Beyond Transition: Building Secure, Resilient, Inclusive, and Intelligent Energy Systems
8-11 June 2026 | ADB Headquarters, Manila
ACEF 2026 Speakers
ALL SPEAKERS
Mukunthan Tharmakulasingam
University of Jaffna
Mukunthan Tharmakulasingam
University of Jaffna
Bio
Dr T. Mukunthan received his B.Sc.Eng(Hons) in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka in 2014, and his PhD in Vision, Speech, and Signal Processing from the University of Surrey, United Kingdom in 2023. He is currently serving as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He has worked as Research Associate at King's College, London for a brief period. Before entering academia, he spent more than 4 years at the London Stock Exchange Group, working on a high-performance, low-latency exchange system, gaining strong expertise in scalable software architectures and real-time systems. His research lies at the intersection of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI), AIoT, Digital Transformation and intelligent systems, with a strong application focus on smart grids, renewable energy systems and healthcare diagnostics. His work emphasises trustworthy AI, data-driven decision-making and digital transformation of critical infrastructure. He has contributed as a consultant to several industrial, capacity building and colloborative pilot projects, including serving as an AI and Digital infrastructure consultant to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on an AI-powered microgrid project at Sri Lanka.
Namita Vikas
auctusESG
Namita Vikas
auctusESG
Bio
Namita Vikas is an award-winning senior business leader and ex-banker, with over 33 years of diverse experience in sectors across banking, finance, and technology. An influential voice in sustainable finance and climate transition globally, this year she was invited to speak at the UNGA’s Summit of the Future in September, alongside heads of states. Prior to setting up auctusESG in 2020, she held a leadership position with India’s 4th largest private bank, where she was instrumental in launching several first-to-market green and sustainable, wholesale and retail banking products, including India’s maiden green bond. Having raised over 1 billion dollars in green capital from marquee global DFIs, she also incubated multiple ventures in climate technology, providing her with invaluable hands-on experience in building climate-ready and sustainable businesses As the founder of auctusESG, a global sustainable finance and climate transition global advisory firm, she has steered marquee global projects awarded by international governments, UN agencies, and MDBs and global DFIs in emerging markets such as Latin America, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, India, and Africa. Namita continues to be a member of several expert committees and boards on Sustainable Finance and ESG, including those by Government of India, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Climate Bonds Initiative, and the Finance Industry Advisory Board of the International Energy Agency. In the past she has served a Jury of the World Bank Development Marketplace program, CPI Innovation Lab, Tata and Marico Innovation Awards.
Natalie Kauf
International Energy Agency
Natalie Kauf
International Energy Agency
Bio
Natalie Kauf is an energy analyst at the International Energy Agency’s Regional Cooperation Centre in Singapore. She previously worked at the IEA’s HQ in Paris where she led the work on energy efficiency policy in Southeast Asia. Prior to joining the IEA in 2022, Natalie was the Deputy Director for Nuclear Safety and Security at Natural Resources Canada, where she led a team of policy analysts and technical experts. Natalie has previous policy work experience in various government ministries in Canada, including the Privy Council Office providing policy advice to the Cabinet and Prime Minister. She also worked in Kosovo on capacity building for local and government stakeholders with the UN and EU. Natalie holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge.
Nidhi Prabha
Sambodhi Research & Communications
Nidhi Prabha
Sambodhi Research & Communications
Bio
Dr. Nidhi Prabha is a development practitioner and Political Scientist with nearly a decade of experience in advancing gender equality, social inclusion, and participatory governance across South Asia. Currently working as the Senior Manager, Capacity Building at Sambodhi Research and Communications Ltd., she brings a nuanced understanding of inclusive development, grounded in academic rigor and field-based experience. At Sambodhi, her work spans multiple capacity building efforts at three tiers: individual trainings through curated courses in themes of Gender, feminist evaluation etc., at the organizational level with projects with a focus on capacity building on themes of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), MEL, AI etc., as well as at the ecosystem level with building state capacity through trainings with ATIs across multiple Indian states as well as through tailored large-scale training programs like democratizing AI in the grassroots through a program funded by Google.org & ADB through AVPN’s AI Opportunity Fund. Previously, at RTI International, she led GESI strategies for USAID’s South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP), as their GESI Advisor, spanning six South Asian countries: India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives & Bangladesh. She has supported cross-sectoral policy research and facilitated institutional gender audits and capacity-building programs. Nidhi has designed and delivered multiple gender audits, assessments, and capacity-building workshops for key public and private energy stakeholders, including Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), Bhutan Power Corporation Ltd. (BPC) etc., strengthening institutional capacities to advance workforce equity. As GESI Technical Monitor for the SAREP Partnership Fund (USD 7.5 million), she supported 18 grantees to embed GESI as a cross-cutting priority, notably enabling over 500 women microentrepreneurs to generate incomes exceeding USD 6 million. She also was responsible for MEL integration and coordinating multi-stakeholder engagements across the four objectives of the SAREP program. With her Ph.D. research focusing on gender, urban transport, and mobility justice, she offers both analytical depth and strategic foresight. She is passionate about embedding intersectionality into evaluation and learning frameworks and ensuring that development investments meaningfully reach and empower marginalized communities.
