VIC | Enabling AI and algorithmic potential to accelerate the energy transition

Jean-Christophe is Energy Management Director of Neoen. He has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector. He started his career in natural gas merchant activities in Europe. He managed gas, power and emissions trading for a generator and retailer in France. He then focused on renewable generation and finally joined Neoen and moved to Australia in 2019. Jean-Christophe is a strong supporter of developing new services and offers with the aim to ease the energy transition. For instance, Neoen recently introduced a Virtual Battery and a Renewable Energy Baseload offers. Batteries play a crucial role in designing these products and algorithms (and potentially AI) play a crucial role in managing batteries dispatch.

James has spent the last 15+ years working at the forefront of the energy transition in Australia and internationally. He has expertise in strategy development and execution, consumer insights, energy technologies, business development and partnerships. His experience includes deep customer understanding and insights and driving growth for Energy Australia and Origin along with spending three years in a multi-market energy technology start-up. James is a Partner, Management Consulting at KPMG and is a member of the RACE for 2030 Board.

Michael has over 30 years' experience in the energy sector covering generation, transmission, and distribution, along with a background in process control environments. A Project Director who has experience in portfolio, programme and project management, Michael is a strategic planner achieving transformation through alignment of policy, strategy and portfolio delivery. With overall accountability for the successful delivery of the 1st Smart Street Lighting contract, as an Energy Performance Contract in the ACT, the project has delivered a 50% reduction in energy consumption and over 30% reduction in maintenance faults. Michael is embracing the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and algorithms to further enhance energy transformation via advanced analytics through data ingestion and orchestration to realise sustainable and liveable cities.

A/Professor Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian is Discipline Director of Electrical and Electronics at School of Science Computing and Engineering Technologies and Director of Siemens Swinburne Energy Transition Hub at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. He holds B.Sc. degree, M. Eng. Degree and PhD degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. His research interests include Renewable Energy systems, Microgrids, Smart grids and AI integrated Energy Systems. Prior to this engagement, he was the deputy director of CADET-VR lab at Deakin University. He strongly believes in industry-engaged research initiatives and has stablished several key research partnerships with leading external industries and research centres during his academic career. Mehdi has been chief/partner investigator around $21m funding application submission, including ~$10m successfully funded projects. He is among the top 2% researchers in the world based on his research performance within in Electrical Engineering and Energy disciplines. He has been author/co-author of ~180 research articles, including 150+ highly-ranked journal papers, cited more than 5500 times in prestigious databases including Nature Publication Journals. In addition, he also serves as editor/assimilate editors of prestigious academic journals and invited keynote speaker in numerous national and international energy-related conferences and symposiums.

Lisa is Principal and Senior Director of Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Business division in the Pacific Zone. SE’s Sustainability Business provides guidance to corporations and government entities on reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency through technological and operational changes. With over 15 years of experience at Schneider Electric, Lisa has been instrumental in helping organisations and governments develop comprehensive strategies that lead to emissions reductions and financial optimisation. She has played a pivotal role in promoting innovative approaches in the Australian energy and renewables markets and advocating for policies that facilitate the transition to a net-zero economy while ensuring equity for users and communities. Lisa is highly regarded as an expert in the field and advises some of Australia's largest energy users. She holds certifications as a Certified Energy Risk Professional and possesses a Sustainability and Climate Risk Certificate from GARP.