June 30th – APREN Award Ceremony – 11th Edition
The 11th edition of the APREN Award took place on June 29, 2026, at Culturgest in Lisbon, bringing together representatives from academia, companies, public entities, and sector experts to celebrate academic excellence and reflect on the future challenges of the energy transition.
Under the theme "Talent for the Energy Transition," the event sought to strengthen the link between research and the market, promoting a space for discussion about the skills, talent, and knowledge needed to meet the needs of a rapidly transforming sector.
The session included a presentation of the results of the Renewable Energy Impact Study in Portugal, developed by EY-Parthenon for APREN, focusing on employment prospects, skills, and talent needs up to 2030 and 2040. This was followed by the debate “Preparing, Attracting and Retaining Talent: Challenges for Academia and the Sector”, moderated by Susana Serôdio, Coordinator of Policies and Market Intelligence at APREN.
The ceremony culminated with the awarding of prizes to the best Master's and Doctoral theses in the areas of renewable energies and energy transition. With a total prize of €15,000, the APREN Prize, in this edition, recognized work in the areas of intelligent management of electric bus fleets, wave energy, energy communities, and the stability of electricity grids.
Winners of the 11th edition of the APREN Award
Doctoral Category
1st Prize – €5,500
Jónatas Manzolli, University of Coimbra
Thesis: Adaptive Hybrid AI-Based Energy Management for Battery Electric Bus Fleets
The work presents a hybrid approach that combines artificial intelligence and optimization methods to adaptively manage the energy of electric bus fleets.
2nd Prize – €3,500
Felipe Teixeira Duarte, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto – FEUP
Thesis: Multi-objective Optimization Framework for Wave Energy Parks
The research develops a multi-objective optimization framework for wave energy parks, using machine learning, genetic algorithms and numerical modeling.
Master's Degree Category
1st Prize – €4,000
Mariana Guedes, Instituto Superior Técnico
Thesis dedicated to the impact of uncertainty on the modeling of energy communities, demonstrating how stochastic optimization can improve the results of these communities.
2nd Prize – €2,000
Tomás Glória, Instituto Superior Técnico
Thesis on the stability of Active Distribution Networks.
The winning theses are available for consultation here.
Program
2:00 PM – 2:15 PM
Reception
2:15 PM
Opening
2:20 PM
The present and future of employment in the Energy Transition
- Presentation of the Renewable Energy Impact Study in Portugal – results on employment, skills and talent needs up to 2030 and 2040, by Rui Faustino (Manager, EY-Parthenon)
- The challenges of attracting, developing, and retaining talent in renewable energy, by Carlos Sampaio (COO, Elergone)
- From Academia to the Sector – APREN Perspective, by Mariana Cruz de Carvalho (Policy Advisor, APREN)
2:50 PM
Debate | "Preparing, Attracting, and Retaining Talent: Challenges for Academia and the Sector"
How to respond to the talent needs of the energy transition by 2040?
Participants:
- João Amaral (CEO, Principle Power)
- João Peças Lopes (Professor Emeritus, FEUP)
- Maria do Carmo Figueira (Director – Environmental Assessment Department, APA)
- Maria João Rodrigues (Researcher, IST-ID)
- Patrícia Fortes (Researcher, LNEG / Visiting Researcher, NOVA FCT)
- Paulo Martins (DGEG)
Moderated by Susana Serôdio (Coordinator of Policies and Market Intelligence, APREN)
3:40 PM
Coffee Break and visit to the works nominated for the APREN Award.
4:05 PM
APREN Award Ceremony – 11th Edition
Master's Degree Category:
- Announcement of the winners
- Presentation of the thesis awarded 1st place
- Presentation of the thesis awarded 2nd place
Doctoral Category:
- Announcement of the winners
- Presentation of the thesis awarded 1st place
- Presentation of the thesis awarded 2nd place
5:05 PM
Closing Session, by Susana Serôdio (Coordinator of Policies and Market Intelligence, APREN)
