discussion will explore what must be considered and how to prepare for circular requirements in the renewable energy sector.
Moderator: Dr Ibraheem Almansouri, Director, Engineering, Masdar
Laurent Longuet, CEO, SirajPower
Yeran Si, Technical Solution Director, Windey
15:30 - 15:50 | Presentation: Mesia Solar Outlook report
Moneef Barakat, CEO, Solarabic and Board Director, Mesia
15:50 - 16:30 | Panel: Module prices - long-term prospects as projects pressures rise?
PV projects are getting bigger, and as these schemes come to market, what pressure does this place on manufacturers. Are modules and panel prices likely to remain low, or do government policies globally signal future price rises - and what does this mean for costing projects? Equally, what are the prospects for the modules supply chain as more projects - including green hydrogen - hit the market?
Moderator: Moneef Barakat, CEO, Solarabic
Joumana Hosri, CEO Middle East, Sacotel Znshine
Yin Guo, Vice President, Solplanet
Xin Theo, Senior Head of Product, MEA, Trina Solar
Mohamed Saady Dweik, Head of Technical Services & Product Management, Mena, Jinko Solar
CLIX talks – Startups in the spotlight
16:30 | Henning Syversen, CEO, Triton
16:38 | Alfredo Saenger, COO & Co-Founder, Electrogenos
16:46 | Matti Malkamaki, Founder, Hycamite
16:54 | Anirudh Vengopal, Chief Technology Officer, HyET Group
17:02 | Najwan Daifallah, Founder, Neomup / WiPlugEV
Thursday 18th April
10:30 - 11:10 | Panel: Investment needs to meet mini/micro grid-reliant communities
What investment in money, time and equipment is required to ensure the needs of off-grid or remote communities are met, particularly as these can often be poor communities where access to reliable energy can change their economic circumstances? This panel asks if the investment needed to transmit renewables over mini/micro grids has kept pace with generation capacities.
Moderator: Aarti Nagraj, Deputy Business Editor, The National
Ali Nouri, CEO, Smart Energy
Mohammed AlTaani, Secretary General, Arab Renewable Energy Commission
Dr Nabih Cherradi, CTO, Desert Technologies and President, Solar United
Dr. Raul V. Rodriguez, Vice President, Woxsen University
11:15 - 11:30 | Case study: Empowering lives: The impact of solar electrification in off-grid regions
This talk will illustrate how solar coupled equipment in off-grid communities can change lives, drawing on examples that are being implemented across Africa. It will highlight the types of opportunities that exist for solar to electrify different types of machinery and operations that in the past required a diesel generator, their reliability and the benefits they bring.
John Van Zuylen, CEO, Africa Solar Industry Association
11:30 - 11:45 | Case study: Clean energy as a pathway to net zero - Hydro pumping storage plant
An insight into the use of a hydro plant for storage in a desert country and its role in the energy transition.
Yves-Laurent Beck, Hydro Project Manager, EDF
11:45 - 12:00 | Presentation: Waste to plus: The alternative energy solutions from waste
This presentation will discuss alternative options such as Waste to Energy, Waste to SAF, Waste to Hydrogen and Waste to Biofuel.
Majed Saeed Al Marzouqi, Business Development Section Head, Tadweer Group
12:00 - 12:45 | Panel: Building a scalable hydrogen industry
How do countries build large-scale, long-term hydrogen sectors that are attractive to investors, governments and off takers alike? This is a key challenge faced by governments because such schemes require long-term financing with a business case to back them.
Moderator: Alejandro Longueira, Principal, Energy & Natural Resources, Oliver Wyman
Sergio Lopez Perez, Energy Transition and Markets Section Head,
Abu Dhabi Department of Energy
Daniel Schwappach, Head of Sustainable Energy Systems, Middle East & Africa, Siemens Energy
Abhay Bhargava, Associate Partner and Regional Practice Leader - MEASA Energy & Environment Practice, Frost & Sullivan
Yassir Ghiyati, Managing Director, EMEA, Topsoe
14:00 - 14:45 | Panel: The case for localised hydrogen use in hard to abate sectors
While much attention has focused on developing a hydrogen export market, what opportunities are available for in-country heavy industries? This panel will explore the benefits that a focus on local heavy industries bring, in terms of new products, and expanded sales markets. Equally, what threats could local heavy emitting sectors face if they ignore the opportunities presented by a plentiful stream of green hydrogen?
Moderator: Olga Rudkovskaya, Sr. Manager, ESG & Sustainable Finance
Dr Dimitrios Dimitriou, Vice President of ESG & Sustainability, Emirates Steel Arkan
Wietse ter Veld, Hydrogen Lead, Middle East, AtkinsRéalis
Michael Sronce, Managing Director & Vice President, Sargent & Lundy
Pratul Shinde, Vice President, Siemens Advanta Middle East
Dr Arun Kumar, Professor of Practice in Chemical & Petroleum Engineering,
ADNOC Technical Academy
14:45 - 15:05 | Case study: Abu Dhabi’s low-carbon policy roadmap
Carlos Gasco Travesedo, Executive Director, Energy Policy Sector, and Energy Policy Advisor, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy
15:05 - 15:50 | Panel: Advancing the commercial viability of green hydrogen
Governments are determined to take financial advantage of the evolving hydrogen economy, with various large-scale facilities being built. But what is the near- and long-term commercial viability of low carbon hydrogen? Would rising gas prices motivate more countries to build green hydrogen facilities, eroding early advantages? And what is the global mechanism between off-take and production for financial success?
Moderator: Frank Wouters, Chairman, MENA Hydrogen Alliance and Director,
EU MED-GEM Network
Eng. Nawal Alhanaee, Director of Future Energy Department,
Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, UAE
Hamad Massod, Director Business Development- Green Hydrogen, Acwa Power
Francois Dao, Senior Vice President, MEA, EDF Renewables
Tom Evans, Origination Leader, GHD
15:50 - 16:05 | Case study: Carbon capture & storage
Hall 7
Presented by: Yasin Kasirga, Decarbonisation Leader - Middle East & Africa, GE Vernova
16:05 - 16:30 | Panel: Boosting local green hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing capabilities
The bottleneck for scaling local green hydrogen manufacturing is the electrolyser. This panel will discuss how to accelerate and scale production so that it meets demand, and what research & development is underway to increase capacities and efficiencies.
Moderator: Joumana Hosri, CEO Middle East, Sacotel Znshine
Daniel Schwappach, Head of Sustainable Energy Systems, Middle East & Africa, Siemens Energy
Naji Masri, Director of Business Development & Sustainability, BASF
Alan Zhao, Director – Hydrogen, Fuel Cell & ePowerTrain,
Africa and Middle East Region, Cummins
CLIX talks – Startups in the spotlight
16:30 | Craig Knight, Founder, Horizon Fuel Cell
16:38 | Mathieu Villani, Sales & Marketing Director, KHIMOD
16:46 | Ranjit Gupta, Founder & CEO, Ocior Energy