CIRED 2026 Brussels Workshop
on Implementing
Successful Innovation in Distribution Networks
9-10 June 2026
Brussels, Belgium
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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Daily Overview |
| 8:00am - 9:45am |
Registration & Welcome Coffee Location: Entrance Hall User your QR code to check-in to the workshop and enjoy a nice coffee before the sessions start! The welcome coffee in sponsored by alfanar. |
| 9:45am - 10:00am |
Welcome Speech by Dag Eirik Nordgård, Workshop Chair Location: Auditorium Chair: Dag Eirik Nordgård, SINTEF, Norway |
| 10:00am - 10:20am |
Keynote 1 - Layla Sawyer Location: Auditorium Layla Sawyer - Secretary General at CurrENT |
| 10:20am - 10:40am |
Keynote 2 - Ulrich Adam Location: Auditorium Ulrich Adam, Director General, ORGALIM |
| 10:40am - 11:10am |
Coffee Break Location: Catering & Exhibition Area Sponsored by alfanar. |
| 11:10am - 12:10pm |
Round Table 1: Regulation for Innovation – at European / National Level Location: Auditorium Chair: Quentin Antoine, ENGIE Laborelec, Belgium Panelists
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| 12:10pm - 1:25pm |
Lunch Location: Catering & Exhibition Area |
| 1:25pm - 2:55pm |
Theme 1 Oral Session – New Methods for Planning Reliable, Resilient and Sustainable Networks Location: Auditorium Chair: Fabrizio Pilo, University of Cagliari, Italy Chair: Riccardo Lama, CEI - Comitato Elettrotecnico Italiano, Italy |
| 2:55pm - 4:55pm |
Poster Session 1 (Theme 2 & Theme 3) & Coffee Break Location: Poster Hall Chair: Jan Desmet, Ugent, Belgium Chair: Ingrid Schürrer, Salzburg Netz GmbH, Austria The coffee break is sponsored by alfanar. |
| 4:55pm - 5:15pm |
Keynote Speaker 3 - Inne Mertens Location: Auditorium Inne Mertens is CEO of Brussels distribution network operator Sibelga. She holds a masters degree of the University of Leuven as an Electrical Engineer. She began her career at Electrabel in 1998. She accompanied the liberalization of the energy market in Wallonia in the early 2000s. Between 2009 and 2021, she was a member of the Executive Committee of ORES, the Walloon distribution network operator, where she was responsible for the Market & Customers department. She is also member of the board of Atrias and Synergrid and Chairman of the Board at the Royal Belgian Society for Energy. |
| 5:15pm - 6:15pm |
Welcome Drinks Reception Location: Catering & Exhibition Area Sponsored by Sibelga. |
| 8:00am - 8:30am |
Morning Coffee Location: Catering & Exhibition Area |
| 8:30am - 8:50am |
Keynote Speaker 4 - Frederik Vandendriessche: The 2024 Electricity Market Design directive : Grid Saviour or False Hope? Location: Auditorium Prof. Dr. Frederik Vandendriessche is Professor of Energy Law at Ghent University, specializing in EU and Belgian energy market regulation, network governance, and renewable energy law. He is also a partner and attorney at Stibbe (Brussels), advising network operators, public authorities and private clients on complex energy transactions, regulatory compliance, and litigation. His work bridges academic research and practical legal expertise in modern energy systems. |
| 8:50am - 10:20am |
Theme 2 Oral Session – Lessons Learned from Implementing Innovations in Distribution Networks Location: Auditorium Chair: Jan Desmet, Ugent, Belgium Chair: Emmanuel De Jaeger, UC Louvain, Belgium Chair: David Hawkins, The IET, United Kingdom |
| 10:20am - 12:20pm |
Poster Session 2 (Theme 1) & Coffee Break Location: Poster Hall Chair: Fabrizio Pilo, University of Cagliari, Italy Chair: Riccardo Lama, CEI - Comitato Elettrotecnico Italiano, Italy |
| 12:20pm - 1:20pm |
Round Table 2: How Congestion and Flexibility Meets the New EMD5 Directive Location: Auditorium Chair: Jan Desmet, Ugent, Belgium Chair: Dirk Van Hertem, KU Leuven, Belgium Panelists
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| 1:20pm - 2:35pm |
Lunch Location: Catering & Exhibition Area |
| 2:35pm - 4:05pm |
Theme 3 Oral Session – New Regulation and Practices to Spark Innovation and Minimize Business Risk Location: Auditorium Chair: Ingrid Schürrer, Salzburg Netz GmbH, Austria Chair: Peter Söderström, Vattenfall Distribution Sweden, Sweden |
| 4:05pm - 4:15pm |
Closing Speech by Dag Eirik Nordgård, Workshop Chair Location: Auditorium Chair: Dag Eirik Nordgård, SINTEF, Norway |
| 4:15pm - 4:45pm |
Goodbye Coffee Location: Catering & Exhibition Area |