Registration & Welcome Coffee

Opening & Institutional Welcome

Welcome from

• ITALIA SOLARE – Paolo Rocco Viscontini, President
• SolarPower Europe – Dries Acke, Deputy CEO

Setting the scene: why flexibility and storage are now central to the energy transition

SESSION 1 – EU POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR FLEXIBILITY AND STORAGE

Focus: how the European Commission is addressing flexibility, storage, and grid integration through the implementation, at the MS level, of the Electricity Market Design reform and the upcoming Grid Package.

Moderator: Fausta Chiesa, Corriere della Sera

Keynote:  Dries Acke, SolarPower Europe | EU vision for flexibility and storage – Market Design Directive: implications for solar + storage

•  Bram Claeys, Secretary General, CEER | Network access, congestion management and flexibility markets

• Paula Dorado, Policy officer at European Commission | What still needs to be fixed at EU level

• Silvia Bodoardo, CTS ITALIA SOLARE member | The role of storage in system adequacy and resilience

Coffee Break & Networking

SESSION 2 – INVERTER-BASED SYSTEMS AS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. Cybersecurity and Grid Forming for Power System Stability

With the increasing penetration of photovoltaic systems and energy storage, inverters are no longer simple power conversion components, but active and critical elements of the power system. Two topics become central and deeply interconnected:

• Grid forming: the ability of inverters to actively contribute to system stability, frequency and voltage control;
• Cybersecurity: the digital security of devices that control, communicate and can influence the operation of the grid.

The session addresses these topics in an integrated manner, highlighting their technological, regulatory and industrial implications.

Key focus areas include:

• Inverters and BESS as infrastructure-grade assets;
• Why grid forming increases the systemic value (and responsibility) of inverters;
• Cybersecurity as a prerequisite for stability services, aggregation and market participation.

Moderator: Fausta Chiesa, Corriere della Sera

Keynote:

• Grid Forming | Fabrizio Pilo, CTS ITALIA SOLARE member

• Cybersecurity | Catarina Augusto, SolarPower Europe

Panelists:

• Gianluca Marri, Product Solutions Specialist Italy – Europe Solis
• Domenico Genchi, Technical Manager Italy Sygnergy
• Antonio Rossi, Technical Manager PM Green
• Lorenzo Meraldi, Vice-chairman R&D NHOA Energy

Lunch & Networking

SESSION 3 – FLEXIBILITY IN PRACTICE: THE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE

Focus: Explore together with the DSOs their experiences on the implementation of flexibility and grid integration in Italy, with emphasis on:

• business models
• technological integration for residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) sectors (solar PV + storage + heat pumps)
• demand-side flexibility and aggregation
• Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) as flexibility providers

Moderator: Luca Pagni economy and energy journalist

Keynote:

• Fabio Zanellini, Chair of the Storage WG at ITALIA SOLARE

  • Status of implementation in Italy

  • Regulatory and market signals for small and medium-scale flexibility

Roundtable discussion:

• Viable business models today
• Technology integration challenges and opportunities
• Aggregators and RECs: current limits and future potential
• C&I applications: how solar PV and storage can contribute to local and global flexibility​

Panelists:

• Gaetano Iannarelli, Project Manager MINDFlex – UNARETI
• Matteo Castoldi, Business Development & Regulatory Analyst Energyteam
• Davide Baltieri, project Manager & Training Specialist, Fronius
• Riccardo Pizziuti, Head of Engineering Regalgrid Europe
• Angela Irlandese, Project Manager RomeFlex ARETI
• Marco Rozzi, Flexibility & Business Development Dolomiti Energia​

SESSION 4 – UTILITY-SCALE STORAGE AND SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY

Focus: Large-scale storage (BESS) and its role in the Italian power system in the stand-alone and hybrid configuration, with a specific look at the MACSE second tender and future market opportunities.

Moderator: Luca Pagni economy and energy journalist

Keynotes:

• Maurizio Delfanti, Coordinator of the TSC at ITALIA SOLARE| The role of utility-scale BESS in system flexibility
• Salvatore Alessandro Casa, Partner at Elemens | MACSE: lessons learned and expectations for the second auction

Roundtable discussion:

• Business models, bankability and risk allocation
• Interaction between BESS, renewables, and grids
• Outlook for large-scale storage in Italy and Europe

Panelists:

• Marco Turchiano, Head of Short-Term Markets, Terna
• Davide Tinazzi, CEO Energy
• Giuseppe Pastorino, President AICEP
• Andrea Pirri, Sales Engineer – Higeco More
• Alberto Vaccari Senior Project Manager, Neoen Renewables Italia​

Closing Remarks