Speaker: Matteo Bianciotto, Senior Policy Manager, International Hydropower Association and ESCP’s MSc in Energy Management alumnus (Class of 2015)

In 2021, electricity demand returned to pre-pandemic levels across Europe. The region is steadily transitioning towards a cleaner energy mix, with hydropower to play an essential role, returning to the energy and climate agenda of those European countries that are deeply committed about meeting their net-zero goals.

The webinar discussed:

• An overview of ancillary services markets and the main EU guidelines
• The future role of hydropower in the European electricity mix
• Can hydropower provide stability services to the power grid?
• When and how can we make hydropower plants more flexible?
• A review of XFLEX HYDRO, a €18 million EU-funded project aimed at improving HPPs’ efficiency and flexibility – what makes this project exceptional?
• Can the project provide the massive integration needed for renewable energy sources (RES) in power generation in Europe and across the globe?

The webinar took place on Zoom at 6pm GMT on Thursday, 24th November.

About Our Speaker

Matteo is part of the IHA’s research and policy team. His expertise covers a large range of technical and financial aspects of hydropower projects. His role at the IHA is focused on gathering knowledge about asset management and modernisation, clean energy systems and grid ancillary services from both technical and commercial perspectives. He is currently focusing on the preparation of a series of industry guidelines and policy recommendations resulting from the EU-funded XFLEX HYDRO project, of which the IHA is a partner.

Matteo joined the IHA in 2022 as Senior Policy Manager. Before this, he spent over six years acting as Associate Director of the London-based financial consulting firm Osterwald Rathbone & Partners. While there, he focused on economic valuations and financial modelling on a large variety of energy assets.

Matteo was previously based in Switzerland, where he worked as an R&D engineer for Andritz Hydro and at the Laboratory of Hydraulic Machines of the EPFL. Over this period, he oversaw various research projects on Pelton turbines as well as reduced model and onsite turbine testing.

He holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin and a Master in Energy Management from the ESCP Europe Business School.

He is fluent in Italian, French, English and Spanish.