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Preliminary Programme

When:
22 – 23 October 2026

Where:
MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna, Austria

22 October 2026

09.30 – 10.00
Check-in and Get-together
10.00 – 10.30
Welcoming and Opening
BERNHARD GAHLEITNER
Member of the NEFI Network Steering Committee, Business Manager Energy Markets & Infrastructure Policy, Center for Energy, Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT)
 
CORNELIA ERTL
Moderation
10.30 – 10.45
Impulse Lecture NEFI
Innovating for Competitiveness – Science Based Transformation Pathways for Austrian Industry
THOMAS KIENBERGER
Member of the NEFI Network Steering Committee, Head of the Chair of Energy Network Technology, Technical University of Leoben
10.45 – 11.00
Keynote
Building Blocks of Future Industrial Energy Systems
ALEXANDER SAUER
Director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency in Production (EEP), University of Stuttgart, Head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA)
11.00 – 11.15
Keynote
MERCEDES MAROTO-VALER
Champion and Director of the UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC), Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS), Deputy Principal for Global Sustainability, Buchan Chair in Sustainable Energy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University
11.15 – 11.30
Keynote
Early-Stage Operating Experience with a 3 MW PEM Electrolyser
CHRISTIAN WALLNER
Managing Director of the PVI, Head of Business Development Kärntner Elektrizitäts-Aktiengesellschaft (KELAG)
11.30 – 12.20
Panel Discussion
MARTIN GRAF
Member of the Board, Energie Steiermark AG
 
THOMAS KIENBERGER
Member of the NEFI Network Steering Committee, Head of the Chair of Energy Network Technology, Technical University of Leoben
 
STEPHAN LAIMINGER
Chief Technologist, INNIO Jenbacher GmbH & Co OG
 
JUDITH NEYER
Head of the Department for Strategic Energy Policy, Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism
 
URBAN PEYKER
Head of the Department Industry, Enterprise and Financing, Deputy Managing Director Climate and Energy Fund, Mission Director Net-Zero Industries Mission
 
ALEXANDER SAUER
Director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency in Production (EEP), University of Stuttgart, Head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA)
 
CHRISTIANE EGGER
Moderation, Member of the NEFI Network Steering Committee, Deputy Manager of the OÖ Energiesparverband, Manager of the Cleantech-Cluster Energy
 
12.30 – 13.45
Lunch Break
13.45 – 15.15
Parallel Sessions

(tba)

15.15 – 16.00
Break and Poster Session
16.00 – 17.30
Parallel Sessions

(tba)

17.35 – 17.50
Summary and Conclusion of the First Conference Day
CHRISTIANE EGGER
Moderation, Member of the NEFI Network Steering Committee, Deputy Manager of the OÖ Energiesparverband, Manager of the Cleantech-Cluster Energy
18.00 – 22.00
Get-together
Conference Dinner and Young Scientist Award Ceremony

23 October 2026

08.30 – 09.00
Check-in and Get-together
09.00 – 09.20
Welcoming and Opening
BERNHARD GAHLEITNER
Member of the NEFI Network Steering Committee, Business Manager Energy Markets & Infrastructure Policy, Center for Energy, Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT)
 
CORNELIA ERTL
Moderation
09.20 – 09.40
Innovation in Austria and International Impact (tba)
09.40 – 09.55
Introduction to the Funding Program
FTI Initiative for the Transformation of Industry
URBAN PEYKER
Head of the Department Industry, Enterprise and Financing, Deputy Managing Director Climate and Energy Fund, Mission Director Net-Zero Industries Mission
09.55 – 10.15
Keynote
The Renewables Pull Effect: A Socio-Technical Perspective on Green Energy Innovation and Industrial Competitiveness
STEFAN LECHTENBÖHMER
Head of the Sustainable Technology Design Group, Kassel Institute for Sustainability, University of Kassel
10.15 – 11.30
Parallel Sessions

(tba)

11.30 – 11.50
Break
11.50 – 13.00
Parallel Sessions

(tba)

13.00 – 14.00
Networking Lunch