Nikit Abhyankar
University of California, Berkeley
Nikit Abhyankar
University of California, Berkeley
Bio
Dr. Nikit Abhyankar is an Associate Adjunct Professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy of the University of California, Berkeley and Co-Faculty Director of the India Energy and Climate Center. He is also a Scientist at the Energy Markets and Planning Department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He regularly advises national / state governments, regulators, and utilities in multiple countries on designing clean energy policies and programs. Nikit has conducted extensive research and policy analysis on a range of key energy issues such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, electricity markets & policy, and industrial energy in United States and key emerging economies such as India, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. He has led several extremely high impact and comprehensive energy studies such as The 2035 Reports (U.S.), Flexible Resources Initiative (India), China Clean Power, India Energy Independence, Japan 2035 Report etc. Nikit has a Ph.D. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University. He has published over 100 journal papers, research reports, and conference papers, and his research has been widely covered in the media.
Nikoloz Sumbadze
ADB Expert
Nikoloz Sumbadze
ADB Expert
Bio
Nikoloz Sumbadze is an energy economist with over 14 years of professional experience across various areas of the energy sector. His expertise includes development of energy policy and regulatory frameworks, electricity market design and monitoring, clean energy finance, and renewable energy development at both national and regional levels. He has also been actively engaged in regional initiatives, contributing to the development of legal and regulatory frameworks for energy market integration and promoting effective stakeholder coordination. He previously served as Director of the Market Monitoring Department at the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (2021–2024) and as Deputy Director of the Electricity Department (2017–2020). In these roles, he played an active role in advancing Georgia’s energy market liberalization and its alignment with the Energy Community acquis. Mr. Sumbadze holds a master’s degree in economics, specializing in energy economics, from the International School of Economics (ISET) at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. He has also recently completed the Financing and Deploying Clean Energy certificate program offered jointly by the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of the Environment. He is a co-author of the books: Electricity Policy Modelling and Analysis, and Political Economy of Sustainable Energy.
Nurzhan Kerimkulov
JSC KEGOC (Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company)
Nurzhan Kerimkulov
JSC KEGOC (Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company)
Bio
Nurzhan Kerimkulov was born on 18 October 1981 in Zhambyl Oblast. He studied at the Almaty Institute of Power Engineering and Telecommunications in Kazakhstan from 1998 to 2003, majoring in Electric Power Systems and Communications and qualifying as an electrical engineer. In 2003, he also graduated from the same institute with a degree in Economics and Enterprise Management, qualifying as an economist. From 2012 to 2016, he pursued postgraduate studies at Novosibirsk State Technical University in Russia, specializing in Automated Electrical Networks and Systems. He began his professional career in 2003 as an engineer in the Relay Protection and Electrical Automation Service at Akmola MES, a branch of KEGOC JSC, where he worked until 2006. He then held several roles at KEGOC JSC, including senior specialist in the Operations Department, deputy head of the Electrical Substation Operations Division, senior manager and later head of the Substation Division in the Operations Department. From April 2018 to September 2020, he served as deputy chief engineer at Akmola MES, followed by his role as Chief Engineer at Sarbay MES from September 2020 to September 2022. He was appointed Managing Director for System Services and National Power Grid Development at KEGOC JSC in September 2022, and since February 2024 has served as Managing Director for System Services at KEGOC JSC.
