EPS Conference: The Contribution of Physics to Energy Storage, Production, and Distribution

13 Apr 2026, 12:00 → 14 Apr 2026, 15:00 Europe/Zurich

Palais des Académies

Monday 13 April

12:00 → 13:00 Welcome Coffee

13:00 → 13:30 The Role of Physics in Addressing Global Energy Challenges and the Contribution of the EPS

Speaker: Prof. Mairi Sakellariadou
EPS President, King's College London, UK

13:30 → 16:00 Generation

Convener: Prof. Mairi Sakellariadou - EPS President, King's College London, UK

13:30 Energy Production in Europe

Speaker: Dr Anne-Isabelle Etienvre
General Director, CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), Paris, FR

14:00 Decarbonization as a driver of Industrial competitiveness

Speaker: Dr Giorgio Graditi
General Director, Area Science Director, Trieste, IT

14:30 Securing supply and sustainability of nuclear energy through recycling and transmutation

Speaker: Dr Adrian Fabich
Institute Director, SCK CEN (Belgian Nuclear Research Centre), Mol, BE

15:00 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Laban Coblentz
Head of Communication, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, FR

Panelists:

Dr Anne-Isabelle Etienvre
General Director, CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), Paris, FR

Dr Adrian Fabich
Institute Director, SCK CEN (Belgian Nuclear Research Centre), Mol, BE

Prof. Ivan Gordon
Coordinator Joint Program Photovoltaics EERA (European Energy Research Alliance)
IMEC (Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre), Louvain, BE

Dr Giorgio Graditi
General Director, Area Science Park, Trieste, IT

Dr Carlos Hidalgo
Director, CIEMAT (National Fusion Laboratory), Madrid, ES

Prof. Jonas Nøland
NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Trondheim, NO

16:00 → 16:30 Coffee

16:30 → 18:45 Storage

Convener: Dr Alfredo Portone -EPS Energy Group Chair, Barcelona, ES

16:30 In the conquest of my precious: Sustainable Materials for Energy

Speaker: Prof. Carlos Lledo Fernandez
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK

17:00 Beyond Lithium: Sustainable Pathways for Next-Generation Energy Storage

Speaker: Dr Alexandre Ponrouch
ICMAB-CSIC (Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona),Barcelona, ES

17:30 Storage solutions for a innovative, flexible and resilient energy system, based on renewables sources

Speaker: Dr Giulia Monteleone
Head of Energy Technologies and Renewables Sources Department, ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), Rome, IT

18:00 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Laban Coblentz
Head of Communication, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, FR

Panelists:

Prof. Carlos Lledo Fernandez
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK

Dr Giulia Monteleone
Head of Energy Technologies and Renewables Sources Department, ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), Rome, IT

Dr Alexandre Ponrouch
ICMAB-CSIC (Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona), Barcelona, ES

18:45 → 19:15 Future of Nuclear Energy : The ITER Project and a perspective on nuclear fusion

Speaker: Dr Pietro Barabaschi
General Director, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), Cadarache - St Paul lès Durance, FR

19:15 → 21:15 Cocktail

Tuesday 14 April

09:00 → 12:00 Distribution

Convener: Prof. Kristel Crombé - EPS Executive Committee Member, Royal Military Academy, Ghent University, BE

09:00 Reliable power systems in energy transition. A global perspective and the need for R&D

Speaker: Dr Bruno Meyer
Secretary General, G015 (Reliable & Sustainable Power Grids), Paris, FR

09:30 Enabling transformational​ Operational Policy Change for a modern EU power grid

Speaker: Dr David McGowan
Head of Future Power Systems, SONI Ltd (System Operator for Northern Ireland) Belfast, UK

10:00 The Iberian incident in April 2025

Speaker: Prof. Luis Rouco
President, EES-UETP (Electric Energy Systems-University Enterprise Training Partnership), University Comilla, Madrid, ES

10:30 Coffee

11:00 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Dr Luca Romano
University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, IT

Panelists:

Dr David McGowan
Head of Future Power Systems, SONI Ltd (System Operator for Northern Ireland) Belfast, UK

Dr Bruno Meyer
Secretary General, G0 15 (Reliable & Sustainable Power Grids), Paris, FR

Prof. Luis Rouco
President, EES-UETP (Electric Energy Systems-University Enterprise Training Partnership), University Comilla, Madrid, ES

Prof. Kai Strunz
Head of the Chair of SENSE (Sustainable Electric Networks and Sources of Energy), TU Berlin, DE

Dr Marios Zarifakis
Manager Electrical Assets within Generation Engineering, ESB (Electricity Supply Board) Dublin, IE

12:00 → 12:30 Commissioner perspectives on EU energy future

Speaker: Dr Gianfranco Brunetti
Head of Unit Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Waste and Decommissioning, European Commission, LUX

12:30 → 13:00 Summary & Conclusion

Speaker: Prof. Mairi Sakellariadou
EPS President, King's College London, UK

13:00 → 14:00 Lunch