IV Hydrogen - Storage Summit: Building Flexibility

We already have a date for the most eagerly awaited storage and hydrogen summit of 2026. On March 4 and 5, in Madrid, the 4th Storage and Hydrogen Summit: Building Flexibility will take place.

Specifically, the event will be held at the Madrid Marriott Auditorium.

Two days in which, without losing focus on project permitting and development, attention will be placed on the next step: from development to operation. The debate will focus on how to connect storage by addressing access bottlenecks, flexible connections for storage, coordination among sector stakeholders, and how to optimize operation to provide real flexibility and capture value in the markets and in system operation. This includes operational strategies, aggregation, balancing services, hedging mechanisms, and technical and safety requirements.

Note: A promotion of 4 tickets for the price of 3 is available. To activate it, when purchasing the 3 tickets, please add the comment “4x3 Promotion”.

For any questions, please contact departamento.eventos@unef.es The agenda is detailed below, pending confirmations and new additions.

March 4
09:00 – 09:30 | Opening

• Sara Aagesen, Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Government of Spain (TBC)
• Rafael Benjumea, President, Spanish Photovoltaic Union

09:30 – 10:30 | Energy Storage Strategy in the Power System
Is storage the main flexibility vector? How do you see the role of battery storage, stand-alone and hybridization? How do administrations and major stakeholders understand flexibility through storage?

• Manuel García Hernández, Director General for Energy Policy and Mines, MITECO (TBC)
• Pablo Otín, CEO, Greening
• Álvaro Pérez de Lema, CEO, Saeta Yield

10:30 – 11:30 | Regional and National Permitting of Storage Projects: Challenges, Territorial Approaches and Timelines
Which storage projects are most frequently being processed in your regions? What should developers improve? Does it make sense to define urban planning schemes for storage projects?

• Rafael Aranda Gallego, Deputy Director General for Infrastructure and Energy System Integration, MITECO (TBC)
• Raquel Pastor López, Director General for Industry, Energy and Mines, Regional Government of Extremadura (TBC)
• Marta Morera Marcé, Director General for Energy, Government of Catalonia
• Lourdes Llana, Head of BESS, RIC Energy Group
• Belén Amunátegui Vallejo, Head of Business Development Energy Storage, Benbros (TBC)

11:30 – 12:00 | Coffee Break

12:00 – 13:00 | Flexibility in the Power Sector: Connecting Storage to the Grid
How can TSOs and DSOs be incentivized to connect more storage? Which regulatory instruments need to change? What do distribution companies need to implement local flexibility markets?

• Rocío Prieto González, Director of Energy, CNMC
• Fátima García Señán, Deputy Director General for Storage and Flexibility, MITECO (TBC)
• María Concepción Sánchez, Director General of Operations, REE (TBC)
• Marcos Valles, Managing Director, Quinto Armónico

13:00 – 13:15 | Special Address: Regulatory Progress in Renewable Hydrogen
Speaker to be confirmed.

13:15 – 14:15 | From Permitting to Development: Challenges and Strategies in Renewable Hydrogen Projects. Access to Demand

• Carlos Redondo, Deputy Director General for Electricity, MITECO (TBC)
• Olivia Infantes, Director of Regulation for Hydrogen and Renewables, Moeve (TBC)
• Matrix Renewables representative (TBC)

14:15 – 15:30 | Lunch & Networking

15:40 – 16:00 | Special Address: Results and Experiences from Storage Funding Calls (NextGen & FEDER)

• Miguel Rodrigo, Director General, IDAE (TBC)

16:00 – 17:00 | Financing Storage and Hydrogen Projects
Are the same hedges required for BESS financing? Is merchant financing being considered? What new risks are assessed vs traditional renewables? Current status of hydrogen project financing.

• Borja Saez-Montagut, Managing Director & Global Head of Project Finance Energy, BBVA
• Jaume Pujol, Partner Financial Advisory, Deloitte
• Miguel Ángel Amores, Team Lead Project Finance, Triodos Bank
• Francisco Luis Quintero Berganza, Chief Investment Officer Asset Co, COX

17:00 – 18:00 | The Role of Storage and Demand Management in the Spanish Power System
Is regulation ready to accelerate projects? Expectations around demand aggregation and key mechanisms to make projects bankable.

• Gorka Martí, Operations & Services Director Spain, Sonnen Spain
• Joan Herrera, Partner, Samso
• Anna Casas, Octopus Energy (TBC)
• Daniel Boluda, Regional Director South Europe, Capture Energy

March 5
09:15 – 09:30 | Let’s Flex and the European Roadmap: What’s Missing to Unlock Power System Flexibility

• Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO, SolarPower Europe

09:35 – 10:30 | Market Analysis and Hedging for Storage Projects
Is the capacity market decisive for profitability? Do long-duration batteries make sense in Spain? How realistic is virtual trading for BESS?

• Jesús Ferrero Soler, Deputy Director General for Renewable Energy, MITECO (TBC)
• Juan Bogas, Market Monitoring Director, OMIE
• FRV representative
• Pablo Martínez, Country Manager, Modo Energy
• Aurora representative

10:30 – 10:45 | Keynote: Storage in Operation – The Optimizer Role in Spain

• Juan Galiardo Sosa, Regional Manager Iberia, Entrix (TBC)

10:45 – 11:15 | Coffee Break

11:20 – 12:20 | Strategies to Foster Offtakers and Boost Renewable Hydrogen Demand
Regulatory signals, certification, support instruments, demand aggregation and the role of SAF.

• Alipio García Rodríguez, Director General for Energy Transition, Castilla-La Mancha Government
• José Antonio Membiela, CEO, Ignis P2X
• Eduardo Moreda, Director of Generation Regulation, Wholesale Markets & Gas, Endesa

12:30 – 12:45 | Keynote: Update on Storage Projects in Spain

12:45 – 13:45 | Non-Peninsular Systems: Flexibility and Storage
How to modernize regulation that still does not include storage.

• Alberto Hernández Suárez, Director General for Energy, Canary Islands Government (TBC)
• Diego Víu Domínguez, Director General for Circular Economy & Energy Transition, Balearic Islands Government (TBC)
• Juan Bola Merino, Real-Time Operations Director, REE (TBC)
• Ana Delgado Casado, Global Head of Regulation, Grenergy
• Jordi Quer, Co-founding Partner, G-ener (TBC)

13:45 – 14:00 | Storage Outlook

• José Donoso, CEO, Spanish Photovoltaic Union

14:00 – 15:30 | Lunch & Networking

15:30 – 16:30 | Environmental Impact of BESS Projects
Timelines, environmental assessment and regulatory certainty.

• Carmen Jiménez Parrado, Director General for Environmental Sustainability & Circular Economy, Andalusia Government (TBC)
• Helena Fernández, Partner & Director of Sustainability and Climate Change, ISEMAREN
• Jesús Alijarde, CEO, Íber Sostenibilidad
• Lucas Monsalve, Co-founder, Mediación Verde

16:30 – 17:30 | Safety in BESS Projects: Regulation, Design and Safe Operation
Speakers to be confirmed.