Conference Speakers 2026

DR. Moutaz Alriahy is an International Geothermal & CO₂ Solutions Expert and climate-tech entrepreneur, with extensive experience delivering advisory work for governments, public institutions, and private-sector companies across the Middle East and beyond. He is an official participant in the Conference of Parties (COP) and an active contributor to high-level climate and sustainability platforms.He is the Co-founder and CEO of CRETA Group, leading pioneering initiatives in geothermal energy, carbon capture and utilization, waste-to-hydrogen systems, and climate-resilient agriculture. His work focuses on translating advanced engineering and climate science into pilot-scale and investment-ready projects aligned with UNFCCC, COP, and SDG frameworks, with a strong emphasis on deployability and economic viability.Moutaz is an award-winning innovator, most recently recognized in Abu Dhabi by the Arab Water Council for excellence in advancing non-conventional resources and sustainable water solutions. He was also selected as a semi-finalist in the Global Water Challenge under the Mohammed bin Zayed Water Initiative, recognizing scalable and impactful solutions for water security in arid regions.He is a three-time participant in the World Bank Youth Summit in Washington, D.C., where he engaged with global policymakers, financiers, and innovation leaders on climate innovation and sustainable development. He has served as a judge for the IBA-AAPG Geothermal Energy Competition and contributed to the development of its official judging and evaluation criteria, reinforcing his role in

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Tetchi Capellan, as she is fondly called, is a pioneer of solar energy in the Philippines and one of the industry's highest-profile leaders.She is the CEO of SunAsia Energy, was elected Chairperson of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association, and founded the premier industry organization known as the Philippine Solar and Storage Alliance. Under her leadership, SunAsia Energy is developing the world's largest floating solar power plant, with a planned installed capacity of 1.3 GW.A former Undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture who served for 15 years, she began her career in renewable energy in 2004 as Country Director for a rural electrification project that energized 10,000 homes.Recognized as a major contributor to the regulations and laws that shaped the renewable energy landscape in the Philippines, Tetchi is a recipient of numerous citations, including the Singapore Outstanding Scientist Award, the Developer of the Year Award in Shanghai, and the Most Innovative Developer Award in South Korea.Tetchi graduated from Harvard University in 1988 and served as a Trustee of the Harvard Club of the Philippines for three years.

Germain Castermans is a bioengineer specialised in environmental sciences, with cross-industry experience spanning pharmaceuticals, building materials, and the solar sector. He has held significant roles at GSK, where he contributed to site-level and corporate environmental management in a highly regulated pharmaceutical context, and at Etex, supporting sustainability and environmental risk management across industrial manufacturing sites and extractive activities. His work focused on translating regulatory requirements into practical operational measures, covering the full range of sustainability topics relevant to industrial operations, from environmental compliance and resource management to risk assessment, reporting, and continuous improvement.At PV CYCLE, he works on sustainability and regulatory affairs related to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for photovoltaic panels, ensuring compliance with applicable requirements. He also contributes to the development of a sustainability roadmap for the organisation, translating regulatory expectations and sustainability objectives into concrete priorities. His work supports circular economy approaches for solar panels, with a focus on end-of-life management and material recovery.

Dr. Nabih Cherradi is Desert Technologies' Chief Technology Officer. Has spent over 34 years building on a long track record of equipment's/production lines as well as business development in the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries. Prior to joining Desert Technologies, Nabih is also the CEO of EmpowerSun, a Swiss based photovoltaic energy consultancy, which he founded in 2009. In the meantime, he also co-founded ISWT a French solar developer company. From 2007-2009, as a Vice President/CTO, he accompanied Yingli Green Energy in its fast expansion with responsibility for the technology and manufacturing. He also participated in its IPO in New York (NYSE). As operations & process director at Applied Materials from 1997 to 2007 Nabih was responsible for installing turn-key semiconductor and photovoltaic production lines throughout the world, installing multiple GWs of production capacity across a ten year period. As a scientist, he focused on advance materials for different applications working with different industries (Semiconductor, Photovoltaic and Hard tools) He holds a PhD on materials sciences from the University Henri Poincaré, Nancy as well as an MBA, from the Business School of Nancy, (France).

Hounaida Daly is a distinguished economist and assistant professor of economics in the Department of Economics at Hail University and the University of Sousse. Dr. Daly serves as an Advisory Council Member for Harvard Business Review and she is a renowned expert in the economics field and has been identified as a key expert on Saudi Arabia through the Economic Experts Survey (Germany), consultant specializing in macroeconomics, particularly in the coordination of monetary and fiscal policies, through the InstaConsult platform. She is an active member of the Saudi Association for Energy Economics (Saudi AEE), National Association for Business Economics (Washington, D.C.) and the International Association for Energy Economics(IEEE) (UK), contributing to global economic research and policy discussions. She is a reviewer for prestigious academic journals, including Energy Journal, Economic Modeling, Journal of Asian Economics, Global Business Review, Journal of Knowledge Economy, and Frontiers in Environmental Economics, Innovation and Green Development, Economics, Asian Journal of Probability and Statistics, Social Sciences & Humanities Open, Plos One and Asian Journal of Current Researchetc . 

