Guy Clarence Semassou obtained his PhD degree in Renewable Energy from the University of Bordeaux I, France and he is currently the Head of Department of Energy and Applied Mechanics at the University of Abomey-Calavi, The Republic of Benin. He is currently an Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer, coordinator of the Masters programme in Renewable Energy. His research interest is Solar Thermal Applications, Fluid Mechanics and he has published extensively in these areas. He has previously occupied several positions within the University and at national level such as Director General of the National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ANADER), Head of the Agricultural Mechanization Option at the Department of Energy and Applied Mechanics, Head of Department of Basic Sciences and Head of the Employment Opportunity Observation and Industry Partnership Division.

Chu Donatus Iweh received his B.Eng and M.Eng degrees in Electrical Power Systems Engineering from the University of Buea, Cameroon and is currently a PhD candidate (Sustainable Energy Engineering) at the University of Abomey-Calavi, The Republic of Benin through the MASTET (Mobility of African Scholars for Transformative Engineering Training) project, a European Union Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme. His thesis is titled “Design and Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Rural Electrification of Cameroon”. His research interest are Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems, Control of Hydroelectric Stations, Minimization of losses in High and Medium Voltage Networks, Multivariate Control of Power Systems and Real Time Computer Control of Geographically Distributed Energy Systems. In addition, he also serves as lead renewable energy consultant for PacificTech Group Ltd Buea, Cameroon. He wants to engage more with influential decision makers and thought leaders in international energy policy. He’s open to challenges, conversations and exchange of ideas with top players in the energy industry.

Bjarne Steffen is an Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and heads its Climate Finance and Policy Group. His research concerns public policy related to the low-carbon transition in the energy and financial sectors, drawing on concepts from energy economics, financial economics, and innovation studies. He is a member of international advisory bodies, such as the World Economic Forum’s Taskforce on Mobilizing Investment for Clean Energy in Emerging Economies, and the OECD/UNEP Green Finance Platform’s Sustainable Finance Effectiveness Working Group, and an external faculty at the MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.

Lena Klaaßen is a PhD candidate at the Climate Finance and Policy Group at ETH Zurich with a background in finance and power engineering. She conducts research on the role of the financial sector in accelerating investment in low-carbon technologies. In this context, her focus is on future investments needs in Europe’s infrastructure to get on a Paris-compatible pathway and whether current policies are fitted to induce required changes. Beyond that, she explores how and why investment needs and types vary across low-carbon technologies. Before joining the Climate Finance and Policy Group, she researched on carbon accounting in the corporate and cryptocurrency space.

Frank A. Wolak is the Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies in the Department of Economics and the Director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University.  His research and teaching focuses on design, performance, and monitoring of energy and environmental markets. He served as Chair of the Market Surveillance Committee (MSC) of the California Independent System Operator and was a member of the Emissions Market Advisory Committee (EMAC) for California’s Market for Greenhouse Gas Emissions allowances.

Ram Rajagopal is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, where he directs the Stanford Sustainable Systems Lab (S3L), focused on large-scale monitoring, data analytics and stochastic control for infrastructure networks, in particular, power networks. His current research interests in power systems are in the integration of renewables, smart distribution systems, and demand-side data analytics.

Nicolas Astier is a professor at the Paris School of Economics and a researcher at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. His main research field is energy and environmental economics. His recent work relates to the on-going transformation of the electricity industry. His topics of interest include retail tariffs, the integration of renewables, market design and reliability. He also studies sustainable mobility, and notably the increased adoption of alternative fuel vehicles and the role of digital platforms.

Maria Francesca Lucente graduated in Law with full marks at the University of Calabria (2015), Civil lawyer (2018), private law expert at the University of Calabria and specialized with full marks in Civil Law at the University of Camerino with a thesis on “La comunità energetica quale nuovo strumento di partecipazione attiva dei cittadini al mercato delle energie rinnovabili. La forma giuridica della comunità energetica nel quadro regolatorio vigente…”; research fellow in the field of “Energy Communities” in the Comesto Project at the University of Calabria (Unical), recently PhD Student in Civil Law and Constitutional Legality at the University of Camerino. Author of several important scientific publications in Civil Law, Labor Law and Energy Law.

Oliver Ruhnau is a Research Associate and PhD Candidate in Energy Economics at the Hertie School in Berlin. His research focuses on the economics of flexible electricity demand in the context of sector coupling and variable renewable energy sources. Previously, Oliver was a Data Scientist with the energy service company Digital Energy Solutions. He studied Engineering and Economics at the RWTH Aachen University and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.

Johanna Schiele is a Master of Public Policy Candidate and McCloy Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her research focuses on hydrogen applications in heavy industry, subsidy design and innovation policy. Previously Johanna has worked for Aurora Energy Research in Berlin and as a researcher at the Oxford Smith School. Johanna holds BA in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Oxford.

Leonardo Meeus is a professor at the European University Institute. He is the Director of the Florence School of Regulation and the Loyola de Palacio Chair in the Robert Schuman Centre. He is also part-time professor at the KU Leuven.
Leonardo contributed as author, reviewer and editor to academic journals in energy economics, regulatory economics, engineering, law, operations research and management. He published the open access book “The Evolution of Electricity Markets in Europe”.
He also engages with decision makers to create impact, and blogs about his experience.