Highlights of the Program

2 days business program:

Learn from real-world case studies by industry leaders.

SHOWCASING INNOVATION:

Discover the latest technology and techniques from across the industry.

leaders talk:

Hear from top-level experts about how to stay ahead in a fast-changing industry.

MULTIPLE STREAMS:

A business program that is multi-disciplinary, giving you a broad view of the industry.

SMART TECHNOLOGIES:

Explore the latest smart and AI-driven solutions, and see how they can be used in your business.

roundtable discussion:

Join talks with industry peers. Share ideas, make connections, and find new partners.

Program

DAY 1 :

MONDAY, 20 JULY, 2026

08:00 - 08:50

REGISTRATION AND MORNING REFRESHMENTS

08:50 - 09:00

OPENING ADDRESS

09:00 - 09:25

SMART GRIDS – STRATEGY AND CHALLENGES FOR DSOS

Eric Ahlers

Netze BW

Establishing full grid transparency via smart meters, sensors, and data-based models
Automating network operations to cut response times and enable Redispatch 2.0 at scale
Activating flexibilities under §14a, e-mobility, and storage as plannable grid assets
Scaling resilience, sector coupling, and new DSO business models beyond pilot phases

09:25 - 09:30

Q&A SESSION ON DSO STRATEGY FOR SCALABLE SMART GRIDS

09:30 - 09:55

HOW TO TRANSFORM DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS INTO SMART GRIDS

Frank Borchardt

VDE

Assessing how an all-renewable infrastructure reshapes roles for multiple distributed new players
Building legislation, regulation, and standardisation frameworks that create one coherent smart grid
Balancing open access to critical grid infrastructure with the security of digitalized networks

09:55 - 10:00

Q&A SESSION ON BUILDING A FUTURE-PROOF SMART GRID FRAMEWORK FOR GERMANY

10:00 - 10:25

SMART GRIDS: IS THE LAW READY?

Richard Power

Clyde & Co LLP

Evaluating whether current regulation enables or blocks decentralised mini- and micro-grids
Interrogating smart contracts for peer-to-peer power trading under existing contract law
Proposing scalable legal responses to high-volume smart grid disputes, including AI justice

10:25 - 10:30

Q&A SESSION ON LEGAL READINESS FOR DECENTRALISED SMART GRIDS

10:30 - 11:00

MORNING COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA

11:00 - 11:30

PANEL DISCUSSION ON PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR INCORPORATING SMART SOLUTIONS & DER IN EXISTING POWER SYSTEM

Navigating evolving regulations and overcoming key bottlenecks to unlock critical smart asset integration solutions in existing power systems
Deploying behind-the-meter dispatchable generation to enable large-scale DER integration without compromising grid stability
Digitising existing grid infrastructures and leveraging new operational flexibility to economically optimise smart asset performance
Assessing Flexible Connection Agreements and DNO load forecasting to maximise system loading and integrate hyperscale infrastructure
Harnessing Edge AI and cross-domain sensor data to enable real-time localised grid optimisation on legacy infrastructure

Jan Osenberg | enshift AG

Robert Hayward | Trailblazer Infrastructure

Johann Schippers | M&L AG

Ralf Bucher | H&MV Engineering

Rubaiyat Sadat | Mulytic Ventures GmbH

11:30 - 11:55

THE FLEXIBILITY BOTTLENECK – WHY THE LAST MILE MUST BE THE FIRST BRAIN

Jorge Duarte

ITRON

Exposing how centralised architectures struggle with edge data growth and low-voltage limits
Shifting intelligence to distributed edge control for faster, local flexibility decisions
Reframing architecture, operations, and regulation to unlock autonomous grid-edge value

11:55 - 12:00

Q&A SESSION ON EDGE INTELLIGENCE FOR LOCAL FLEXIBILITY

12:00 - 12:30

RESERVED PRESENTATION

12:30 - 13:30

NETWORKING LUNCH AND VISITING THE SMART GRIDS EXHIBITION

13:30 - 14:00

PANEL DISCUSSION ON BUILDING THE FUTURE: CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, ENERGY STORAGE, AND GRID OPTIMISATION

Evaluate BESS deployment barriers and the untapped grid value that favourable policy design can release in European markets
Explore energy storage applications across Brazil's electric sector from mature grid segments to emerging commercial opportunities
Contrasting technical and economic optima in grid operation to assess market-based control approaches and system-level problem categorisation
Decoding who owns and monetises the intelligence layer as charging, storage, and grid infrastructure converge

