João Gonçalo Maciel is the managing director of EDP NEW R&D Centre, a joint venture between EDP and China Three Gorges Corporation, focused on research and development. 

He was a Business Developer at the Hydro Global Investments, a joint venture between a joint venture between EDP and China Three Gorges Corporation, focused on small to medium size hydropower projects worldwide.

Maciel was also the Technology Development Director of EDP Inovação, focusing on emerging energy technologies development projects, and a board member and project director of WindPlus.

He has a bachelor in Electrical Engineering by the University of Lisbon, a MBA by the Portuguese Catholic University and graduated from the London Business School’s Senior Executive Programme.

Building Services Engineer (BSc & MSc) with 10 years-experience in research, design, installation, commissioning and operation of technical building systems with a complementing political ‘dimension’ i.e. sound knowledge and understanding of EU’s decision-making process and EU’s climate and energy policy framework acquired while working as lobbyist for eu.bac and further developed during technical advocacy activities at REHVA. Furthermore, Andrei is experienced with EU Projects e.g. HealthVent, neZEH, Mobistyle, CEN-CE, ALDREN, U-CERT, EPC RECAST and EC Service Contracts e.g. EPB Center (EPB standards). ​Currently he is working as Building Performance Adviser at REHVA, Executive Director at EPB Center and conducting in parallel applied research on human behaviour and smart buildings as industrial PhD Candidate at KTH Royal Institute of Technology with assistant supervision from “Politecnico” University Turin and “Politehnica” University Timișoara. 

All this with the long-term intention of playing his role in supporting the digital transformation of the European building stock which in turn will enable and facilitate to arrive by 2050 at healthy, safe, efficient, flexible and zero-emission buildings for the people.

Nuno Baptista is Coordinator of the Energy Performance of Building Certifications System (SCE) in ADENE – Portuguese Energy Agency, and holds a degree in Architecture.

He is also a national representative in the concerted action of the Energy Performance of buildings Directive (CA-EPBD), and member of the Monitoring Group for the Long-Term Strategy for the Renovation of Buildings (ELPRE).

M. Iten holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering by Coventry University, UK. She is currently an Associate Professor at Associate Professor UTAD and Expert on Energy Systems Integration. Over the years, M.Iten she has been actively involved in the Research and Development of Clean Energy Technologies and Industrial Sustainability. This has been assured through the management of R&D teams, securing of funding and coordination of national and international R&D projects (H2020, LIFE, ESA, Interreg, Portugal2020, FCT, etc.), while promoting industrial collaborations. M. Iten’s curriculum includes Teaching at Higher Education, supervision of PhD students for the Sustainable Energy Systems Programme (FCT – Insituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon), expert for the European Commission and member of several International Associations and Working Groups (A.SPIRE, Water Europe, International Energy Agency, Future Energy leaders & Mulheres na Energia – World Energy Council, etc.).  

Cristina Corchero founded Bamboo Energy in 2020 to demonstrate that applied research can result in real commercial solutions. Appliying the latest techniques in artificial intelligence and optimization to enable the participation of the energy flexibility into the markets. In three years, Bamboo Energy established cooperations with the most innovative utilities, representing 35% of the Spanish market share. 

From 2015 to 2022, she led the Research Group of Energy Systems Analytics within the Catalonia Energy Research Institute, a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers working on the application of mathematical modelling and advanced optimization procedures to novel energy systems. Leading more than 50 national and international projects with leading energy companies and institutions. Since 2022, she is a scientific advisor of the institute assessing them on energy systems including electricity markets, energy management systems or integration of electric vehicle.

During more than 15 years Cristina Corchero has been also professor at the UPC on Data Science, Energy Markets and Energy Optimization.

Project Manager at EDP NEW, Master in engineering of Energy and Environment (2012) and PhD in Energy and Sustainable Development from Faculty of Sciences of Lisbon University(2016), where he developed research work on modellings and dynamic simulation tools in buildings, specialized in the area of natural ventilation, HVAC systems and energy flexibility. 

