The Clean Energy Solutions Center, in partnership with the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN), hosted this webinar on research and innovation needs for smart grid transition.

Panelists in the webinar discussed good practice cases of how to identify research and innovation (R&I) needs for the transition towards future smart grids. In the light of Mission Innovation, the webinar provided policymakers with a systematic approach to directing research funds not only towards technological development but also towards socio-economic research.

Two recently finalized R&I strategies were discussed that focus on socio-technical aspects and institutional change of the smart grid transition: the R&I Roadmap developed by the European Technology and Innovation Platform Smart Networks for Energy Transition (ETIP SNET), and the Austrian Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) on Intelligent Energy Infrastructures. Both strategies consider smart grids as embedded in the wider context of energy systems including storage and power.

Presentations were followed by an interactive question and answer session with the audience.

Panelists

Eric Peirano

Eric Peirano graduated in 1990 from ENSAM Paris in mechanical engineering and in 1991 from California State University in computer simulation. From 1991 to 1993, he occupied various R&D positions in the field of real-time simulation, in particular thermo-hydraulic applications. In 1992, he moved to Sweden where he obtained a Ph.D. in Energy Conversion at Chalmers University (1998). From 1997 to 1998, he was a consultant in several industrial fields (process, energy and transport). In 2000, he joined INRIA in Sophia-Antipolis as guest researcher where he developed probabilistic numerical methods for problems in industrial fluid mechanics. In 2002, he entered ADEME as an expert in charge of the development of R&D activities in the renewable energies sector as well as smart grids. In 2006, he became Deputy Head of the Renewable Energies Department at ADEME. After obtaining a Master's degree in finance (Risk and Asset Management) from Edhec Business School in 2009, he joined Technofi as executive Vice-President where he currently develops a commercial offer in the fields of low carbon electricity, smart buildings and cities, and eco-manufacturing.

Klaus Kubeczko

Klaus Kubeczko is senior expert advisor and scientist at the Center for Innovation Systems and Policy (CrISP) at AIT – Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH. He has an industry background as electrical engineer and holds a Ph.D. in Socio-Economics. His expertise covers strategic foresight and innovation studies with a thematic focus on grand societal challenges and energy and transport network infrastructures and has been advising policymakers at the global, European, national and city levels on these topics for more than 15 years. He has been working on several foresight processes on de-carbonization and transition of the energy and mobility systems with strong stakeholder involvement in foresight and road-mapping processes. Recently, he provided strategic advice on developing strategic research agendas including the Austrian SRA on Intelligent Energy Systems, the JPI-Urban Europe SRA, amongt others. Currently, he is Innovation Manager of the H2020 Smart City Lighthouse Project RUGGEDISED, and he coordinates the ERANET Smart Grid plus project ReFlex on the replicability guidelines for flexibility solutions with a Community of Practice bringing together eight smart grid demo-sites. As Operating Agent of the Annex 7 of the IEA-TCP ISGAN, he is developing the SRA on Smart Grid Transition.