A record-breaking CITE 2025 sells out
Pamplona is getting ready to become the European capital of renewable energy during the upcoming 4th International Congress of the Industry for the Energy Transition (CITE 2025). This biennial event, organised by ENERCLUSTER with the special collaboration of the Government of Navarre, will bring together leading experts and global benchmarks from the wind, solar, storage and green hydrogen sectors on 23 October at the Baluarte Navarre Conference Centre and Auditorium.
CITE 2025 is sponsored on this occasion by Acciona Energía, Nordex Group and Ingeteam as TERApartners; Grupo Enhol, Laulagun Bearings, Nabrawind, Repsol and Sakana Group as GIGApartners; together with ARENA, ARPA Abogados Consultores, Array, Industrial Barranquesa, Beeplanet, EDP Renewables, Elektra, EnergyLoop, EOSOL, IED, Grupo Inerzia, Leadernet, Renercycle, Ríos Renovables, Rose Holm, SIG, Statkraft and Urgon as MEGApartners.
This year’s edition is a record-breaker: two weeks before the event, all available tickets have sold out. There are two main reasons for this milestone. The first is an ambitious and comprehensive programme of talks by leading international and national professionals from the renewable energy sector.
The second is the wealth of networking opportunities and professional meetings available to attendees. «We are very proud because CITE 2025 will be much more than a forum: it has become the international meeting point for those who lead the renewable sector. It is the only place where all renewable technologies come together to keep transforming this industry from Navarre to the world,» said Aitor Erquicia, President of ENERCLUSTER, the organiser, at the presentation of the congress at the Ventum Academy wind training facilities of Grupo Inerzia, one of the sponsors of CITE 2025.
To meet the high demand, the organisers have opened a new ticket option specifically for the afternoon sessions, available at this link.
Garbiñe Basterra, Director General for Energy and Digital Transition, Business R&D&I and Entrepreneurship, stressed at the press conference the importance of the renewable energy sector for Navarre, as it «accounts for 8,380 direct jobs in more than 1,000 different companies, with a turnover that exceeded €3,744 million in 2023 and has been rising steadily since 2020».
With these figures, she said that «we must move towards a 100% renewable Navarre, and so we are seeking and promoting emission-free renewable generation solutions, clean energy distribution and management solutions, and cost-effective energy storage solutions». She therefore called for joint work to «preserve and increase the competitiveness of the renewable industrial base in our region».
To achieve this goal, she said, public-private collaboration is crucial — not only with companies, but also with technology centres, universities and clusters. «That is why the Government of Navarre works closely with Enercluster to make this essential event happen.»
Kiko Maza, director of CITE 2025, described it as «a strategic meeting point to better understand the present and future of the renewable sector». «In an industry as dynamic as renewables, events such as CITE 2025 are key to shedding light on the sector’s challenges and opportunities, with the help of some of the world’s leading figures,» he stressed.
The congress will begin a day early, on Wednesday 22 October, with the traditional welcome dinner in Baluarte’s Sala Muralla, a historic space that will open the networking opportunities.
Thursday 23 October will begin with the institutional opening. The Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, has just confirmed his attendance and will be joined by María Chivite, President of Navarre, and Aitor Erquicia, President of Enercluster.
ROUND TABLES AND SPEAKERS
The first round table, devoted to wind power, will bring together the CEOs of some of the most important international companies. Under the title «Wind CEOs Round Table», it will look at how a sector of great industrial, strategic and energy value is facing challenges such as auctions, tariffs, Chinese competition and permitting. The speakers will be José Luis Blanco (CEO, Nordex Group), Torsten Tiefel (CEO, Silbitz Group GmbH), Michael Larsen (CEO, SM Industries) and Adolfo Rebollo (CEO, Ingeteam), moderated by Brian Gaylord, Principal Analyst at Wood Mackenzie.
This will be followed by a debate on «International experiences in defending the renewable value chain». Countries such as the US, India and Brazil have passed legislation to encourage local manufacturing and strengthen the value chain. The panel will ask whether Europe, with its NZIA, is really up to the task. The speakers will be Mike Carr (Executive Director, Solar Energy Manufacturers of America), Ruben Davis (Senior Policy Officer, Cleantech for Europe) and Silvia Gavorníková (Head of Export Credits and Competition Division, OECD), moderated by Iker Chasco, Managing Director of Enercluster.
