Biography:

Santos Díaz-Pastor is a Ph.D. candidate in Power Systems at Comillas Pontifical University and a Research Affiliate at the MIT Energy Initiative. He conducts his doctoral research at the Institute for Research in Technology (IIT), under the supervision of Prof. Ignacio Pérez-Arriaga. He holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and a dual M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and the Energy Sector from Comillas Pontifical University.

At IIT, Santos is affiliated with the Energy Systems Modeling and Policy Analysis (EMPA) area. His research focuses on the design of regulatory-financial frameworks for the implementation of electrification plans at scale, integrating technical planning with tariff design, subsidy and settlement mechanisms, service obligations, risk allocation, delivery models, and the capital structures required to attract long-term financing. In particular, his work analyzes how to turn least-cost electrification plans into implementation schemes that are financeable for the responsible delivery agents, affordable for users, and sustainable for the public institutions that support them. Santos has worked with governments, international organizations, and development partners, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, UNDP, GIZ, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Alongside his doctoral research and international advisory work, he is an Associate at Impact Bridge, a Spanish impact investment manager with more than €500 million in assets under management. There, he works on the firm’s approximately €150 million impact debt strategy, covering origination, due diligence, structuring, execution, and asset management of investments across renewable energy, clean mobility, and social infrastructure. This investment experience brings a practical finance perspective to his research on bankability, risk allocation, and implementation.

Before joining IIT, Santos worked at Red Eléctrica de España, the Spanish transmission system operator, where he managed generation and demand data for the Spanish power system and supported the integration of asset transactions into the electricity market.