Penelope Crossley
The University of Sydney
Penelope Crossley
The University of Sydney
Bio
Professor Penelope Crossley is a Professor of Energy Law at the University of Sydney and an expert legal consultant for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), advising on the complex legal and policy aspects of the energy transition. Her research, funded through an Australian Research Council grant, focuses on regulatory frameworks for renewable energy deployment, energy market governance, and sustainability in the clean energy transition. Professor Crossley's work has been cited by key international organisations, including the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), and has informed regulatory and policy debates on decarbonisation, energy infrastructure investment, and circular economy strategies for renewable technologies. With deep expertise in energy law and policy, Professor Crossley examines the intersection of technology, regulation, and sustainability in emerging clean energy markets. Her research on the governance of solar photovoltaic (PV) reuse and recycling addresses critical gaps in end-of-life (EoL) management, highlighting regulatory challenges and opportunities for advancing circular economy principles. Drawing on international best practice, she provides policy recommendations to strengthen product stewardship, incentivise private-sector participation, and integrate PV reuse and recycling into national energy strategies. At the Asian Clean Energy Forum, Professor Crossley will bring insights into regulatory innovations to ensure solar technology takes full advantage of emerging technologies to remain a sustainable pillar of the Asia-Pacific’s clean energy transition.
Peter du Pont
Asia Clean Energy Partners
Peter du Pont
Asia Clean Energy Partners
Bio
Dr. Peter du Pont has more than 30 years of experience developing sustainable energy and energy efficiency programs in the United States and Asia. Since 1989, he has worked extensively across the Asia region with non-governmental, private sector, and government organizations to design and support the implementation of clean energy strategies and initiatives. He has developed national energy-saving plans for Thailand and Viet Nam, directed an international non-profit organization focused on energy efficiency, and served as Secretariat to APEC’s Expert Group on Energy Efficiency and Conservation. From 2006 to 2011, he led the USAID ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program, where he spearheaded the expansion of the Private Financing Advisory Network into China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. From 2011 to 2015, he managed the development of Nexant’s clean energy business in Asia, working with government and private sector partners to design effective clean energy policy and program frameworks. From 2016 to 2017, Dr. du Pont served as Senior Climate Change Advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development, based in Asia, where he provided technical oversight and supported the development of programs and procurements covering clean energy, sustainable landscapes, and urban resilience. Based in Bangkok, Dr. du Pont is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Asia Clean Energy Partners, an international consultancy that helps clients accelerate clean energy deployment through research and analytics, program and initiative design, and connections to resources and financing. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Asia Clean Energy Forum, held each June at the Asian Development Bank headquarters in Manila, and as Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator for the UNIDO-led Private Financing Advisory Network.
Philip Napier-Moore
Mott MacDonald
Philip Napier-Moore
Mott MacDonald
Bio
Phil Napier-Moore is Mott MacDonald’s Energy Sector Leader for Asia, responsible for the Group’s regional support to clients on the global energy transition. Working across the energy value chain for over 20 years, he has supported diverse international stakeholders on low-carbon power. He has supported more than 80 GW of projects in Asia, including several hundred projects now successfully in operation. Strongly focused on the ASEAN power grid and ongoing gigawatt-scale ‘firmed’ renewable power projects using energy storage and subsea electrical interconnections importing renewable power to Singapore. A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Energy Institute, he obtained his Masters of Engineering from Oxford University.
Philipp Wieland
Fred. Olsen Windcarrier
Philipp Wieland
Fred. Olsen Windcarrier
Bio
Philipp Wieland is a commercial leader with over 15 years of experience in energy and construction and a strong focus on offshore wind. He is currently Head of Commercial APAC at Fred. Olsen Windcarrier, driving partnerships and market growth across the Asia-Pacific region. Previously with Siemens Gamesa, he managed sales for offshore wind turbines in Taiwan and Korea. Philipp’s background spans renewable energy, real estate development, large-scale construction, and oil & gas, giving him a broad understanding of global energy markets and business strategy in an international context. Philipp holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an MS in Environment and Resources from Stanford University.
Prabindra Shakya
Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE)
Prabindra Shakya
Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE)
Bio
Prabindra Shakya is a human rights and community-led activist belonging to Indigenous Newar community of Nepal. He has been engaged in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and marginalized communities for almost two decades now. Thereby, he specializes in human rights advocacy in the contexts of impacts of development finance, business operations and international investments as well as in the conflict resolution and peacebuilding processes. For the past five years, he has also been supporting Indigenous and other communities in design and implementation of community-led energy and solutions across Nepal and beyond. Prabin is currently the Convenor of Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE). He also leads the Community Empowerment & Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ) in Nepal that he founded and has previously worked with different human rights organizations in the country. He has extensive working experience at global, regional and national levels with the Secretariat of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Coalition of Human Rights in Development, Manushya Foundation and International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), among others.