From 2016 till 2018 he worked as a researcher and assistant professor at Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, focusing on areas of energetic flexibility and energetic systems for buildings. Afterwards, he collaborated at ADENE (2018-2021) as specialist in energy performance certification, H2020 projects and having coordinated the transposition of the latest EPBD (Energy Performance Buildings Directive) to Portugal.

At the end of 2021, he joined EDP NEW as a Project Manager in the Energy Positive Communities area to coordinate the H2020 Smart2B project, which aims to increase the smartness of existing buildings.

Guilherme Carrilho da Graca is an expert in building energy systems. Researcher in building physics and thermal simulation. Completed his PhD in Engineering Physics (2003, UCSD) MSc. in Building Technology (1999, MIT), BSc. in Engineering Physics( 1995, IST). He is an Associate Professor at the School of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. He has published 40 articles in Q1 peer-reviewed journals. Founded Natural Works Consultants in 2003. 

Prof.Dr.-Ing. Mohammadreza Aghaei received a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy in 2016. He joined Fraunhofer ISE as visiting scholar in 2015. He was a Postdoctoral Scientist at Fraunhofer ISE and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB)-PVcomB, Germany, in 2017 and 2018, respectively. He has been joined to the Solar Energy Engineering program at the University of Freiburg, as a Guest Lecturer in 2017. Later, he also fulfilled another two years postdoc in the Design of Sustainable Energy Systems Group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), in the Netherlands. He was also appointed as an Adjunct Professor at Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) in 2020. 

Throughout his career, Professor Aghaei has been actively engaged in numerous national and EU-funded research projects, showcasing his commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation in the field. Presently, he serves as the coordinator of the EU Horizon 2020 project “COLLECTiEF” – Collective Intelligence for Energy Flexibility, demonstrating his leadership and expertise in spearheading large-scale initiatives. A senior member of IEEE, Professor Aghaei has authored over 150 publications in internationally refereed journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. His contributions have significantly impacted the academic community and the broader field of energy research, cementing his reputation as a leading authority in the domain.

José Eduardo Gomes Oliveira is the VP of Product at Eneida.IO, where he leads the Product, Software, and Data Science engineering teams. He is responsible for the cloud-based platform Eneida Deepgrid® and manages prospects, PoC, and R&D Partnerships. With a background in R&D management and product development, José has a strong foundation in technology scouting and IP management. He holds a PhD in Physics and Industry, focusing on power substations assets condition monitoring and management, and a Master’s degree in Physics Engineering, specializing in EM noise interference in RF networks. José’s expertise also includes the design and development of innovative optical sensors for electrical substations and real-time location systems based on network technologies and artificial neural networks.

Mágui Lage currently works in EDP NEW, a research centre of EDP, a leading Portuguese energy company on energy transition based in 29 energy markets.Mágui has studied mechanical engineering and has a master’s specialisation in renewable energies. During her studies, she developed a particular interest in the role of energy communities in the energy transition and did her graduate research in Milan (Italy), specifically focused on energy communities and the influence of solar energy policies on the functioning of those communities. 

Mágui currently works on the H2020 POCITYF, a project coordinated by EDP NEW that aims to transform historical cities into smart cities by integrating innovative solutions compatible with heritage protection. As many of Europe’s cities are historical, she genuinely believes this project is important for the energy market’s future and policies. She now uses the insights she gained from her research as Project Manager within EDP New, as Lighthouse City Manager for Évora. She is responsible for coordinating the implementation of various innovative solutions that must lead to an energy-positive situation: a surplus of locally produced sustainable energy.

Mágui is also interested in the social engagement perspective of PEDs and the role of citizens in the energy transition, having participated in trainings, webinars and applied her knowledge towards the citizens of Évora.

