Pump it up! Powering a decarbonised world

As countries scale up renewable energy that is locally generated, secure and affordable – but also variable – the need for long-duration storage has never been clearer.

This high-profile opening plenary will bring together senior political leaders and international decision-makers to share how pumped storage hydropower is shaping their energy strategies.

The session will feature agenda-setting contributions from leading voices across government, industry, academia, international organisations, and the clean energy community.

Session objectives

• Showcase the transformative opportunity for pumped storage across diverse energy markets and the strong political backing driving its growth.
• Discuss the key barriers to pumped storage development and spotlight how governments and stakeholders are actively overcoming these challenges.
• Set the stage for the conference by framing pumped storage as a critical solution for the energy transition, guiding discussions over the next two days in Paris.

Speakers

• Sophie Mourlon, Director General of Energy and Climate in the Minister of Energy, Government of France
• Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, President, IHA
• HE Abang Johari Tun Openg, Premier, Government of Sarawak
• Bogdan Ivan, Minister of Energy, Government of Romania (TBC)
• Lidia Brito, Assistant Director General, UNESCO
• Liu Weiping, Chair, China Three Gorges Corporation
• Guo Ju, Chairman and Party Secretary, State Grid Xinyuan
• Frédéric Sauze, CEO, Andritz
• Quanwei Liang, Vice President, Dongfang
• Emmanuelle Verger, CEO, EDF Hydro
• Michael Liebreich, Managing Partner, EcoPragma Capital & CEO, Liebreich Associates
• Prof Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University
• Lynn St-Laurent, Senior Communications Advisor, Hydro Québec (moderator)