After the coffee break comes the «Developers CEOs Round Table», focused on the challenges and opportunities for developers in a context of zero or negative prices, growing curtailment, administrative hurdles and stagnant demand. The panel will feature Arantza Ezpeleta (CEO, Acciona Energía), João Costeira (Executive Managing Director, Low Carbon Generation, Repsol) and Rocío Sicre (General Manager Spain, EDP Renewables), moderated by Kiko Maza, Communications Director at Enercluster and director of CITE 2025.
The conversation will then turn to solar and storage. The «PV & Storage CEOs Round Table» will discuss the strategic role of these industries in Europe and whether it is possible to compete with the Chinese giant. It will feature Hervé Amossé (EVP, SAFT Energy Storage Solutions), Christoph Podewils (Secretary General, European Solar Manufacturing Council), Laurent Bodin (Chief Commercial Officer, Holosolis) and Marc Rechter (CEO, MCPV), moderated by Edurne Zoco, Head of Technologies and Supply Chains, Energy Transition at S&P Global Commodity Insights.
After this round table, at 2:15 pm, the networking lunch will offer a chance to continue the conversations in a more relaxed setting.
AFTERNOON PROGRAMME
In the afternoon, the programme will move on to parallel sessions in two of Baluarte’s halls.
The Sala Cámara will host the O&M Panel, which will discuss how new technologies — such as artificial intelligence, drones and robots — can revolutionise operation and maintenance services, one of the fastest-growing and most profitable businesses in the sector. The speakers will be Eduardo Medina (CEO, RES), Juan Otazu (Production Director, Acciona Energía) and Javier Amelivia (CEO Wind, Spie), moderated by Elisa Manero, President of AEMER.
At the same time, the Sala Luneta will host the Energy Storage Panel, which will look at the viability of the Spanish market, lessons learned from more mature markets and the future beyond lithium batteries. The speakers will be Rodrigo Hartstein (Head of Portfolio Management – Battery Energy Storage Systems, Siemens Energy), Peer Piske (Managing Partner, Alantra), Susana Gómez (Head of Renewable Energy, Nexus) and Will Broad (Global Director of Policy and Market, Long Duration Energy Storage Council), moderated by Eugenio Domínguez, Vice-President of AEPIBAL.
At 4:30 pm the parallel sessions will continue. The Sala Cámara will host the Green Hydrogen Panel, which will discuss realistic expectations for this technology and its competitive applications. The speakers will be Susana de Pablo (General Manager of Engineering, Technology and Digitalisation, Enagás), Alan Ripa (CEO, Acciona Plug), Juan Peña (Chief Corporate Business and Institutional Affairs Officer, Grupo Enhol), Carlos Ayuso (Technology Development & New Ventures Director, Moeve) and Luis Solla (CEO, Nordex Electrolyzers), moderated by Antonio González (Vice-President of the Spanish Hydrogen Association, AeH2).
Meanwhile, the Sala Luneta will host the Grid Panel, focused on the role of the electricity grid in the energy transition and its capacity to integrate current and future renewable deployment. It will feature Alfredo García-Borreguero (Managing Director Spain, Hitachi Energy), José Manuel Pérez (Head of Regulation, EDP Spain), Eduardo Pedrosa (Managing Director Transmission & Distribution, Ingeteam) and Concha Sánchez (General Director of Operations, Red Eléctrica), moderated by Héctor de Lama (Technical Director, UNEF).
After a second coffee break at 5:30 pm, the day will culminate with a keynote at 6 pm by Yana Popkostova, founder of ECEGA, who will share her view of the challenges and opportunities facing the European renewable industry in the current geopolitical context.
The congress will end at 6:45 pm with the institutional closing by Mikel Irujo, Navarre’s Minister for Economic and Business Development, and Aitor Erquicia, President of Enercluster.
More information and full programme: CITE25 programme