Project Manager at QUE technologies with an Electrical Engineering degree and experience in managing and contributing to EU H2020 & HEU projects, specializing in Energy Management & Efficiency, as well as IoT solutions, passionate about driving innovation and sustainability within the energy sector. Leading the demonstration activities work in REEFLEX project, overseeing piloting tests across 4 EU countries, responsible for coordinating the integration and execution of project’s solutions. 

Elsa Agante, PhD in Earth Science and Engineering from the Imperial College London, has worked in the environmental sector for more than 20 years. She joined DECO PROTeste in 2020 as Team Leader of Energy and Sustainability, with the challenge of the definition and implementation of the organization’s strategy in these topics. With a focus on the consumer, she aims to create content, develop projects, and cooperate with stakeholders to promote more sustainable products and services. Topics such as decarbonization of the economy and energy transition, energy efficiency waste management, premature obsolescence, and circular economy, among others, are in her daily lives. 

Claire Harvey is currently a project manager at Siemens Smart Infrastructure Portugal, in the Electrification and Automation department, focusing on grid integration of renewable energy and other operational challenges. With a background in energy engineering and management, she has worked in the energy industry across different geographies and companies, including 3 years at EDP NEW R&D in the areas of renewable energy and positive energy communities, leading various activities in European projects. 

Josef Baumeister studied electrical engineering in Germany.
He has 40 years of technical and management experience in mobile and wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart home and energy management technologies. 

Since 2011 he was working with BSH Home Appliances and was responsible for Smart Home and Energy Smart Appliances standardization. From 2016 until November 2020, he was the Managing Director of the EEBus Initiative e.V. as well.

Since his partial retirement in 2022 he supports the European Commission (DG-ENER) as expert.

Josef Baumeister is member of Smart Home & -Grid standardization bodies in IEC, CENELEC and DKE as well as in national and international Smart-Home & -Grid associations and European Commission bodies.

Miguel started his activity at Schneider Electric in 2010, in the Building Management System team as a project manager. In 2017 he started a new role at Schneider Electric as Product Application Engineering with the aim of designing and promoting EcoStruxure technology, combining Schneider Electric’s offerings with third-party offerings. Currently with the role of Solutions Architect Engineer, most of his time is dedicated to training and developing the skills of Schneider Electric’s technological partners, participating in R&D projects, such as Interconnect, and developing technical solutions for the Retail, Healthcare and Hotel segments. 

Product innovation is my passion, fueled by logic and empathy. My engineering background keeps me grounded in tech, while a touch of “psychologist” lets me connect with the vision of aspiring entrepreneurs. High-tech startups are my daily dose of inspiration: over the years, I’ve helped bring tens of innovative ideas to life through the launch of new products and startups, securing over €100 million through VC firms and public funding. 

He began his career as Product Manager Connectivity at the Ariston Group, focusing on the analysis of customer needs, monitoring competitors and market trends, and analysis of sales performance in 40 markets. He then held the role of Senior Product Manager Connectivity, leading projects on the renewal of B2C, B2B apps and services. Since 2022, he has worked at Day One as a Product Manager, helping researchers and engineers combine scientific discoveries and disruptive technologies to make marketable products. 

António Coutinho is President of EDP Inovação, which seeks the adoption of innovative solutions that help the EDP Group lead the energy transition.
 

He joined the EDP Group at the end of 2003. Between 2010 and 2021, he was Director of EDP Comercial, responsible for the sale of energy and services to companies and, from 2018, responsible for the new business resulting from the energy transition, such as electric mobility. Between 2007 and 2010, he was Administrator of EDP Renewables North America, as Chief Energy Management Officer. Prior to EDPR, he was The Group’s Director of Energy Planning. Between 2014 and 2021, he was Chairman of the Retail Committee of Eurelectric, the European association of the electricity sector. He was in the direction of ANIMEE, the Portuguese Association of Electrical and Electronic Material Companies, and APESE, the Portuguese Association of Energy Services Companies.

Prior to EDP, he was principal at The Boston Consulting Group, developing a diversified experience in energy and utilities.

António holds a degree in Civil Engineering and has a MSc in Operational Research.