Flexible Futures 2025: space and time to re-imagine our energy systems

Alex Schoch leads the Flexibility team at Octopus Energy focused on developing and bringing to market next generation products and underlying technologies spanning from utility scale generation and to consumer demand. His role is pivotal in shaping the future of the environment by utilising green tech to decarbonise industries as well as domestic homes.

With eight years of experience in the utilities sector, Carol is growing the largest DSO flexibility market in the UK, facilitating Net Zero transition for all at the lowest cost. Prior to DSO, she has been instrumental in crafting business models that accelerate the adoption of low carbon technologies through innovation and strategic projects.

Tim Schittekatte is a Senior Director at FTI Consulting where he works on projects in the power sector across the globe. His focus is on electricity market and network tariff design.

He is also a part-time professor at the Florence School of Regulation. Prior to joining FTI, he was a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His background is a mix of economics, engineering and operations research. He has published in leading academic journals such as Science, Nature Energy, Joule and The Energy Journal.

Jochen started his career 2011 at Tennet Germany at system operations. Among other topics he was working on CWE Flow-based Market Coupling. In 2015 he moved to TransnetBW at the grid economics department, where he was responsible for cross-border redispatch. Since 2020 he is manager of the team “innovative market solutions”. With 15 members the team takes care of r&d projects, market design, pilot projects and strategic cooperations.

Roberto Giner is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in the energy and business sectors. Since 2021, he has served as CEO of Octopus Energy Spain, where he leads the company’s rapid growth and innovation in the Spanish energy market.

Over the years, Roberto has held leadership roles across multiple industries, driving the development of new business ventures, overseeing strategic operations, and establishing key projects in renewable energy. His entrepreneurial mindset and focus on sustainable solutions have consistently delivered exceptional results, positioning him as a key figure in the transition to greener energy systems.

Luca is in charge of System Strategy department at Terna, the Italian Transmission System Operator, managing the long term scenario development of the power system and the market adequacy assessment in order to support Company’s regulated business. His previous experience includes operational management of both individual and fleets of power plants, and ten years in Enel Energia, covering different roles from portfolio management to Marketing Director.

Kjetil Storset is dedicated to accelerating smart energy solutions that enable distribution system operators to unlock demand-side flexibility. As the leader of Spark by Volue, he focuses on empowering flexible energy resources by driving the introduction of dynamic network tariffs for low-voltage grids. Kjetil has extensive experience at the executive level in both utilities and digital solution providers, bridging technology and energy markets to drive the energy transition.

Pete is Policy Manager for Kraken with a focus on all things flex, both behind and front of the meter. Among other things for Kraken he has led work on code reform, market design, the aggregator-supplier interaction, and device optimisation / interoperability. Before joining Kraken he worked for the UK Government Department for Energy and Net Zero, with roles across electricity markets, energy efficiency, and heat decarbonisation.

As the Flexibility Market Development Manager at National Energy System Operator, Yingyi works at the forefront of enabling demand-side flexibility to support the transition to a Net Zero energy system. Yingyi has held various roles across NESO with a focus on flexibility markets, ancillary service development and auction design. Now she is leading the development of NESO’s Flexibility Market Strategy.

John Lucas is Head of Market Design at Elexon, the independent not-for-profit company responsible for Imbalance Settlement and Flexibility Market Rules in GB. His focus is removing blockers to the growth of GB flexibility markets through implementing mandatory Half Hourly Settlement for smart meters, changing rules to facilitate market access for independent aggregators, and establishing the Market Facilitator function that will be responsible for aligning national and local flexibility market rules.

Serge is the CEO of Jedlix BV, a Kraken company since 2024. A seasoned entrepreneur in IoT and smart energy, Serge has driven business model transformation and fostered ecosystem development for leading multinational telecom and internet companies across EMEA and Asia for over 30 years.

Since 2019, Serge has been leading Jedlix BV, spearheading innovations that unlock the full potential of EV charging and discharging processes—delivering value to EV drivers, as well as the wider eMobility and energy ecosystems. Passionate about the future of smart energy, he co-chairs the European Coalition for Bidirectional Charging, sits on the Steering Committee of Mercury, and has previously served as Vice-President of the France Smart Grids Association, ThinkSmartGrids.

Member of the management board at tiko Energy Solutions responsible for Regulatory Affairs, and Chairman of the board at smartEn. Former Energy Counselor at the Mission of Switzerland to the European Union. Historian and economist. Part-time politician and proud owner of a Maltese dog called Patron.