Lidia Aviles | AELSTONE

Michele Pereira | CEMIG

Gerwald Lichtenberg | Hamburg University of Applied Sciences

Luís Martins | Powerdot

14:00 - 14:25

EMPOWERING UTILITIES WITH RESILIENT SMART GRIDS THROUGH ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES

Hamed Rezaei

TE Connectivity

Modernising grids with visibility, automation, and secure connectivity from substation to feeder
Automating fault detection and location to cut outage duration and improve SAIDI and SAIFI
Predicting underground cable failures using partial discharge insights before breakdowns occur
Reinforcing critical connection points by pairing digital monitoring with field-proven hardening

14:25 - 14:30

Q&A SESSION ON BUILDING RESILIENCE INTO MODERN GRIDS

14:30 - 14:55

ADVANCED DETECTION ENGINEERING FOR DIGITAL SUBSTATIONS

Gergo Gyebnar

Black Cell

Introducing simulation-based detection engineering for IEC-104 and IEC-61850 substations
Detecting rogue devices, spoofed masters, and STOPDT floods via deep protocol inspection
Enhancing substation visibility using ML anomaly models on MMS and IEC-104 traffic

14:55 - 15:00

Q&A SESSION ON CYBER DETECTION IN DIGITAL SUBSTATIONS

15:00 - 15:20

AFTERNOON COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA

15:20 - 15:45

WHEN THEORY MEETS THREAT: SECURING EUROPE'S ENERGY GRID

Willem Westerhof

Bureau Veritas

Recounting near-miss discoveries and real attacks to show grid cyber risk is not theoretical
Tracing European incidents, including Poland and Iberia, to extract prevention lessons

Wim Boonstra

Bureau Veritas

Exposing vulnerabilities in inverters, DERs, and automation that can cascade across grids
Advancing proactive resilience beyond compliance through assessment and sector-wide action

15:45 - 15:50

Q&A SESSION ON REAL INCIDENTS AND RESILIENCE FOR EUROPEAN GRIDS

15:50 - 16:15

HOW AI IS REDEFINING GRID OPERATIONS, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES, AND GRID EXPANSION

Janine Beyer

MaibornWolff

Enhancing operational excellence in grid operations through AI-driven insights
Embedding AI as a structural enabler across teams, roles, and decision processes
Accelerating planning and expansion using data-driven forecasting and automation

16:15 - 16:20

Q&A SESSION ON AI TRANSFORMATION IN GRID ORGANISATIONS

16:20 - 16:45

REAL-TIME PMU INTELLIGENCE FOR A MORE RESILIENT AND DER-READY GRID

Giacomo Mantero

Zaphiro Technologies SA

Exploring how real-time PMU data overcomes SCADA limits amid fast DER-driven dynamics
Enabling proactive congestion control, outage reduction, and predictive maintenance decisions
Showcasing PMU-based indicators of instability, asset stress, and anomalies in practice

16:45 - 16:50

Q&A SESSION ON PMU INTELLIGENCE FOR DER-READY OPERATIONS

16:50 - 17:15

HOW TO SCALE UP DEMAND SIDE FLEXIBILITY IN EUROPE

Oliver Sartor

Voltalis

Identifying EU price volatility, congestion, and adequacy stress as symptoms of low flexibility
Contrasting battery scale-up with demand response, showing why both are needed for net zero
Recommending fixes to deliver 2019 EU demand response goals where adoption remains patchy

17:15 - 17:20

Q&A SESSION ON MAKING DEMAND RESPONSE WORK ACROSS EUROPE

17:20 - 18:20

NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION

DAY 2 :

TUESDAY, 21 JULY, 2026

08:00 - 08:30

MORNING REFRESHMENTS

08:30 - 08:40

OPENING ADDRESS

08:40 - 09:05

AI-POWERED TRANSMISSION LINE ROUTING WITH REMOTE SENSING

Priti Nahar

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited

Fusing hyperspectral and LiDAR data to automate land-cover maps for corridor planning tasks
Segmenting complex terrain at the pixel level using a hybrid CNN–R2U-Net for siting lines safely
Routing least-cost transmission paths with improved political optimisation across constraints

09:05 - 09:10

Q&A SESSION ON AI ROUTING FOR FASTER, LOWER-IMPACT GRID BUILDOUT

09:10 - 09:35

RENEWABLE CERTIFICATION WITH NATIONAL METERING: CCEE ORIGEN CASE

Vanessa Grunwald

CCEE

Embedding REC issuance in CCEE Origen by linking certificates directly to national metering
Assuring market trust by preventing double-counting and enabling monthly-to-hourly granularity
Scaling beyond RECs to certify biogas and low-carbon hydrogen for domestic use and EU exports

09:35 - 09:40

Q&A SESSION ON METERED RENEWABLE CERTIFICATION AND MARKET TRUST

09:40 - 10:05

TWINUE - BUILDING THE DIGITAL TWIN OF THE EU POWER SYSTEM

Juliane Bednarz

envelio

Piloting the German TwinEU set-up with live online monitoring and real-time data sharing across grid operators
Surfacing congestion patterns and forecasting workflows through the German pilot to improve grid operational visibility

