Dr. Michael Losch is an economist and senior government official with a focus on energy, innovation, and European policies. He studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and at the French partner schools ESSCA and HEC, earning his doctorate with his thesis on competition-oriented regulation of the electricity supply industry.
From 1993 to 1995, he worked as EU and energy expert at the Austrian Economic Chamber, followed by a position in international project finance at ING Bank. From 1997 to 1999, he served in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, overseeing implementation of the first EU internal electricity market directives. From 1999 to 2004 he was a member of the cabinet of EU Commissioner Franz Fischler, with responsibility for a portfolio covering economic policy, state aid and competition law.
Since April 2004, Michael Losch served for twelve years as Austrian Director General for Economic Policy, Innovation and Technology, and from 2016 to 2020 as Austrian Director General for Energy and Mining, where he initiated the “Hydrogen Initiative” during the Austrian EU Presidency 2018, contributed to the finalization of the “EU Clean Energy Package” and developed the “Austrian Renewable Energy Expansion Act”. From 2021 to 2023 Michael Losch was Special Envoy for Green Industrial Policy at the Austrian Permanent Representation to the European Union, with the mission to develop and support, in the context of the European Green Deal, transition pathways for energy-intensive industries towards climate neutrality. Recently, Michael Losch moved to the European Commission as principal administrator and coordinator for bioeconomy in DG Agriculture and Rural Development.