Laurens is part of the energy team at the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). BEUC is an umbrella organisation that represents 44 independent consumer organisations from 31 countries to the EU institutions and agencies. Together with his colleagues, Laurens aims to bring affordable, clean energy to European consumers and thereby support global climate ambitions. He manages a programme of policy initiatives, projects, and knowledge-sharing actions to contribute to that aim. In his 9 years at BEUC, he has also worked on product safety, trade, transport, and broader sustainability topics. His personal interests include architecture, botanic gardens, local histories, and public transport.

Louise is an expert in demand-side energy policies and energy justice, with 15 years’ experience working on energy efficiency, buildings decarbonization, energy pricing and energy poverty.
Throughout her career, Louise has worked closely with industry, the nonprofit sector and policymakers on clean energy transition policy development, most recently for the UK Green Building Council. She is an external expert for the European Commission and has served as an expert witness to provide evidence to the United Kingdom’s House of Lords.

Nikolai Klempp is working at TransnetBW GmbH as a specialist for the integration of decentralized load-side flexibility in the German power system. Focus is on pilot projects and market design topics aiming at scalable solutions for integrating flexibility into the running productive systems for Redispatch. Among others he can build on his work as a research group leader for “Energy Markets & Flexibility” at the University of Stuttgart and the associated work on numerous project assignments from politics and business related to the topic.

Dr Paul Troughton is Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs for Enel X, innovators in customer-facing energy solutions. He heads their Flexibility Policy Centre, focusing on programme design issues in new markets. Paul has worked in demand response for more than a decade, with direct experience of the markets in Australia, New Zealand, GB, and Ireland, and exposure to issues in many other countries. He has previously worked in clean technology investment, consumer electronics start-ups, and for the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand, where he was one of the first to get to grips with nodal pricing.

Hans is a Principal Consultant in DNV’s Energy Advisory practice and business development manager Energy Markets & Strategy North-West Europe, with focus on demand side flexibility and grid congestion. He has over 20 years of expertise as an advisor in the energy sector, and gained extensive experience in smart metering, smart grids and electric mobility, focusing on market design and regulations and market analyses, In recent years, Hans has headed the design team of the Universal Smart Energy Foundation (USEF), was member of the EC’s Smart Grid Task Force (Expert Group 3 on demand side flexibility) and member of ACER’s expert groups on demand-side flexibility and flexibility needs assessment. Hans holds a Master of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Eindhoven.

Kingsmill Bond, CFA is an energy strategist for Ember. He has worked as a financial market analyst and strategist for over 30 years, including for Deutsche Bank and Citibank in London, Hong Kong and Moscow.

He believes that the electrotech revolution is the most important driver of financial markets and geopolitics in the modern era. He joined Ember from RMI in 2025 to write analysis on the impact of the energy transition on financial markets, with a focus on the exponential growth of electrotech and the disruption to the fossil fuel sector.

Guro Grøtterud is the Director of Regulatory Affairs at NODES. Guro has been working in the European energy sector since 2006, with main focus on regulating electricity markets. Prior to joining NODES in 2023, she held positions in the National Regulatory Authorities for energy in France and Norway, and in EDF. She also worked as a national expert in ACER in 2021-2022. Guro is part of SmartEN’s Board of Directors and chairs its Markets & Networks Committee. Guro holds Engineering degrees (MSc) from Ecole Polytechnique (2004) and Ecole des Mines de Paris (ParisTech, 2005).

Gerard has worked for SP Energy Networks for over 20 years covering a wide range of Operational and Commercial roles. In his current role as Head of Flexibility he is responsible for all of SP Energy Networks flexibility procurement activities, seeking a response from connected customers to help manage the network. Gerard has helped to pioneer the use of flexibility services in the UK, from the inception of Flexibility Tenders on the distribution network.

Jean Hamman serves as the Energy and Strategy Lead for the National Electricity Control Centre at NESO, the system operator for Great Britain. When not actively balancing supply and demand as the Energy Lead on shift, he spearheads advancements in demand flexibility, operational security, cost optimization, and clean power initiatives, placing him at the cutting edge of energy management innovation.

His passion for energy systems ignited in 2009 during a university project exploring Smart Meter benefits, launching a career devoted to revolutionizing how energy operates. With a robust engineering background forged in the British military and private contracting sectors, Jean joined NESO in 2009. Since then, he has excelled in various roles across system planning and operation, delivering consistent and impactful contributions.

A defining highlight of his career is his leadership in the initiation, development, and operation of the Demand Flexibility Service in Great Britain—a transformative initiative that has significantly bolstered grid stability, efficiency and cost and now a leading requirement to enable clean power operation by 2030.