Solar & Energy Storage Executive with 20+ years of Global experience. Extensive functional knowledge with accomplished marketing, financial, business development and technology skills. I'm a seasoned professional with extensive functional knowledge with accomplished marketing, financial, business development and technology skills with a keen understanding of RE market design/fundamentals and business models, and strong in-market commercial and transactional experience who lived in 3 continents.

Sohan is a research analyst on Wood Mackenzie's Power and Renewables team and leads the coverage of solar PV and onshore wind markets in Africa and the Middle East. He forecasts renewable installations in the region and provides insights on the latest policy and regulatory developments. He is currently based in London. Sohan has previously been a member of Wood Mackenzie's European long-term power team, where his primary focus was on power purchase agreement (PPA) and guarantee of origin (GoO) trends. Earlier in his career, Sohan lived in Nigeria, where he gained experience collaborating with a local power solutions provider on a project to install off-grid residential PV systems in rural areas of the country. Sohan graduated from Imperial College London with a first-class master's degree in Chemical Engineering.

Dr. Hamed Hanifi holds a PhD on Electrical Engineering and Photovoltaics from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. His career spans from 2013-2021 at Fraunhofer CSP in the groups of Module Technology and Module Reliability. Between 2021-2024, he has been leading the Research and Development department and since 2025, he acts as the Global Technical Director at AESOLAR. His group is dedicated to pioneering PV modules, enhancing efficiency, and ensuring durability, especially in extreme climates. Apart from standard modules, he focuses on PV applications such as Agrivoltaics, Shade-resistant, and PV-Thermal modules.

Michael Heilig is the CEO of SwissWatt One AG, with 17 years in the PV industry and 22 years in direct sales and business development. He spent 14 years at SunPower / Maxeon, managing key markets in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Eastern Europe, Pakistan, and parts of the Middle East. Additionally, he lived and worked for 8 years in Southeast Asia, gaining deep industry expertise. His strengths include account management, revenue growth, distributor network expansion, and strategic market planning. He has represented SunPower and Maxeon at global trade fairs and conferences. Michael holds a Diploma in Business Informatics and has extensive experience in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. He is fluent in German (C2) and English (C1).

Waqas Hussain has several years of interdisciplinary experience in the PV industry - covering design, EPC, project management and business development across Europe, Middle East as well as South Asia regions. His expertise lies in the intersection of technical feasibility, economic viability, and regulatory framework assessment of renewable energies - especially utility-scale PV - thus leading to the identification and implementation of business development and deployment strategies. He is currently working as Business Development Manager with Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen in Regensburg, Germany focusing on PV applications and increased integration of renewables into the grid by using Voltage Regulating Distribution Transformers (VRDTs). He received a master's degree in Renewable Energy Management from the University of Freiburg, Germany in 2012 and a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Engineering & Technology Taxila, Pakistan in 2008.

Vish Iyer is Managing Director for India & Middle East at Caelux Corporation, a U.S.-based innovator in perovskite-silicon hybrid tandem solar technology backed by Khosla Ventures and Temasek. With 20+ years across renewable energy, industrials, manufacturing, and private equity, he is driving Caelux's adoption and scaling next-generation solar manufacturing across India and the Middle East.Vish has built and led over USD 1.7 billion in renewable energy platforms, developed 4.5+ GWp of renewable and energy storage assets, and raised approximately USD 750 million in clean energy capital. A Rising Star Finalist at the S&P Global Platts Energy Awards, he has held leadership roles at Siemens, L&T Construction, Mahindra Partners, Sterling & Wilson, and Jakson Green, and is a frequent speaker at global forums including Infrastructure Investor, BNEF, IFC, and Intersolar Europe.

Carlos León Worner is a renewable energy leader with over 13 years of international experience across APAC and the Middle East, specializing in solar PV and battery energy storage systems (BESS). He currently serves as Renewable Energy Manager at Enertis Applus+, where he leads regional strategy, technical advisory, and quality services for utility-scale projects.Carlos has extensive hands-on experience in PV and BESS manufacturing, QA/QC, factory audits, supply chain oversight, and project execution, having supported developers, IPPs, EPCs, OEMs, and financial institutions worldwide. Between 2020 and 2025, he has been directly involved in 500+ global audits and manufacturing assessments, providing deep insight into quality risks, reliability challenges, and best practices across advanced technologies such as TOPCon, HJT, BC cells, and large-scale energy storage.Having lived and worked in China, Singapore, and now UAE, Carlos brings a unique perspective on global manufacturing trends, technology evolution, and asset reliability. His work focuses on improving long-term performance, bankability, and risk mitigation for renewable energy assets in rapidly growing markets.