Jessica Stephan

envelio

Linking the German results to pan-European use cases through one tangible cross-site hosting-capacity example
Operationalizing a shared approach to hosting-capacity-style use cases replicable across EU grid boundaries

10:05 - 10:10

Q&A SESSION ON BUILDING A DIGITAL TWIN FOR THE EU POWER GRID

10:10 - 10:30

MORNING COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA

10:30 - 11:00

PANEL DISCUSSION ON SMART GRIDS AND THEIR ROLE IN SHAPING EUROPE'S ENERGY FUTURE

Mobilising smart grid investment through clearer risk allocation, regulatory certainty, and cross-border harmonisation
Diagnosing how low fault levels, frequency instability, and reduced inertia threaten European grid reliability
Bridging digitalisation and cybersecurity requirements to future-proof smart electricity networks at scale across Europe
Structuring grid connection contracts and procurement frameworks to de-risk, delay liability, and maintain project bankability
Harnessing digital twins and the Control Room of the Future to reshape smart power system operations across Europe

Kevni Iljazovski | Blue Power Partners

Sohail Mian | Blake Clough Consulting

Johann Schippers | M&L AG

Suriya Edwards | Freeths

Suzan Mentink | Magnus Energy

11:00 - 11:25

INTEGRATING RENEWABLES AND STORAGE: THE ROLE OF REGULATION AND MARKET DESIGN

Lars Löhle

Entrix

Establishing why flexibility is becoming indispensable in a more renewable and decentralised European power system, and how BESS underpins system stability
Interrogating how connection, tariff, and operational frameworks create practical barriers to BESS deployment and efficient utilisation in today's markets
Proposing how dynamic tariffs and clearer regulatory frameworks can unlock more grid-supportive, investable flexibility at scale

11:25 - 11:30

Q&A SESSION ON REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS FOR STORAGE AND FLEXIBILITY MARKETS

11:30 - 11:55

ENERGY COST OPTIMISATION IN C&I WITH BTM STORAGE USING DAY-AHEAD FLEXIBILITY

Tobias Badelt

Exide Group

Navigating German policy shifts shaping industrial flexibility and storage deployment
Designing lithium-ion BTM systems with optimal sizing and grid cost arbitrage strategies
Calculating break-even points through day-ahead price spreads and flexible grid charges

11:55 - 12:00

Q&A SESSION ON INDUSTRIAL BTM STORAGE AND GRID COST ARBITRAGE

12:00 - 12:25

HOME AS A BATTERY: COORDINATING RESIDENTIAL ASSETS FOR DEMAND-SIDE FLEXIBILITY

Jonas Van Gompel

Centrica

Optimising EV and heat pump dispatch to deliver grid flexibility without compromising user comfort
Quantifying the impact of residential asset coordination on electricity costs and carbon emissions
Integrating EVs, heat pumps, and batteries into a single whole-home optimisation solution

12:25 - 12:30

Q&A SESSION ON TURNING HOMES INTO FLEXIBLE ASSETS FOR THE SMART GRID

12:30 - 13:30

NETWORKING LUNCH AND VISITING THE SMART GRIDS EXHIBITION

13:30 - 13:55

TELECOMMUNICATION AS THE DIGITAL BACKBONE OF GRID MODERNISATION

Nkosinathi Shongwe

National Transmission Company South Africa

Showcasing telecom as a prerequisite for NTCSA to integrate 30–50 GW renewables at scale
Synthesising 2025–2026 projects proving low-latency comms enable visibility and automation
Profiling SCADA cutovers, virtual wheeling, and VPP dispatch via resilient digital platforms
Hardening converged grid networks using segmentation and redundancy under tight resources

13:55 - 14:00

Q&A SESSION ON TELECOM AS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MODERN GRIDS

14:00 - 14:25

TURNING LARGE FLEXIBLE DEMAND INTO A GRID ASSET

Bipin Patel

Flexionics Energy AG

Converting fast-acting data centre loads into frequency response, balancing, and congestion relief
Leveraging dispatchable demand to reduce curtailment and integrate more wind and solar capacity
Specifying controls, telemetry, optimisation, and market interfaces for scaling from pilots to fleets

14:25 - 14:30

Q&A SESSION ON DISPATCHABLE DEMAND AS A GRID RESOURCE

14:30 - 15:00

RESERVED PRESENTATION

15:00 - 15:15

FEEDBACK & RAFFLE DRAW

15:15 - 15:30

CLOSING REMARKS

Become a Speaker & Join the Conversation

SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES

By submitting, you agree to receive email communications from the event organizers, including upcoming promotions and discounted tickets, news, and access to related events.