Status of the battery energy storage for C&I and utility sectors in MENA

Speakers

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  Moutasem Bitar Sales and Marketing Director MEA @ SMA
  

  Moutasem Bitar

  Sales and Marketing Director MEA @ SMA

  Moutasem joined SMA in 2019 to lead sales and marketing operations for Middle East and Africa through its subsidiaries located in Dubai & Cape Town. His key focus is to transfer SMA’s experience in international markets to the region through establishing key hubs and partnerships. Moutasem and his team of engineers, business developers, and marketing experts cover more than 20 countries with ambitious sustainability targets across residential, commercial and utility segments.
  Prior to joining SMA, he headed regional business development for the Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) where he introduced the half-cut cell technology to the region.
  Moutasem holds bachelor degrees in Energy Engineering and Management from the City University of London | CASS Business School.

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  Dr. Raed Bkayrat Strategic Advisor @ MESIA
  

  Dr. Raed Bkayrat

  Strategic Advisor @ MESIA

  Raed is currently the Chief Energy Strategist and Senior Advisor for several public and private entities like the Clean Energy Business Council, Alternative Energy Projects Co. in Kuwait, Apricum Advisory in Germany, and founder of Sunergy Consulting in the UAE. Raed has over two decades of international experience in the energy sector, having worked with Multinational corporations, government entities as well as technology startups and R&D organizations. Previously, Raed was at First Solar where he was Vice President for Sales and Business Development for MENA, overseeing First Solar’s commercial footprint, market setup, origination, and strategy development. Upon moving back to the Middle East in 2009, Raed joined the core team that built the Economic Development Division at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), where he was responsible for creating the institution’s successful Industry Collaboration Program and acted as an advisor to both public and private sector entities in Saudi Arabia. Raed previously took on several senior roles with Siemens AG in Germany and in the US. He is the author of several referenced papers and holds several patents around energy conversion. Raed is a co-founder and mentor of several technology startups and is a passionate advocate for decarbonization and the clean tech industry in the MENA region.

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  Laurent Longuet CEO @SirajPower
  

  Laurent Longuet

  CEO @SirajPower

  Laurent Longuet is the Chief Executive Officer of Siraj Power Contracting LLC. Prior to Siraj Power, Laurent spent more than 15 years working in the development and construction of international energy projects in Europe, Iran, Indonesia, and the Middle East for the Group Total. Laurent’s track record is built across a range of executive/senior leadership positions in the renewable energy industry, particularly in the solar sector with Shams 1 Company, SunPower, and Akuo Energy.

  Under Laurent’s leadership, Siraj Power to date holds the largest distributed solar energy portfolio of 100 MWp in the UAE and is rapidly expanding to become the regional Green Champion. Siraj Power has made incredible progress since its inception in 2015, Siraj Power has reduced over 85,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. The company has more than 600,000 sqm of roofs for solar PV installation and more than 190 buildings operated.

  Laurent has a BS of Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris / France) and a MS of Paris Tech.

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  Rohit Kumar Director @ Synergy
  

  Rohit Kumar

  Director @ Synergy

  Rohit Kumar is a Director at Synergy. Synergy Consulting is a global independent infrastructure advisory firm with presence across Middle East, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Americas and Africa. With a background in project finance, Rohit’s career expands over several industries and geographies including conventional and renewable power in Middle East. Rohit has passed CFA Level 3 and completed his MBA from Indian School of Business.