With a 45-year legacy Middle East Energy, formerly Middle East Electricty, has well established itself as the region’s most reputable and comprehensive energy event in the MENA region, where global buyers and sellers connect to discover products and showcase solutions to deliver cleaner energy and supply sustainable power.
The Global Energy & Utilities Forum, part of Middle East Energy, is a 3-day immersive experience taking place both online and in-person from 7-9 March 2022 at Dubai World Trade Centre, under the patronage of Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, UAE.
Bringing together the highest stakeholders within the energy communities, this comprehensive closed-door conference will be delivered by distinguished industry experts and influencers, focusing on addressing real world commercial solutions to help fasten the road to global energy transition.
Theme: Decarbonisation
11:15 – 11:30
H.E. Yousif Al Ali
Assistant Undersecretary for the Electricity, Water and Future Energy Sector at the
Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure
11:30 – 11:45
H.E. Aisha Al Abdooli
Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Green Development & Climate Change, Ministry of Climate Change & Environment, UAE
11:45 – 12:45
Following on from the signing of landmark agreements signed at Cop 26, attention now turns to delivering ambitious decarbonisation initiatives and net-zero programmes. GEUF’s openingpanel will focus on top-level strategies and approaches being adopted across the region to deliver on energy transition targets.
Moderator
Andrea Di Gregorio
Executive Director – Energy Efficiency & Renewables, Ras Al Khaimah Municipality
Fahad Al Hammadi
Energy Policy Specialist – Office of the Undersecretary – Future Energy, Water & Power, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure
Carlos Gasco Travesedo
Energy Policy Executive Director, Department of Energy, Abu Dhabi
Dr. Yahya Al-Hadban
Associate Research Scientist - Energy & Building Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR)
Reji Kumar Pillai
President, India Smart Grid Forum I Chairman, Global Smart Energy Federation
Abdurrahman Khalidi,
Chief Technology Officer, GE Gas Power EMEA
11:45 – 12:45
14:00 - 14:30
Dr. Jens Madrian
Executive Director – NEOM Energy, NEOM
14:30 – 15:15
Following on from the signing of landmark agreements signed at Cop 26, attention now turns to delivering ambitious decarbonisation initiatives and net-zero programmes. GEUF’s openingpanel will focus on top-level strategies and approaches being adopted across the region to deliver on energy transition targets.
Moderator
Brendan Cronin
Director, AFRY Management Consultants
Mike Ballard
Vice President Industry Strategy, Oracle Utilities
Mohammed Atif
Area Manager – Energy Systems, DNV GL
Eng. Mohammed Al Taani
Secretary-General, Arab Renewable Energy Commission (AREC)
Dr. Jens Madrian
Executive Director – NEOM Energy, NEOM
Eng. Iqbal Altayar
Director – Technical Supervision (Power & Alternate Energy), Ministry of Electricity & Water, Kuwait
15:15 – 15:45
Fireside Chat with Cornelius Matthes, CEO, Dii Desert Energy
Cornelius Matthes
CEO, Dii Desert Energy
15:45 – 16:45
The role of green hydrogen in the energy transition is quickly rising up the agenda, with governments and energy companies across the world starting to evaluate the potential advantages of developing the technology to reduce carbon emissions across utilities, transport and industrial sectors.
The Middle East has the potential to emerge as a global hub for green hydrogen, with a recent report stating that green hydrogen could stimulate $200bn of revenue in the GCC alone by 2050.
Moderator
Frank Wouters
Senior Vice President – Energy Transition, Reliance Industries
Eng. Nawal Yousif Ibrahim Al-Hanaee
Director of Future Energy Department, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure
Stephan Gobert
Senior Vice President – Hydrogen AMEA, ENGIE
Michael Mair
VP Growth and Development (Europe, Middle East & Africa), Wood
Francois Dao
Vice President – Middle East & Africa, EDF Renewables
Alicia Eastman
President, Inter Continental Energy
Dr. Malcolm Cook
Vice President & Head of Chemicals & Process Technologies – Middle East & Turkey, ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG
16:45
Theme: Finance and Investments
10:30 – 11:30
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates energy transition technologies will require investments of around $131 trillion by 2050. Where will the capital come from to deliver on ambitious renewable energy projects and energy efficiency programmes?
Tim Palmer
Head of Renewables & Transition, UK Export Finance
Ahmed Badr
Director – Project Facilitation & Support, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Claudio Pedretti
President, Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE)
Gurmeet Kaur
Partner, Pinsent Masons LLP
Rajit Nanda
Advisor to the CEO, ACWA Power
11:30 – 12:00
12:00 – 13:00
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is playing an increasing role in the finance sector, with regulators putting increasing attention on climate risk management and ESG criteria and banks and funds following suit. With the requirement for sustainable investment set to grow significantly in the coming years, what impact will that have on corporations and financing for energy projects?
