Prof. Dr. Iliana Portugues
Prof. Dr. Iliana Portugues is Vice-President of the Innovation Center Berlin at Siemens Energy. In this role, which she has held since 2022, she is responsible for the corporation's innovation agenda across Europe. She commenced her tenure at Siemens Energy in 2021 as a Futurist within the Transmission business unit. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Corporate Innovation and New Ventures at National Grid in the United Kingdom. Her responsibilities included technology development for decarbonization and sustainability in gas and electricity transmission, as well as in non-regulated sectors. Before joining National Grid, Iliana held several leadership positions in innovation and research at National Grid Electricity Transmission, the University of Strathclyde (UK), and the Electric Power Research Institute (USA). Additionally, she successfully founded several startups in the energy sector.
Iliana Portugues completed her studies at the University of Bath, earning a Master of Engineering in Electronics and Communication Engineering. There, she also conducted her doctoral research on the development of a radiometric system for partial discharge localization, supported by National Grid and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
Iliana Portugues is a visiting professor at Queen's University Belfast. Furthermore, she advises the British government on innovation in hydrogen-related matters as a member of the Energy Research Centre's Board of Advisors, serves as a Scientific Advisory Member for UK Research and Innovation Energy, and is a member of the UK Royal Society of Arts. In 2023, she was appointed to the German National Hydrogen Council by the German federal government. Her working languages are Spanish, English, and German.