Gaëtan Masson is an entrepreneur with a passion for solar PV and the energy transition: an engineer, he also has degrees in management, political science and environmental management. He is the founder and Managing Director of the Becquerel Institute since 2014. After a decade in finance and IT, he icommitted to the climate and developed Business Intelligence for SolarPower Europe (formerly EPIA). He coordinates the Task 1, "Expertise and Awareness" of the International Energy Agency PV Programme (IEA PVPS). He led the PV Industry Working Group of the European PV Technology and Innovation Platform (ETIP-PV) of which he was co-chair from 2014 to 2019, and resulted in the creation of the European Solar Manufacturing Council, of which he is co-chair since its foundation in 2019. He is administrator of the CARBON project in France. He participates on the scientific committee of the EU-PVSEC and WCPEC conferences. In Belgium, he is an adminstrator of EDORA, the French-speaking association of renewable energy professionals. In 2020 he received the Daejoo Award for his contribution to the development of photovoltaics.

Karim is the Founder and Executive Director of Orisun Invest, a project origination platform in renewable energy he launched in 2020, focusing on wind and solar in emerging markets. Orisun has closed after 3 years of operation 605 MW in 8 different countries and the company benefits from continuous deal flow of around 1.5 GW. Karim has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, having founded and co-founded several companies active in Europe, Africa and Asia, providing advisory or development services to both private companies and governments. He participated through his companies in the closing of over $500 million of equity. Earlier in his career, Karim held managerial positions at Dexia Bank, participating in the closing of more than $ 2 billion of debt and over 1 GW of on-shore wind and solar capacities. He is a board member of the Global Solar Council and is acting as Director Transaction Advisor in Dii Desert Energy, a leading business network in the MENA region advocating for an acceleration of the energy transition, which he represents at the IRENA Coalition for Action.

As a Senior Energy Consultant, located in in Abu Dhabi, UAE. I have worked with renewable energy for over 13 years mainly projects within BESS, Solar PV, Wind, and EV Charging worldwide. In this role, my responsibilities being a subject matter expert within BESS with vast experience in battery energy storage technologies with everything from BESS contract tenders, contractor evaluation, and negotiations, as well as design and commissioning reviews. I also specialize in the safety mechanisms of BESS and how to mitigate them efficiently. Having joined S&L in Aug 2023, coming from a technical lead position within DNV, my journey has been marked by active involvement in various projects including independent engineering, owner's engineering, conceptual design, solar resource evaluation, energy yield assessment, reliability, technology assessment, O&M, project development, contracting strategy, and financial evaluation.

Shantanu Roy is the Sector Coordinator for Renewables and Energy Conservation at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a leading technology and policy think tank based in Bengaluru, India. With over 17 years of experience across renewable energy, thermal power, and oil & gas, he has led multidisciplinary teams and managed complex projects that drive sustainable energy solutions. At CSTEP, he advances initiatives in rooftop solar, Building-Integrated PV (BIPV), Agrivoltaics and other innovative renewable energy applications, working closely with government bodies and industry stakeholders to design strategies aligned with India's clean energy targets.

Lennart's solar career started in 2008, as CEO of Krannich Solar in the Benelux. He gained further expertise at SMA in Germany and California and later joined LONGi. With a clear understanding of global regions and key industry verticals, based in London he represents today the Global Solar Council, uniting the voice of the solar industry with governments, associations, policymakers, and businesses.

Dr. Lili Wang is Senior Director-Renewable Energy Materials of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Research Centre of Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi. She received her bachelor's degree on Materials Chemistry in Fudan University in 2005 and was awarded Ph.D. on Materials Chemistry and Physics in Chinese Academy of Science in 2010. Before joining TII, she worked as Director of Process Technology and served as Member of Patent Review Committee in Solaria, a solar module manufacturer based in the US, California, a pioneer developing high-density shingle module technology (acquired by Maxeon in 2023). During 2018-2019, she led the development of upscaling process of perovskite thin film PV technology in Energy Everywhere Inc., a startup company in Berkeley, California. Prior to starting her journey in the US solar industry, she worked on perovskite solar cell development as a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellow at Michigan State University and a visiting researcher at Case Western Reserve University respectively. Her research at TII is focused on materials and process development for advanced solar PV (cell and module) technology including emerging thin film PV and c-Si.