Oliver Phillips
Associate Director – Sustainable Finance, Africa & MENAP, Standard Chartered
Jeffrey Beyer
Managing Director, Zest Associates
Amit Jain
Senior Energy Specialist, The World Bank
Chetan Kapoor
Partner, Synergy Consulting
13:00 - 14:00
14:00 – 14:30
Reena Suri
Executive Director, India Smart Grid Forum
Katarina Uherova Hasbani
Partner & Global Director – Strategy & Advisory, AESG
14:30 – 15:30
The African continent is facing a major challenge in meeting the energy needs of its people, with close to 600 million people without access to electricity. The number rose in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, reversing some of the progress made in recent years. This panel will address the challenges facing African countries in meeting the electricity needs of their populations and the opportunities renewable resources offer to increase electrification rates.
Moderator
Alexandre Allegue
Chairman, Pawame
Sowunmi Olabole II
Office of the Senate, National Assembly - Nigeria
Ahmad Salihijo
Chief Executive Officer, Rural Electrification Agency
Eng. A. D. Abubakar
Director – Renewables & Rural Access
Dr. Maged Mahmoud
Technical Director, Lead RE Advisor, Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE)
Eng. Nicholas Maundu
Principal Engineer – Construction, Rural Electrification & Renewable Corporation, Kenya
15:30
Theme: Digitalisation and Technologies
10:30 – 11:30
Decarbonising energy intensive industries will be critical to the success of carbon reduction programmes and net-zero targets. The UAE has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, which is expected to require new investments of $164bn in clean and renewable energy sources. This panel will address what some of the region’s largest corporations are doing and planning to reduce their C02 footprint.
Moderator
Brendan Cronin
Director, AFRY Management Consultants
Alexandre Eykerman
Managing Director and Energy Business Director, Wartsila
Dr. Chet Biliyok
Technical Director – New Energy Services, Petrofac
Ali Zerouali
Head of Cooperation & International Development, Masen
Turki Al Shehri
Chief Executive Officer – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ENGIE
Salim Mousallam
Executive Director - Decarbonization Strategy & Partnerships, GE Gas Power EMEA
Sergio Lopez Perez
International Relations Senior Specialist, Department of Energy, Abu Dhabi
11:30 – 12:00
12:00 – 13:00
With the integration of significant variable renewable energy resources into grids combined with a drive to increase flexibility and efficiency of electricity networks, grid operators are investing heavily in digitalising
their infrastructure to ensure stable electricity supplies and reduce operating costs.
The focus of power distribution has changed from simple generation and delivery to consumption and intelligent grids which can save, store and redistribute power where and when it is needed.
This session will focus on the digital technologies being adopted to stabilise grids and improve efficiency, the importance of accurate data collection and the increasing role of predictive maintenance in ensuring
stable and efficient networks.
Moderator
Mohammed Atif
Area Manager – Energy Systems, DNV GL
Ahmed Fateen
Vice President – Power Systems (Gulf), Schneider Electric
Rui de Sousa
Principal – Industry & Value Advisory, Energy & Natural Resources MENA Region, SAP
Yousuf Al Mahrooqi
Chief Distribution Officer (Acting), Muscat Electricity Distribution Company
Shaikh Sahid Hossain
SVP & Global Director, ETAP
Talal Eskandar
Senior Director VP Sales I Grid Software, GE Digital
13:00 - 14:00
14:00 – 15:00
With the growth of renewables and a drive to improve efficiency of electricity networks, digital technologies are transforming the distribution of power and providing grid customers with flexible and sustainable solutions.
Panel will discuss the changing requirements and expectations of networks and grid customers, the technologies facilitating the energy transition and the development of new consumer interfaces and solutions.
Moderator
Nauman Afsar
Regional Vice President – MEA & Turkey, Oracle
Simon Timmis
Smart Services Director, The Red Sea Development Company
Ezzeddine Jradi
Chief Transformation & Business Excellence Officer, EMICOOL
Elie Nasr
Smart Grid Adviser/Program Manager, Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) - Bahrain
Reji Kumar Pillai
President, India Smart Grid Forum I Chairman, Global Smart Energy Federation
Dr. Khaled El Distawy
Vice President – Distribution, Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC)
15:00 – 16:00
While developing clean renewable energy resources grabs much of the energy transition media coverage, increasing the energy efficiency of infrastructure is the easiest place to start.
This panel will address some of the approaches and technologies which are being adopted by government entities and the private sector to reduce C02 emissions and opex costs.
Moderator
Andrea Di Gregorio
Executive Director – Energy Efficiency & Renewables, Ras Al Khaimah Municipality
Katarina Uherova Hasbani
Partner & Global Director – Strategy & Advisory, AESG
Francisco Ramalheira
SVP – Business Development & Marketing, Enova
Ahmed Elkiki
Director of Technical Services, RAK Hospitality Holding
Luay Khdeir
Regional Water Sector Leader, Mott MacDonald
15:30